Hannah Starnes, IDS 420, Week 4

summary.

This week has been very different in that I am the only person who is in the Interior Design department. So not knowing exactly what I’m doing all week has sort of been a challenge. Monday, I had a few emails from Barbara on some things I needed to straighten out while she is on vacation, and I have a “to-do” list that I was able to start working on as well. Unfortunately, I have completed most of what is on the “to-do” list leaving not much left to do for the rest of the week. I ordered some samples from Kravet’s newer patterns, picked fabrics for some chairs in a college project and ordered those samples, and transcribed some meeting notes from last week. I am trying to keep myself busy but available for anyone who might need an extra hand around the office. Tuesday, I ordered a few more samples, this time of paint, and scanned in a whole set of drawings from 1991. While this task probably should have seemed boring, it was really cool for me. For a couple of reasons; the set was the first, that the office had produced on a computer, using Micro-Station, second, a lot of the detail drawings were drawn by hand. I had to nerd out for a moment and examine each and every single one; they were some of the most beautiful drawings I have ever seen (and they were wall sections). After I scanned those in, I organized them on the server, and ran over some plans to the plans reviewer for Knoxville. We had an interesting lunch and learn from Rulon as well. It was fairly entertaining and surprisingly brought up a lot of points that I understood, and again, will be able to take with me in my future endeavors and such. Thursday was sort of a whirlwind. I came into work with an email from Barbara explaining some urgent work that needed to be done for an upcoming project. I immediately got to work pulling/selecting fabrics that matched the client’s budget and specifications. It took me nearly two hours to find the right fabric and I think I went through our entire fabric wall three times. As soon as I selected it, I verified it with Barbara via email, and then I was off to the client’s current office where I had an impromptu presentation on the fabrics I had selected. They really loved what was selected and I was again reminded why I chose to work in this field. The hustle and bustle of the business is really exciting. (At least at this juncture in my young career.) Friday, I tied up all the ends with work from the previous day. This involved me filling out a COM form, scanning it with the selected fabric, and then being the messenger for making sure the form reached all the right people (between the furniture dealer, client, furniture manufacturer, furniture rep, and Barbara).

focus.

Because the company does so much business around Knoxville, a lot of their business comes in by word of mouth. However, the marketing team within the office is working on a new brochure to advertise some of the firm’s newer projects. MHM is involved in most every market sector out there. Right now, there is a large focus on educational projects in the office, as well as commercial offices.

The website is: mhminc.com

As far as accounting goes, there is a woman here in the office who does all of the accounting.

meet someone new.

This week, I worked with Peter Osickey doing a couple of odd-jobs around the office. I’ve known him since I started, as he sits right next to me, however, I hadn’t worked much for him until this week. The original drawings I scanned in were for him, and that was probably one of the biggest highlights of my time here thus far. Peter, too, attended UT School of Architecture and is now a Project Architect for MHM.