Back On The Wagon

Hello Loves, I have been gone awhile, been busy with the job BUT I need to come back and plan to this week. Just wanted to tell you all hello and I have missed you!


Here is what I have been up to this summer!
 
1. Took a class on this. Hopefully, I remember how to use it
2. Started working out to her program. It's amazing. Need to be more committed!
3. Lessened by addiction to eating here and am now only visiting once a week
4. Celebrated this tradition high atop our balcony
5. Had my 28th B-day here and loved feeding this sweet baby
6. Got this and this for above mentioned b-day
7. Decided I need to definitely save for one of these...to be towed by one of these
8. Went here for work and had an awesome (and fuzzy) night here and here and decided have a new favorite drink
9. Bought this, this, this, this, and this. I need to now remember item #7
10. Finally...am excited to go here this weekend for the holiday!

Fun times, sad summer is coming to an end. Will be back posting soon!

SBCC Design Club Panel: "How I Made It" Featuring Interior Designer Steven Didrick

The fourth design professional I am profiling is Senior Interior Designer Steven Didrick of SFA Design.

Interior Designer Steven Didrick is a designer at Sue Firestone Associates Design, a leading international design firm whose clients include premier five and six star hotel brands, high-end boutique hotel proprietors and luxury estate homeowners. Steven Didrick has over 20 years of restaurant industry experience and a decade of design practice. While earning his Interior Design and Interior Architecture certification at UC Berkeley, he dove straight into his design career at a San Francisco based restaurant and hospitality design firm where he served as lead designer of restaurants for celebrity chefs such as Wolfgang Puck’s Spago Las Vegas and others. He has earned numerous awards for his designs including a 2007 Thea, an International Interior Design Association award and a 2004 James Beard award.

Didrick was a fan favorite as most of our students are in the Interior Design program.  He reminded us that design should reflect the  lifestyle of the client. A designer is reponsible for educating  their clients about sustainability and green alternatives and advocates using local craftsmen and artisans. Didrick believes in getting inspiration from around you. He gets his inspiration from the history of a site or building, outdoor landscapes, and color palettes seen in nature. 

Advice: You may have to work full time, go to school, and do an internship at the same time. Do what it takes to succeed. Be a good listener to your client,be organized and be dedicated.  Sometimes design is only 20%, and communication is the other 80%.

Check out some of SFA's work below:

Four Seasons Hotel Los Angeles at Beverly Hills:

Fairmont Heritage Place, Acapulco Diamante :

Venezia Tower at Venetian Hotel Resort & Casino:

The Fairmont Sonoma Mission Inn & Spa:

 Casa Elar at the Ojai Valley Inn & Spa:

Many more projects to see on their website: SFA Design

SBCC Design Club Panel: "How I Made It" Featuring Landscape Architect Chris Gilliland

The third design professional I am profiling is Landscape Architect Chris Gilliland of CommonGround.

CommonGround employs a common sense approach to Design and Construction.  They strongly encourage the use of sustainable practices, and they work in tandem with the architectural style and specific characteristics of each site to create a balanced, unified space.  By keeping up-to-date with local sustainable resources and practices, the result is excellent design and efficient construction in the spirit of Green Building.

Elements of Green Building found in their landscapes include water-wise planting, edible and medicinal plantings, efficient use of irrigation systems, custom drywell systems, rainwater collection and redistribution, solar access planning, use of compost tea and other organic fertilizers, etc.  By recognizing budget opportunities and constraints for implementation, and following the mantra 'right plant, right place', considerable cost savings can be achieved in the landscape.

Gilliland jumped in to present at our Panel at the last minute as we are so thankful. His insight was great. We learned, Gilliland is design-build oriented. He likes to see a project through from beginning to end and be involved directly within each phase.  Gilliland noted the diversity of his field and his belief in the importance of the man-nature connection, emphasizinf that we need to bring the outdoors is. His favorite Architects,Landscape Architects and Designers include Thomas Church, Thomas Jefferson,Frederick Law Olmsted and Frank Lloyd Wright. Be prepared to work hard and remember you’ll need business, economics, and communcation skills. Evenutally, you might want to get a bookkeeper. 

Check out his work below:

SBCC Design Club Panel: "How I Made It" featuring Architect Mark Wienke

The second design professional I am profiling is Architect Mark Wienke.  Wienke is a licensed architect who has worked for Skidmore, Owings and Merrill architectural firm in Chicago and Washington D.C. In 1986 he started his own Design/Build firm with his brother and father in Illinois, where they designed and built custom homes and renovations. In 1988 he relocated to Santa Barbara where he worked for two architectural firms, including Barry Berkus who spoke to the SBCC Design Club last month. In 1998 he started his own architectural practice. His work has appeared on HGTV, and has been published in Home Building Magazine. Mr. Wienke has been a Professor in the UCSB Extension program for Environmental Design, is a past president of the American Institute of Architects, Santa Barbara Chapter, and is a director of the Architectural Foundation in Santa Barbara.

Mark had 7 main points for us students to remember as we pursue design careers that were both comical and important:

1. Keep a portfolio of your work from the beginning and update/edit it as you go.
2. Call and meet architects and designers thereby creating a friend for advice.
3. Consider working part-time for free initially. Work hard but don't talk about how hard you work.
4. Do 3-D computer projects for the experience and for your portfolio. Start small, with a birdhouse for example.
5. Do hand sketching, it’s an important skill.
6. Remember what the BIG IDEA is behind any project, convey it and come back to it through the process.
7. Use English correctly, simplify communication and don’t ramble.

Check out his work below:

SBCC Design Club Panel: "How I Made It"

Last night the SBCC Design Club was honored to have four distinguished design professionals lecture and answer questions for students of SBCC . We heard from Architect Ellen Bildsten of Bildsten & Sherwin, Architect Mark Wienke, Landscape Architect Chris Gilliland of CommonGround , and Senior Interior Designer Stephen Didrick of SFA Design. We had a great turnout and our speakers were funny, insightful and inspiring.  Thank you again everyone who came out to hear how we too can "make it."

I will be profiling the four designers and their firms over the next couple of days so check back to see what these guys have been up to.

First up, Ellen Bildsten of Bildsten + Sherwin

Architect Ellen Bildsten is the current president of the American Institute of Architects AIA Santa Barbara and founding partner of Bildsten + Sherwin Design Studio Inc.  She has 1990 Bachelor of Arts and Bachelor of Architecture degrees from Cornell University, has been a licensed architect since 1995 and is LEED certified. She worked on the commercial revitalization of Old Town Pasadena for 4 years and while living in Berkeley, worked on large-scale institutional and commercial projects at ELS Architects. After moving to Santa Barbara in 1999, she worked on custom residential projects with Bob Easton Architects before establishing Bildsten + Sherwin Design Studio Inc., which focuses on architecture and landscape design.  The firm approaches sustainability by emphasizing strong connections between the building and its surroundings.  They design compact structures that compose space and light, connecting to outdoor areas for spacious outdoor living, creating essential balance with nature.  

Bildsten and her partner Susan Sherwin (landscape designer) use a holistic approach to indoor and outdoor spaces emphasizing  green design which is becoming a necessity in the architecture and design world. Bildsten intentionally keeps a small staff in order to be fully engaged in each project. Check out their work below: