Hanging the 54" custom pendant
~Part One~
I had noticed the dust and rubble surrounding Cornell’s Jewelers for several months so it came as quite a surprise when the Cornells called me to discuss their project. They informed me that their store fixture designer had provided them with a lighting plan but they weren’t convinced it would remedy their current lighting problems or fulfill their future lighting goals. They also expressed their hesitancy to invest in a 2nd lighting plan, but were aware of the importance of good lighting and that it was a critical component in the success of a jewelry store. We scheduled a time to meet after they returned from their vacation. I used these next few weeks to research all the latest trends in retail lighting so that I would be fully prepared for this meeting; as they say “nothing ventured, nothing gained”.
**Since this post was written, Cornell’s Jewelers one second place in the 2010 Store of the Year Award, by InStore Magazine. You can see photos of the finished store in the Photo Gallery at www.robinmuto.com
As an experienced builder of high-end residential homes, Dominick understands the value of selecting your team members and coordinating all phases of the design before the shovel hits the ground. His approach to a project is: “Begin with the end in mind”. When building a new home, many people begin with an architect and a builder. Often, it isn’t until the drywall is put up that the Interior Designer is brought on board. Usually there is already a crisis forming as the client suddenly realizes that the only place left to install the towel bars are five feet away from the shower (I am not exaggerating).
When I look back on the most successful projects that I’ve worked on, the one thing they all had in common was that they were client driven. That means that the client hired the team at the beginning of the project. The architect, builder, interior designer (that’s me), landscape architect, home electronic and security specialists were all hired before the pencil hit the paper. The second key ingredient to success was that we all worked in the spirit of collaboration and mutual respect. Before the construction began, we had merged the layers into one set of completely detailed drawings.
Dominick shared many quotes with us, this one I especially liked: “Documentation is the formal transference of knowledge” – Rick Thoman
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