Get to work girl!

The design center business office


One month ago there was a sudden "agreement" that the lead decorator in our building company's design center would no longer be "needed". Her assistant was kept for 2 wks. The new (2 wks!)office manager had a death in the family(7 yr. old) and decided, without notice, that she was no longer going to work. SOS!!! Hence, my partner's wife and I have each been working 40 plus hrs. every week since. What a CHANGE! We've also been helping keep our g'kids some, as it was school time again and the parents had a need of our time for a few days. The design center was in terrible shape as far as organization(or lack thereof), with stuff piled everywhere and not properly marked or coded,etc.,etc.,etc. I will post some pictures below to show you how many hundreds of things we are having to go through, piece by piece. We are getting our noses just above water level now. We have a drill sergeant of a new office manager working and after just 4 days she has us marching! Our new assistant designer is a jewel(we knew her before and actually built her a house several yrs. ago. The new designer is back from a 2 wk. vacation and is hitting the road running tomorrow. She also used to work for us, but left to do her own thing 2yrs. ago thinking that she didn't want to work full time. Hmm, 2 yrs ago was when we opened the design center. Wonder if the chaos had anything to do with the designer that we just agreed to let leave? Majken and I think we're seeing a little relief from this full-time free labor business! But you know, the busier I am, the more I keep things running well at home because I know there is no time to put off a chore...except ironing.



The fabric samples were piled all the way to the 10 ft. ceiling in the ladies bathroom for 2 wks. while we were organizing the designer's workroom. When we arrived they were piled in the workroom, because of brick and tile sample boards on the floor, 3 ft. deep, in front of the fabric shelves

The designer's workroom. I spent 8 hrs. one day just in this room, moving everything out(the fabrics to the bathroom, remember). The right side of the workroom is like the left. Behind those long doors are tile samples. The wallpaper books wouldn't fit back in, so they have a new vignette, as do the fabric samples.

The entrance vignette

The middle vignette. See all of those little items on the shelves? Yeah, they have/had to be looked up in the book(after you figure which book) and then coded, priced and entered into the computer.

On the back wall you see the fabric samples that we've gotten out of the bathroom thus far. We have to buy another book case for the remaining samples.

LOTS of little things in here to price.

Front living room vignette

Looking into the kitchen display vignette. Oh my, the things we found in here. You know how you stuff things behind the kitchen doors and drawers? They did it to. We use the vignettes for building customers to see cabinet samples, hardware,fireplace mantels, trim, etc. for the new home they're building/remodeling/accessorizing

Closet system display. Yep, they knew how to put stuff in here to. These are the bedding sets we've got for sale.