TARI ANCHALEE DESIGN

So one of my new plans for the summer is to start my own business:

TARI ANCHALEE DESIGN

In a nutshell, it is a design business that will offer, design services, decorating services, and project management. More information to follow so stay tuned and check out my FaceBook Page.

NW Parade of Homes

So one of the highlights from my Internship was to be able to help in the NW Parade of Homes! Click HERE for the magazine. Our Home was #6 The Nora. Over two weekends I went to see almost all of the other homes with my Mom, so that was super fun. Love seeing the styles and the trends in the design of the homes and in the Interior FF&E. Rice&Strand Interiors

I know you are all dying to see some pictures so here are a couple Before and Afters:

BEFORE

 

AFTER: MASTER SUITE

My main contribution was the bed ensemble, I was so excited to use those red chair and the Poppy painting

BEFORE

AFTER: STUDY
On the opposite wall are three book cases. I love that painting too!

BEFORE

  

  

AFTER: GREAT ROOM

My favorite piece was the Art above the fireplace. I thought JCP Construction did a fantastic job! I was glad that I was working with Rice & Strand Interiors so that I could help out. I spent all day arranging things and hanging art with the other intern. It was pretty crazy but I think everything came together in the end :)

Internship Debriefing

The last few days of my internship went REALLY FAST!
Colonial Court is pretty much finished. Our designer will pick up the loose ends. For my part I spent some quality time on the phone with Lite Source checking on the last few lamps that we needed. ...and of course no week would be complete without putting together some furniture. So I put together a tall floor lamp, a couple of chairs and a round table. The table and chairs were Riverside and looked awesome.

The Wednesday after my internship had officially finished, I went back to Rice & Strand to help my Boss with Parade of Homes Preparation. I was there when our moving guys came to pick up everything and then went with them to the show home. Thankfully I beat them to the house because it was locked. I had to call the Realtor to find where they had hidden the key. Once the movers had brought everything in, helped me move the furniture and hang a piece of art for me, they left and I started making things look good. A while later, my Boss and the new Intern came and we hung art, and place accessories. It was a long day. Then I spent a couple hours over the next two days compiling a list of items in the house for sale.

Saturday I went to the opening day of Parade of Homes. My Mom and I went to Rice&Strand's house first in Farmington... however it wasn't open on time as the Realtor had spilled something on himself and had to go home and change. Then as we went in (Thank goodness we were the only ones there!! - I noticed all the little changes. The Realtor had moved a table, over so it wasn't centered, moved a lamp from the living room to the bed room and a bunch of little changes. Also someone had had children in there as some of the glass balls  from the accessory bowl in the living room were on the floor by the sofa. I was super annoyed and tried to be civil but I let the Realtor know that the changes were not okay... and I proceeded to move things back. I had to give on a couple things, but I didn't back down. I understand that it is the Realtor's job to sell homes, however the Realtor needed to understand that the interior represented Rice&Strand as much as the Builder and the Realtor. So, I needed to make things look good.

I can't believe how fast the past 6 weeks have gone.. now for summer and my other plans...

Week 6: Day 2

Today was a busy day. I spent the morning going over a couple of e-mails from my Boss's client in Boston. She wants her to help with a living room space. Over the space of a couple of e-mails there were pictures of what is there, what she is interested in, and a bunch of questions. So I read over everything and complied what exactly she is looking for.

I also found a delivery service in NV that would be able to accept a delivery of furniture and then deliver it to the residence of another of my Boss's client's in Hendersen, NV.

The main thing that happened today was that the new intern came in. She starts next week, but my Boss wanted her to come in and see everything and have me brief her on what I have been up to, where everything is, what exactly she will be doing. I think my Boss did a better job of explaining things to her than to me when I first started, but nevermind. It was really fun to show her around and explain everything. Just goes to show how much I have learned the past 6 weeks. The new intern is awesome. She is going to a 6 year Interior Architecture Program in So Cal. It sounds amazing. Her only complaint was that it wasn't 'real world' enough for her. No business classes or anything unless you minor in Entrepreneurship or something. So she was looking forward to getting familiar with the materials, and have some interaction with clients. I will get to see her again next week at the Parade of Homes house.

Speaking of Parade of Homes - our GiftCraft order had a couple of pieces back ordered so we might not get the shipment in time. Awesome... not. The Linen Source order should have been sent out today - cross our fingers on that one.

Other joys of ordering things... I placed an order for blinds a couple weeks ago - which was supposed to be shipped on the 7th... yeah still not shipped. Apparently they were waiting for some of the blinds... now the shipping date is tentatively the 16th. *Fingers Crossed* Thankfully they aren't being installed until the 25th so there is some leeway there thankfully.

Week 6: Day 1

So my last week at Rice&Strand has finally come!

Today was pretty busy. My boss left first thing to go to Huntsville so I took care of the showroom, placed some orders, answered the phone, and took care of the deliveries. We had some  fabric delivered and then a shipment from Paragon. I opened up the art from Paragon - one of the boxes was totally trashed but luckily the art piece inside was fine.

We got a box of C.R. Laine fabric samples. I only made it through half of them. The samples are arranged in numerical order which is a plus. I put away all the samples that have holes in them to be displayed on the rings, and tomorrow I will tackle the boxes of samples. Wish me luck.

Things are gearing up for Parade of Homes... we made arrangements for Unique deliveries to come and pick up the furniture that we are going to use from the showroom. I also got to call and double check on the linen for the master bedroom - which of course did not ship last week.... >_< hopefully tomorrow!

I ordered a couple more lamps from Lite Source for Colonial Court. It's amazing how many things are back ordered. That was a little bit of an ordeal.

Other fun things today were having one of my boss's clients come in and ask for advice on getting a chair reupholstered. I started reading 'Cradle to Cradle' - it's about time. I have started it many times but never been able to finish it - school and other things always got in the way. So hopefully this time I can!

Week 5 roundup (days 4 and 5)

We got the art for Colonial Court. That was the main excitement. There we 14 pieces plus the mirror we already had at the showroom. Thursday night I took 5 pieces down to Ogden in my car, plus the rest of the clocks and two more lamp shades. I am a master packer.

Friday was great! We started at 9 at Colonial Court to hang the art and place accessories. It was fun to run around and place things... then the designer would change her mind and we would switch things around a bit. I think the best part was that my cousin was visiting and she came to help us. We finished everything then went to lunch and were done for the day!

Everything looks great but they changed their minds about the layout a little bit. They were supposed to put a pool table in the social room, but they think it looks too nice so they want to keep the pool table in the game room now. So that means probably ordering a couple of tables and chairs to fill the space. Everything is looking really good and most people who walked through complimented us on how great everything looked. : )

Back to Thursday - it was a pretty low key day. My boss had a couple of clients come in to choose material, so I got to put all the catalogs and material books away. My Boss and I did a walk through the showroom and talked about everything that we are going to use for the Parade of Homes. It was my idea to use the tall red-orange chairs and I picked the comforter set for the bed. So things evolved from there - can't wait to see how everything comes together!

Another highlight or at least event on Thursday was we had our yearly 'Fire Safety Inspection'. I was sitting at the front desk then I looked up to see three firefighters stroll in. It was very unexpected! There were a couple of things that we will need to get fixed of course. They were really nice.

Week 5: Day 3

Today I got to start off by opening two boxes of 'nesting tables'. They were easy to get out of the box but each leg was double wrapped. It took a while but I managed. Then I had to find space for them in the showroom. Here's a picture:

Other tasks from today included finding a black and white pattern in the Braxton Cullur fabrics, putting away all the returned catalogs, keeping track of which fabric books were checked out, answering the phone, looking up the price on a C.R. Laine sectional sofa - who knew you had to buy the two parts separately?

Highlight of today was driving down to Farmington to check out our house for The Parade of Homes. We went over to the past model homes and took stock of furniture pieces we could use, then went and saw the new one. I think my favorite part was the granite counter tops. Gorgeous!

No pictures of the inside for now. Maybe I'll post some before and after pics when it's finished

Tomorrow we are expecting the art for Colonial Court and then hopefully a final install on Friday!

Week 5 :Day 1 and Day 2

It felt like forever since I had spent a whole day in the showroom yesterday. Last week was so crazy! Colonial Court is so close to being finished! The blinds went up yesterday and we got the clocks from IMAX today... now if only our art would get here then we could hang it and put out all the accessories!

Today was fine. Although I nearly sprained my ankle while taking a piece of art off the wall. Totally lost my balance and rolled my ankle. You'll be glad to know that I survived. The piece was from Art in Motion so I am in the process of locating their catalog and seeing if those pieces are still available. I was on the phone with Butler today. Just making sure that we actually have preferred dealer pricing and to find out the specifics on our credit with them. They have some awesome pieces of furniture. So does Coast to Coast! I started dreaming about my dream home today. :) Other events from today: made lots of phone calls. Placed a fabric order, looked through the new rug and art catalogs we got, and sold three pieces of art! Yay for commission! Then I shuffled some other art around to make the holes not so noticeable. Can't wait until our GiftCraft order come so I can rearrange things. I am enjoying that part. My Boss and I have quite different tastes but most arrangements I do she keeps. Speaking of arrangements - she really liked the foliage arrangement I did above the door. I am so glad - I still have the scabs to prove I did it!

Lots of coming and goings the last couple of days. My boss had a couple clients come into the showroom to meet with her and pick fabric etc. I am trying to get familiar with furniture and the different manufacturers styles etc. Commercial is still more my thing, but there's tons to learn about residential here.

Good news! Tomorrow I am going with my Boss to the Parade of Homes House! We are going to check out the new house, then go take an inventory of pieces that the builder wants to use from previous projects in the new home. Should be interesting. The house is in Farmington. I know the exit and right where to turn because back around Thanksgiving, my car got a flat tire and that is the exit where I pulled off and got help to change my tire!

Week 4: Day 4

Today I was needed at the showroom, so I was there first thing. It was almost weird to be back there as I have spent most of my week up in Ogden.

My main task for the day was to replace the old garland above the main door with new floral pieces. I got to start from scratch. It was an interesting experience as I have never put anything like that together before. By the end though my hands looked like I got in a fight with a cat. scratches everywhere. Nevermind, I didn't feel them when it happened and they aren't deep so I will live.

From this:

To this:

Right before I started with the garland we got a call from our designer in charge of the Colonial Court project... one of the desks was missing the hardware to put it together. I hadn't seen them bring in the desk, or touched it as it was damaged. Then a miracle happened... we found the hardware.... in our warehouse! My brother had been cleaning things up a bit and I went down to check on him.. then I happened to look down and voila! There was the package of screws. Once our other designer came to the showroom I drove up to Ogden and we put the desk together and put out all the lamps. Some little changes need to be made... and we are still waiting for the shipment of art. Monday the window treatments are going in. The rest we will have to just wait and see.

Week 4: Day 3 - install continues

And so it continues. No pictures today... I left my bag in the car locked away. We were back at Colonial Court at 8am. We spent most of our time putting together the desks for the office. Then we got most of the furniture and accessories place in the lobby and by the elevators.

The room I took a picture of yesterday still looks about the same. Stuff everywhere!

Then after a quick stop by home to change clothes and grab a quick lunch I met my boss at the showroom to go help her in Bountiful. We got to add flowers to a greenery arrangement over a front door. I wish that I had my camera handy... the house had a dolphin fountain similar to this one:

pretty sure the one at the house was bigger... and had a pond around it 

Afterwards I went back to the showroom. Just went around and made sure everything was in place. It looks so different now that all the Colonial Court order is out of there. Tomorrow I will be there in the morning - if they need more help at Colonial Court then maybe I can head down there after the designer gets in.

Should be exciting!

Week 4: day 2 - Installation part 1

So today my brother and I were at Rice&Strand by 8:30. We loaded up my car with accessories and the Unique Deliveries came and loaded up the vans, then we met them in Ogden and then the fun began...

Colonial Court

 We had to park on the street (including the delivery vans... so we got to carry everything all the way up to the entrance...

Me by the sign... I felt a little silly taking the picture

The sofas and the desk boxes were too big to get through the doors so I got to go to town with the Stanley Knife (which I bought during Tiny House Model making) and open everything. It was crazy getting everything in there and then making sure the coasters were still on the bottom of the chairs etc. We had to take the stretchers off the game tables so they could fit through the doors so we got to take those off and put them back on.  The trees were delivered too, it was fun to see everything that there was all together.

Lounge/Game room ... it was empty when we got there

I should have taken pictures of the crazy cardboard and packing material mess that was by the front door... which we then had to drag to the road and load up in the delivery van... not so glamorous.

Today was super tiring... a very 'behind the scenes' of Interior Design for sure. -We did what needed to be done... and we will be back there first thing tomorrow morning to make sure everything is put together and then get everything in the right places. Of course the art will ship tomorrow so that will have to wait but most things are there and ready to be arranged. Super excited to see everything come together but I know it is going to be a crazy couple of hours to make it happen.

On a side note...Colonial Court is just west of the Ogden Temple. They have fences with greenery woven in to block the view of the construction there. It looks like they are demolishing the parking structure right now.

Week 4: Day 1

No work today as it is Memorial Day. Click Here for some history of the day. One of my favorite poems is referenced on the site. It was written in reference to WW1:

We celebrated Memorial Day by having a bunch of our extended family over for lunch, and spending some quality time together. :)

Tomorrow is the long awaited installation of Colonial Court! Should be a crazy day. I need to be to work a half hour early, but then I should head back to Ogden.

Week 3: Day 5 - Half way through!

So I realized that today marked the half way point of my Internship at Rice&Strand! So crazy, I kept thinking that it was only the second week. Perhaps because this week was just one crazy day after another - with LOTS of furniture put together in the process.

Today was long. We spent most of the day putting together the game tables which match the stools, and a couple of book shelves. We ended up staying until 6 to make sure that it was all put together and the warehouse organized.

Today I found some blue and white wall paper and ordered some memo samples for my Boss's client. I also got to meet the area Rep for Gift Craft. She is super nice. My Boss ordered some accessories for the Parade of Homes house they are pretty sweet, I am excited to see it all come together.

Today was another day of firsts. Today was the first day since I started my internship where I sold someone something that wasn't in connection with any order or job for the other designers! A lady came in as we were finishing building something. It was just the two of us in the showroom so I went to help her. She was looking to redecorate and picked out two large glass vases and a floral arrangement. So I sold them to her! Woot! She is also interested in ordering some of the stools that we put together for Colonial Court but wanted to go home and think about that. I hope she comes back soon! The best part is that anything I sell I get commission on! The vases were on sale so I will only be getting 10% of the sale. But hey I am super excited!

So crazy story today... remember my darling baby birds.. well today they flew the nest. I was a little sad not to have them above our door anymore. Then towards the end of the day right after the lady left, I heard a bird chirping. It sounded like it was coming from inside the showroom but I hadn't seen any birds so I didn't think much of it. The a little bit later when my Boss came back, she heard it too and said that this wouldn't be the first time they had birds fly into the showroom. (Today we had the doors open all day) Well I kept hearing it and thought if there is a bird in there I have to find it and take it out right away, because it is a holiday weekend and it might not survive if I left it. So I went and got the ladder and was looking all over - even under the couches... then I was standing on the ladder and heard a small noise that sounded like dripping or something and looked down at the coffee table in the middle of the accessories. Here is what I saw...

Spot the baby bird...

My poor baby bird had somehow gotten in between the glass balls. So I grabbed the whole bowl and took it outside, moved a couple of the balls and the bird was able to fly away. I think it was a good thing that we would go look at the nest and talk to the birds every day so it wasn't freaked out by the sight/sound of us. We all had a good laugh about it. As I disinfected the bowl and balls.

So now I am free for the weekend. I am spending most of it down in Provo and then a family day on Monday. Then Tuesday I may be going into work early so I can help with the delivery by loading up my car with accessories, then I will meet our designer in Ogden and help with the install of Colonial Court! So exciting!

Week 3: Day 4

One brave baby bird on the edge of the nest

I have to start this post about by talking about my baby birds. They are darling. Mom and Dad bird were singing to them from a near by tree trying to coax them out of the nest. I don't think the babies are ready to leave the nest yet. I just hope that when they do that they all make it! I would be super sad if any of them got hurt!

Today we totally rocked the whole building furniture thing. I think my fingers may fall off at the end of the week... but we made great progress today and really only have a few more things to put together. That will be great then we won't have to work over the weekend or come in on Monday. I am looking forward to the holiday weekend!

I made a good number of phone calls today - mainly to reps. Also I was able to get a hold of a client to set an install date for the blinds I ordered and was able to call the installer in St. George to arrange the install. Hopefully that is able to go through.

We also got a couple of boxes from IMAX so more of the accessories are here for Colonial Court.
Some more RM CoCo fabric came today too. That is destined to become pillows. It is always fun when deliveries come. It is so fun to open the boxes - basically it is like Christmas every day!

Oh! We had a guy from Artistic (a custom framing store in Midvale) come and bring us some catalogs. I was just down there last Friday picking up some frame samples. I love the catalogs he brought - they showcased some local artists and their works that we could order prints of... but my favorite part was that we could have the picture printed on canvas, brushed aluminum, acrylic, art paper or ... bamboo! The different applications looked amazing!

In other news I finished the India part of 'Eat, Pray, Love'. Tomorrow I get to start reading about her adventure in Indonesia (I hope she throws some Indonesian words in there). I love summer because I let myself read books (other than textbooks). I usually don't let myself read during the school year because I find it hard to justify spending time reading when there are so many other things to accomplish... and that once I find a  good book - it can consume me for long periods of time. Other books on my list to read this summer are - The Chronicles of Narnia ( I read 1 and 2 last summer), the rest of the Books of Bayern (River Secrets is the next one), The Hunger Games, Three Cups of Tea, and I may need to read The Sunflower again... I love that book! Mm I LOVE reading!

Tomorrow I hope to accomplish - finding a blue and white wall covering for my Boss's client's bathroom, finishing putting together the rest of the furniture and clean everything up... and figure out my plans for the weekend!

Week 3: Day 3

Today's weather was in a word.... gorgeous. I am loving the sun shine! I started the day off by placing an order for some tables. Then got straight to work putting more side tables together.... I think between us we put together 7 tables today. Needless to say I am super tired!

The tables we put together today - notice the dolly and more boxes that I hauled up the driveway

You know the old adage that says do something every day that scares you, or learn something new every day or try something new every day... well today for the first time in my life I . . . jumped in a dumpster. Okay let me explain... it wasn't a real dumpster as it is a 'cardboard only' bin. Naturally when we put together the furniture we have to put the packaging somewhere. Unfortunately the real dumpster is full, and I really needed to get at least the boxes taken care of. Our 'cardboard only' was getting full so there was no way around it - I had to jump in and crush it down so I could get more boxes in. I did that twice today. Oh yeah, I am living on the edge : p All the styrofoam is getting piled up on the sides of the warehouse. So that makes it a fun game to try and move around in there too!

Another exciting event today was that our Kalalou order came! They have some very interesting products. My favorites are the objects made out of recycled glass. Here's a picture of most what came today:

I love the bright colors of Kalalou products! (notice the boxes in the back ground - yes  they were all flattened by yours truly and taken to the 'Cardboard Only' dumpster)

The floral candle holders are made of concrete, the penguins are carved wood and the interesting tall objects can be vases or flip them over and voila you have a candle holder! Other highlights from today were: hearing back from out new rep for Lorts. She is going to get the prices I needed for me. :) Also I used the credit card machine twice today! I was on my own the last little bit and I closed everything up today. Here was my view from the front desk... as much as I love summer - road works can be soo annoying!

Construction across the street

So all in all a very satisfying day - sun, very productive, good times. I also discovered that there are in fact 4 baby birds above the front door. I have started referring to them as 'my babies'. They really are cute now. Although my Boss has given them a deadline - she wants to redo the foliage above the door this weekend - although my guess is that if they are still in the nest she will let them stay.

As I was pushing another load of boxes up the driveway (I will have to take a picture of it so you can see how steep it is!) I was thinking about the objectives of the internship and what I was learning. Then it just kind of hit me that I was grateful for the experience and really I was there to 'do what needed to be done'. So  that is my new motto: Do what needs to be done.

Week 3: Day 2

I have to say that this weather is a bit ridiculous! Let's see, it is almost June and we are still getting crazy rain. Now I don't mind a bit of warm rain now and again but really when the visibility is bad, and there are two accidents on the way to work (thankfully I was not involved in any) I really think this needs to stop!

So once I made it to work I got to check on everything and clean up the showroom. After putting everything together lately, there were styrofoam bits all over - so vacuuming was in order. I cleaned up a little bit, put away the material books in the Materials Library, went around and turned on all the lamps, checked the ceiling for leaks, and manned the front desk until my boss came back from delivering the wall paper. Then... (thankfully the rain had stopped)... I drove down to VUZ in Draper for the Sherwin-Williams Faux Finish Open House. The ceiling in the main dining area was painted blue with white clouds. There was at least five different faux finishes in the Restaurant. Amazing really. Other finishing touches included vintage bread pans (apparently they were used to bake bread for the soldiers in WW2) and an Austrian Wine press from the 1800's. One of my favorite rooms was the reception/entry. The ceiling was amazing and the glass wall behind the reception desk was bright and beautiful. We were allowed to roam the restaurant, then there was a presentation on the Sherwin-Williams line on faux finishes. It was presented by Ed (edsherwin.blogspot.com)

Afterwards, I made it back to R&S, had a quick lunch (at VUZ they had fruit and a few finger foods - I didn't eat much as I don't care for mussels, and really wasn't feeling shrimp cocktail either) and then was back to answering the phone, cleaning things up, and picking the 'perfect' fabric to match a sample a client brought in. The color was in between a burgundy and a maroon, but I managed to find one that goes well with it. Hopefully she likes it too!

I was able to make some phone calls. I am trying to track down some pricing for a furniture line that we haven't ordered from in years. Our old rep is no longer with the company... so the search continues.

And of course, I put together a couple of cocktail tables. Tomorrow I will need to get on putting things together.... t-minus 1 week until installation!

ps. I saw our resident baby birds today. There are still three of them, and they are much cuter now. Pretty sure they are actually European Robins... not house Sparrows. Dad sat right outside and sang to us for a while. :)

Week 3: Day 1

Busy day!

Between us we put together 6 stools and a cocktail table. By the end of the week I am going to be a pro at putting together furniture... everything from the delivery last week has to be put together and ready for next Tuesday. It is going to be a challenge that's for sure!

I placed an order for blinds for our client's house in St. George, they faxed us back a confirmation page so it looks like we should be able to get the blonds and have them installed in about 3 weeks.

Today we had the correct fabric for a client's headboard delivered. Then we took both bolts of fabric to the upholsterer's to get started on those. The second headboard is going to be used in the home we are decorating for the Parade of Homes.Today we started planning out what we are doing for the Parade of Homes. Picking out furniture, bed spread and pillows, fabric, wall paper, and art. I am excited to see that all come together!

We had a few people come to the showroom just to look around. A couple of times I was sitting on the floor all tangled up in putting together a stool - not the most flattering position to be in, but what to do? I had a designer call ahead about a certain RM CoCo book that we had, so I got to search the material library until I found it. She came in and borrowed it. Tomorrow I should be placing an order for her. I actually really like placing the orders. It's fun to talk to people across the country. Oh that reminded me, we had three pieces of furniture delivered by Ideal Transport. Their driver is from North Carolina - so he had a really fun accent!

Tomorrow I am going to the showroom like normal but at 11am I am going to an open house in Draper for Faux finishes sponsored by Sherwin-Williams again so I am super excited about that!

Week 2: Day 5

So remember the whole delivery and boxes of furniture shenanigan? (I love that word!) Well my Boss's boxes needed to be opened and the furniture in them put together, all ready to be delivered Saturday. So my morning started off with putting together the rest of the chairs. After I opened the first box of stools we found out that they were not the right stools... wrong project. So myself and the designer's daughter got to go down to the warehouse and find the right stools and then put them together. So that was most of my day. I did answer the phone a few times and called Artistic so I could go and pick up some white frame samples later that day. Friday was hard work... my hands were so sore after putting together all the chairs and stools!

Me and a couple of the boxes I pushed up the driveway with the dolly!

We also got a lot of packages that day! Fabric, art and a mirror.

It was my boss's daughter's birthday so we closed a little early which was perfect as I was heading to Midvale to pick up the frame samples. I was able to find the store only because I had been in Midvale earlier this week for the Sherwin-Williams demonstration. I typed the address wrong on google maps.. so once I realized what I did, I was able to find my way there without the map.

Next week we will be getting ready for Colonial Creek and probably rearranging the showroom again. After next week I will be half way through my internship already! It's going by fast!

Week 2: Day 3 and Day 4

Day 3: Wednesday -

I started off the day by heading to the Sherwin-Williams in Midvale for the demonstration. It was pretty awesome. They had examples of the different colors and finishes that could be used on concrete. I was particularly impressed when they started griding down the concrete floor in the store room then sprayed the acetone +color ... and then the different protective coats - wax, sealant etc. What was really fun was the Rep that came to R&S on Monday was the same Rep that came to my Business Practices class the last week of school. Nice little connection there - and next time he comes to R&S he is going to bring an extra copy of the catalogs etc for me :) Sweet! I enjoyed the demonstration. It is really amazing what can be done with concrete. I'll be honest, I'm not a huge fan of concrete but I think I am coming around. As for the decorative treatments... I still am trying to wrap my head around them in terms of LEED. I'm not convinced that they could help earn any Indoor Environmental Quality points... but I will have to look into it some more.

Once I got back to our showroom I was able to make a bunch of phone calls and place an order for the wall covering that I picked out last week and got the memo samples of. I talked to a gal in Memphis, TN. I love placing orders because everyone I have talked to so far had darling accents!

One of our designers came in today. She was there when Unique came to pick up some furniture to deliver, and move 3 of the 9 sofas in storage up to the showroom. Basically, we rearranged the whole showroom. It was pretty intense. I love the new sofas! They will only be here for a couple of weeks because they are part of the Colonial Court project. We needed the sofas out of the storage so we would have enough room for the large Riverside delivery that is coming on Friday morning.

To end off the day I got to answer the phone calls that kept coming, and try my hand at some flower arranging.


Day 4 - Thursday

Today started off like any other day. I spent a while looking for possible large art pieces for my Boss's client. I finally found a couple of gorgeous landscapes from Wendover Art. I answered a few phone calls and I had to move a sofa and place a bucket down to catch the drip. ... the showroom roof was damaged a while back in a bad wind storm... all this crazy rain we have been getting is not helping.

Then we got a phone call from the delivery company. The Riverside shipment which was supposed to be coming Friday morning... would be arriving in 30 minutes.. oh and by the way there's only one guy in the truck so please arrange for someone to help him unload. (This is the second time in two weeks when the delivery guy has asked for help.... forgive me but isn't that kind of expected of the delivery company to make sure the pieces are delivered and unloaded - everything taken care of?) Well, that would be all and good except that the semi was bringing two orders in the same truck - several of the boxes needed to be brought up to the showroom so we could put together the furniture to be delivered on Saturday.... but of course that was too much to ask. So after we provided help to unload all the boxes, we got to go on a scavenger hunt to find the boxes to take up the steep driveway to the showroom. So let's just say I got my exercise for the day... and that a dolly is one of the best tools ever invented! (Thankfully the rain stopped during this part!) We managed to get all the boxes needed, and put together a table and 2 chairs..... tomorrow we will have to put everything else together - the rest of the chairs and the barstools.

Truth be told, I love getting my hands dirty and doing work like that. Last summer I would spend lots of time organizing our office, or down in the storage rooms and get covered head to toe in dust - but it was all in good fun. So today I got thoroughly dirty, and got to build things. I think that is what I would call a good day!

Week 2: Day 2

Awesome picture I found on pinterest.com today

This morning was off to a good start. After I made it to work that is - the rain was super heavy while I was driving and visibility was very poor. I was glad to make it to NSL and not have to go out in the rain.

 I finally heard back from our Tuftex Rep. and got the rest of the cross over numbers so I was able to finish labeling out display correctly.
We got a couple pieces of Butler furniture - side tables to go in Colonial Court. We also got our RM CoCo fabric... but we ordered the wrong color so we are going to make a headboard for the showroom. I got to spend a bunch of time picking out a bedding set to go with it. We narrowed it down to two, and my Boss should pick one tomorrow.

We heard back from out new installer in St. George, they went and measured all the windows in our client's home so now we can place the order for the blinds.

We are making room for the Riverside order that is coming Friday morning. It should be interesting to see where we can fit everything... as the install isn't scheduled until the end of May. Once this project is finished, we will have a whole new showroom!

Another task for today was to call Home Depot and find out if they had some certain curtain rods in stock. Oh man that was an ordeal. I called the department I thought was the right one... and turns out I was wrong. My call didn't get transferred (or maybe no one was there to pick up) so I called again, and was transferred to about 4 people until I got to the right one. Apparently for shower curtain rods - press 7 for Plumbing. Go figure. After I finally talked to someone I asked if they had them and then forgot to ask the price. ... I tried calling again but no one picked up.. so finally I gave up and turned to the internet. I am impressed with their website. You can click on an item and it will tell you how much it is and if it is stock at the store of your choice. Brilliant.

Today was a good day. I was very happy when the rain finally stopped. I was so cold I had to turn the space heater on when I was manning the front desk!

Tomorrow I will be in Midvale for most of the day at the Sherwin-Williams demonstration - so I am excited for that!

Week 2: Day 1

This morning we got off to a running start. My Boss had a client coming in to choose art and lamps for a family home up in Huntsville. We looked through IMAX Corp. and Lite Source mainly for ideas. We also discovered how awesome Kalalou is. They didn't have any art in the catalog but they have some really awesome accessories! They even have lots of repurposed things and even some salvaged teak turned into tables and things. I was impressed.

I got to call up the delivery company and check on a delivery we have coming - it'll be here by Thurs. or Friday. That is going to be pretty intense as it is a large delivery.. and all of it is going to Colonial Court eventually... I hope there is enough room in the storage or I don't know what we are going to do!

We had a Sherwin-Williams Rep drop by today and let us know about two demonstration/seminars coming up. And the good news is ... I get to go! This Wednesday I'm heading down to Midvale to see a demo on Decorative Concrete.. and then next week I'll be heading down to a new restaurant in Draper to see different Faux Finishes. Should be interesting!

I met Milt Neeley from Metal Creations Inc today. He came by and left his card. He does decorative steel - as art or back splashes or just decorative elements. I will have to check out his website later.

We got the Cox updated price lists and the demo samples that I ordered from Seabrook Wallcoverings. I also followed up with our new installer in St.George and they are going to the house to measure all the windows tomorrow. Hopefully they remember to fax us the measurements asap so we can order all the blinds.... apparently the kind our client wants has a 3 week lead time.

So all in all it was a good day. This internship is pretty different from last summer when I was at the VA in SLC.. but I think it will be a good experience.

Week 1 wrap up

I was doing so well at keeping up with this.. and then one night blogger was down. Then I spent all of Friday night studying for the LEED GA exam. Anyway here's a brief summary of the end of last week:

Thursday morning was really great. We got a call which my Boss answered and then passed on to me. It was a lady interested in going back to school for interior design and was asking about programs in Utah. So I got to tell her all about USU's program. It was really fun. I think we talked for at least half an hour. I got to tell her all about the classes, some of the requirements, and how well our students do in national competitions.

That afternoon one of the high school interns and I got to open up some boxes that were delivered from Gift Craft. They are some accessories for the Colonial Creek job. I am super excited about that install at the end of the month.

Other tasks for the day were to find a blinds installer in St. George and the lady interested in the Cox stools came in, so I got to help one of our designers find everything we had to help her. Some time my boss wants me to change the foliage above the door. Right now there are still autumn leaves in the branches.. I would take those out and put the new pieces in .... however I can't just yet.... a house sparrow decided to build it's nest in it. I was telling the designer about it and she wanted to see if there were babies in the nest as I had mentioned that we saw an egg shell on the ground the other day. So we grabbed a stool and tried to take a peek. We couldn't get a good view because it was pretty close to the ceiling. I was undeterred, and just happened to have a hand mirror in my purse, so we climbed back up there and sure enough there are three fuzzy baby birds in the nest. :) Other highlight of the day - it was super hot in the showroom so the Designer brought us back slurpees. Yum! (Mine was pina colada)

Friday was a little crazy.
The phone was ringing off the hook in the morning. Plus my boss had a client come in to choose fabric for her new window treatment. Then at the same time we had a lady come in and look around. She was interested in some stools we had on the floor. Of course they were already sold and I didn't know anything about that certain line. So I got to learn about SitCom furniture that day. It was a little bit of a challenge because as it turns out the stool she wanted are now discontinued. That was too bad, but I was able to figure out who our Rep. is and they sent me a file with pictures of all the furniture SitCom carries. My favorite part was that as I was getting familiar with the company, I realized that I had used several pieces in a hand rendering last year in graphics. Small world.
Another task for the day were to relabel all of the area rugs in the showroom. They are all on sale because they have been on the floor for a few months and we'd like to sell them so we can get new ones :)

I was able to leave an hour early. That was nice, it had been a long week. I spent most of the night preparing for the LEED GA exam.


Saturday I woke up and studying for a while and then grabbed a Jamba Juice (Peanut Butter Moo'd) on my way to Salt Lake. Of course there was an event at the Hall on President's Circle so I parked down by the Pi and walked up. It was really weird trying to get to the testing lab. Only the front door of the building was unlocked... I may or may not have tried several other doors around the building before I came to that conclusion.... then I had to go up to the 4th floor to find the computer lab. The test was pretty hard but I passed! I was super excited and celebrated by going to the London Market (east of Trolley Square). Such a great weekend!

Week 1: Day 3

Today was a pretty crazy day. There were a few short periods of down time but we had lots of people in the store.

The first ones I met were our 2 other High school interns. I kept them busy by having them touch up some furniture, arrange a messy section of the Materials library, take out the trash and then I had them both go to the Remnants room to continue going through the left over fabric and take out the small pieces.

Today I learned how to place a fabric order. I ordered some 'faux leather' as my boss calls it - (aka PVC/vinyl. It's amazing what you can do with vinyl now. Last summer at the VA I chose some Paul Brayton vinyl (it's made of 100% nylon and some of the lines are soft like leather) for the new Main Lobby seating and loved it.) Today I ordered 2 yards of RM CoCo vinyl which is going to cover a headboard.

I spent quite a bit of time on the phone today talking with different reps. I needed to get some SeaBrook Wall paper samples sent to us, then the whole fiasco with the new lamps. We had ordered some lamps and they are beautiful ... but missing a piece. So we got two more lamps... one of the other interns and I went to put it together.... same problem! It's a 3-4" piece that should screw into the upper portion of the lamp.. without it the main structure of the lamp doesn't connect together. Very nice rep though so hopefully we can get things sorted out!

Within the next week or two we are going to have a couple of large furniture deliveries coming in for Colonial Court, and an order of art for a client - so I got to call the companies and see where our shipments were at. The furniture was in Dallas, and the art will be shipped out tomorrow. Good thing I got used to talking on the phone and calling people I didn't know while I was on my mission - I am putting those skills to good work here.

Hopefully next week, or the week after I will go to an install with one of the designers. It should include putting together some tables. I helped our designer pick out some accessories from IMAX. It will be fun to see everything come together. She showed me the pictures from the City Creek Condos that they finished up today. She was there with the photographer. Pretty classy. I approve. :)

We had two reps from Jaunty come and talk to us. They sell wool rugs. They are private label so their logo isn't all over the place.. and a couple of years ago they decided NOT to be on the internet. So that can be a disadvantage for the consumer.. but for the retailer it is great news as your customer can't go out and buy the rug you are selling in the store anywhere else. They are some pretty high quality rugs. All their rugs are 100% 'live wool' meaning that they get all their wool from live sheep that are sheered and then 'put back out to play' as opposed to deal wool which is taken from sheep that have been killed for other purposes (like meat for example) then their wool is taken for rugs. Apparently some companies use all dead wool, or a combination of the two. So there you go.

Tomorrow I will get to meet another one of the designers so that should be fun :)

Week 1: Day 2

Today was pretty different from yesterday. There were periods of craziness when the phone was ringing off the hook, and then a couple stretches of down time.

I started off the day by following my Boss down to the Materials Library and Remnants Room and made a mental list of all the things that needed to be done before this weekend. The list was more for the high school intern who came in today. She is a darlin'. I would have talked to her more but our boss left for an install and I needed to be at the front desk. I didn't decide that I was interested in Interior Design until the end of my junior year/beginning of my senior year in high school.. and even then I didn't have a clue as to what Interior Design really was. So another one of my responsibilities will be supervising the high school interns (we have two, and they come in on alternating days)

Some of today's activities included making a bed in the showroom, researching Cox swivel barstools and getting in touch with the Sales rep - who just happens to be coming in tomorrow morning. (Crazy coincidence because we haven't ordered any furniture from that line for over a year).. all this came about because I answered the phone yesterday after we were technically closed last night. A potential client will be coming in tomorrow to look at fabrics and pick which stools she wants. Awesome!

We had 9 sofas delivered today. They were delivered in boxes and went straight into the storage so I will look forward to seeing them. I think they are for a condo project but I don't remember.

I also spent another chunk of time looking for a replacement wall paper. The client came in today to look at the one I found yesterday and thinks that it is too yellow for the space. So I became acquainted Seabrook Wallpaper. They have several patterns that are pretty close to the original discontinued pattern, so hopefully the client will like them.

I spent some more time getting acquainted with HunterDouglas blinds and even managed to place an order for some Salt City Candle Co. candles that we will be stocking soon. :)

Tomorrow should be busy - we have the sales rep coming, at least one potential client; I should meet one of the designers and the other high school intern.

Internship:Week 1 Day 1

Yes I realize that it has been months since I last posted on this blog. School was keeping me pretty busy. But I am going to try and keep up with it this summer- especially over the next 6 weeks while I complete my internship at Rice & Strand Interiors in North Salt Lake.

Rice&Strand Day 1, Week 1:

When I drove down to N. Salt Lake for my internship I made it in about 30 minutes - but that was in the afternoon. I wasn't sure how much traffic left over from the morning rush there would be so I was out of the house by 8:10am. Traffic was better than I thought it would be so I made it there with time to spare. (I start at 9am)

Right after I got there I learned the history of Rice&Strand Interiors - they have been in business for 32 years! Then my Boss showed me around the showroom and downstairs to the materials library etc.

My first task was to find a wall covering that matched a discontinued pattern color. I was able to find one that was the same pattern but a slightly different color, but it wasn't in our book. Yay for the internet!

Other tasks for the day were: organizing and cleaning up the materials library, update sample books - I learned a lot about Hunter Douglas window coverings  like how you can get tax credits for buying some of their blinds because of the high R-value compared to other window treatments.

I also managed the front desk, answered phone calls, and picked out the scents of the candles we will be ordering for summer.

Busy day. We had a new black cabinet delivered and I met a couple of the contractors and installers what we use. I also met one of the designers I will be able to work with. Looks like I will be putting some tables together for some Condos in Ogden too.

I think the next 6 weeks will go by very fast!

For my lunch break I decided to venture to Atlantis Burger, which is very near to Rice&Strand. It reminded me of Crown Burger on 300 W and North Temple. I had a chicken gyro for lunch. Yum! While on my break, I took the time to study my flash cards for the LEED GA exam... I keep reminding myself that I am taking it this Saturday! I had to remind myself all weekend that I was starting my internship today - the semester went by really fast again. (And with the cold rain, it doesn't feel like May!)

So life is good, I think my internship will give me some great experiences - different from last summer at the VA Hospital in SLC... but different is good as I figure out where I want to take my career as a designer - especially because in 6 months I will be done with school!

A few reasons why I love Salt Lake City...

Last summer I was very fortunate to get an internship at the Veteran's Hospital in Salt Lake City. It was a wonderful learning experience for me, in terms of design, business, healthcare, government and of course the wonderful design that is all over the place in Salt Lake.

One obvious gems isTemple Square:

Salt Lake Temple in center, Conference Center to the right

Assembly Hall (South West of the Temple)

Interior of Assembly Hall

Spiral Stair Case

Main

JS Memorial Building (formerly known as Hotel Utah)

Main lobby - absolutely gorgeous!

One of my favorite places in Salt Lake is Trolley Square. I love the history of it, and just the feeling - the vintage floors, the awesome restaurants (Rodizo Grill if you are in the mood for a Brasilian Feast or The Spaghetti Factory for comfort food.) Another reason I visit Trolley Square is because across the street to the East is a little Gem known as The London Market. 

You can recognize the London Market by the lovely Mini Copper all decked out in a Union Jack paint job. Next door is a little cafe that I need to check out. Hence the 'Brits Bake It Better' sign - I could really go for a Cornish Pasty right about now. I have been craving a Lilt or some Ribena lately too. Man, I need to get back down to SLC!

Another one of my favorites is the Salt Lake City Public Library! I was thrilled when they were building it. It was designed by the amazing architect Moshe Safdie. 

North East Elevation

Interior

I don't have many pictures, but if you are in the area you most definitely need to make a stop and go inside. The signage is interesting and the stacked fireplaces were a definite highlight for me!

Another must see is the Utah State Capitol building. It was designed by Utah Architect Richard Kletting in 1912, and construction was finished in 1916. For most of my summer Utah trips as far as I can remember the Capitol building was being renovated but now it is finished!

Capitol Building on the Hill 

The Dome looking up

There are soo many things to see, design gems to be found, and delicious food to eat in Salt Lake! Next time I am down there I will have to find more things to share! Places of note: Sapa - had a fabulous lunch there! Crown Burger off 300 West. The Rail Event Center - that is where the IIDA Fashion ReMix was last year. And of course the City Creek Project - that is going to be amazing when it is finished!

Salt Lake is a great place come and visit! Oh that reminds me...one more of my favorite places to eat (I love food, can you tell?) The Pie Pizzeria:

It's all in the details...

Today my friend and I had some time in between classes so we went and took some more pictures for our portfolios. We had some taken last week but I was super nervous for some reason and didn't love the pictures so we went over to the Ray B West Building and had some fun.

Usually I am not a huge fan of concrete, let me just get that out there. However one thing I do like about concrete is the texture of it. I love looking for the wood grain imprints and other little inconsistencies or imperfections. Here's a couple pictures I took today:

 

Another thing I enjoy is a good contrast - in color, texture, pattern etc. In the same stairwell we took our portfolio pictures you can see where the  new brick meets the old:

Since it's now inside, the new brick most likely won't ever get weathered to the extent of the old brick on the left.

To end off this quick post of favorites: stairs...

This is a photo of the new staircase from the ground floor looking up. I love it!

Design is in the details, I love finding little treasures everywhere.

Countdown to V-Day day 2

So I realized that I posted two wood block posts in a row so I thought that I needed to mix things up a bit. One of my favorite sites for quick inspiration is www.dwellinggawker.com. FoodGawker, CraftGawker and WeddingGawker are worth a look too!

So in honor the the approaching V-Day, I found some inspirational things that are bright, red or just awesome:

Moody Couch

Pink

The Rainbow House, London

House of Cards Table by Mauricio Arruda

Domino Clock... the time is 12:59