weekend update: july 8-10, 2011

busy. insane. weekend.

we received an extremely labor intensive bid Wednesday morning so my time has been stretched between that and other events this weekend. Friday was spent at work 8-530 (I haven't worked past 3 on a Friday in a LONG time), followed by a baby shower for a childhood/church friend, then a few more hours doing some bid work at home. Saturday I was shooting a wedding in Jamestown & Warren with my sister from 10AM until 10PM, then pretty much crashing as soon as I got home. Sunday Josh & I went off to Grace Church for some great worship and a great sermon. The rest of my day was spent doing laundry, making & eating lunch, working, more laundry, more bid work, finishing laundry, cooking and eating dinner and then finishing the night off with more bid-work.

And Monday should be the same: more. bid. work.

It will all be over Tuesday...hopefully I'll have some fun posts later this week, but until then, I probably won't be up to doing any posting.

Hope you all had fun weekends!! Mine was exhausting!! I'm ready for next weekend already!

Here's one of my favorite pics from the weekend that Rach edited and posted on her Facebook already (check her page - like her page! - for more pics):

fabric friday: 06-10-11: Designtex Privacy Curtains

I'm back this week with a new addition to the Designtex line of fabrics! I had the pleasure of meeting with our Designtex rep, Duane, this past week. He showed me the brand new healthcare line of upholstery and privacy curtain fabrics.

This new Designtex line is called The Josephine Collection and includes cubicle curtains and coordinating upholstery options. The line is inspired by Empress Josephine Bonaparte’s utopian garden resulting in designs reflecting nature and neoclassic architecture. Info from here.

I love all of the new fabrics, especially the privacy curtains, Blowing Flower (shown left) in particular.





Here are the new privacy curtain fabrics:

[Blowing Flower in Aloe]

[Chic Blossom in Hyacinth]

[Flowering Branch in Labyrinth]

[Greek Trellis in Lambs Ear]

[Sugar Lash in Aubergine]

All images from Designtex website.

renovation: zuckville

almost THREE years ago (i can't even believe it's been that long) i posted some images of the renovations my boss, AJ, did in the house that sits in front of our barn on west 26th street. since then, The Slomski Group has moved in and become tenants (they are friends of my bosses) and this past year, AJ has been hard at work renovating the second half of the first floor.

i took some pictures today but only wanted to share the light fixture he put in one of the rooms. it's pretty awesome. i also got some pictures of the upstairs, which is not renovated yet. i can't wait till it is and i can post before and after pictures of that space!! 

pretty cool, huh?

UPMC Hamot Women's Hospital

We were honored to win the bid for the Patient and Waiting Room furniture for this project last year. We worked with our Hamot contact and the interior designers from Rectenwald Architects to finalize the furniture and layouts as well as coordinate the fabrics, vinyls and finishes. The hospital has been open since December 2010 and was featured in this month's Healthcare Design Magazine!

Hamot is on the cover! You can read the article here.

For the project, we used Carolina and Versteel furniture in both the patient and waiting rooms. The waiting rooms were composed of the Voyage, Embrace and Basil series and Versteel Companion side chairs. The patient rooms have Carolina's Orchestra recliners, Coronado sleeper loveseats/chairs and Solace gliders in select areas. The patient rooms also had the Versteel Companion side chairs.

Here are some pictures.

you can check out more images on flickr. these pictures were taken by my sister, Rachel Lusky of Puremotif Photography or by me (they are noted on the flickr site).

fabric friday: 05-27-11: CF Stinson vinyls

we're working on another healthcare project, which means the desks are littered with carpet and vinyl samples. we found a few new great patterned vinyls from CF Stinson that we are hoping to incorporate in this project.

these three are my new favorite patterns:

FIZZ in color Bubbly

OLYMPUS in Laurel

WHITNEY in Swan

Fizz has moisture barrier and bacterial, microbial, mildew, oil, bleach and sulfide stain resistance. It is also anti-fungal and exceeds 100,000 double rubs.

 

Olympus has moisture barrier as well as bacterial, microbial, cold crack, mildew, oil and sulfide stain resistance. Olympus exceeds 100,000 double rubs.

Whitney has moisture barrier as well as bacterial, microbial, mildew, oil, bleach and sulfide stain resistance. This vinyl exceeds 200,000 double rubs.

Check out the other colors here: FIZZ | OLYMPUS | WHITNEY


images and information from CF Stinson website

Versteel Trip

so, i know i've talked lots about going to Jasper, IN for work to visit this awesome company called Versteel, but i never talked much about the trip itself.

my boss and i left bright and early Monday morning and headed for the Erie "International" Airport. okay, so, the airport may only go to like, three different other airports, but i tell you - 10 minutes to check in and no line at security at almost ALL times? it's worth an extra layover.

we arrived in Jasper, checked into our hotel (where they had shirts for us and little goodie bags of water, coffee and a coffee mug), then went on a short tour of the town before hitting up the showroom and offices.

Versteel showroom/offices on right, manufacture plant on left

the first day we received an overview of Versteel products and got to check out all the fun things in the showroom. Versteel started as a company providing parts to other furniture vendors until they realized - hey, why don't we just do it all? all of their manufacturing takes place in their plant in Jasper, with some specialized parts (like chrome plating) done in a facility a few hours away.

lobby, new furniture series Immix (in orange)

on Tuesday we were given a tour of the manufacturing facility by non other than the president of the company. it was so cool how he understood and explained everything that went on in the plant, knew the workers by name and had such a passion for his employees and what his company stands for. the majority of the parts they use are recycled and what isn't used is recycled. and again - all of their products are made in the USA.

we were able to meet our customer service representatives, government contract specialists, product designers and engineers, tech engineers - pretty much everyone on staff. being able to meet and know your vendors personally really drives you to want to sell their product. and again - seeing how the company functions, what they stand for and how they operate - this is a great company. i love selling product we believe in.

furniture showroom

we also got to see some of their new prototypes of furniture and ideas they are working around (that are still secret!!) as well as see some cool images of custom product that they do. because they are a small company that builds everything on-site - they pride themselves in the ability to do custom work - you want something you don't see as standard? just ask! more than likely, they'll do it - or at least try.
 

one of the lovely German delicacies at the Schnitzelbank Restaurant

there were three birthdays to celebrate - the waitresses sang to us

i had never been on a plant tour before, and their's was just awesome. walking through and seeing robotic machines bending steel for chair and table parts that we've sold to customers was just so neat. we got to watch them laser cut steel, weld pieces together, go through powdercoating, upholster chair seats and backs, assemble everything and get it in boxes. i suggest anyone selling any type of furniture to try to see how your lines are made! it gives you such a different perspective and appreciation.

another shot of the Immix seating system

Versteel reception. all the metal is done like their Vela series bases.

so, the trip was great. thanks, Versteel, for the opportunity to learn more about your company! now - let's sell some Versteel!

fabric friday: 3-25-11: a whole hella vinyls

don't have time for anything crazy today - i have several deadlines and meetings plus i'm out of town for work (going to Jasper, Indiana) on Monday and Tuesday. and i couldn't do this post yesterday because i was spending all my creative juices redoing the blog and posting yesterday night.

here's what i've been working on: vinyls for a healthcare project!

we have a huge workstation right next to mine that is vacant other than spreading out fabrics, carpets, paints and finishes. AJ says - "this is where the magic happens." it's nice to be able to leave it out, come back and revise it whenever, without it taking up space on my desk or any common space we all use.

anyway, happy friday, people! i have a birthday filled weekend with awesome plans tonight with Kristen and Staci, possible plans tomorrow with Katie, definite plans tomorrow with my sister and dinner with Josh and plans with the family on Sunday. also, i'm making this cake on Sunday for my birthday. can't wait!

have a great weekend! anyone else have awesome plans?

new software program

a few days ago we received a demo version of a new software add-on put out by 20-20 Technologies called Visual Impressions. i've been using the office products software - CAP Designer (for AutoCAD) and CAP Worksheet (spec + pricing software) for about six years now, so this is a very neat program that isn't hard to learn as it is more of a platform for Worksheet.

here are some of the things i've been working on!

private office

workstations

workstations

 

conference room

reception station

i love how you can add accessories like notebooks, pens and water bottles (not to mention plants, paintings, phones, books, computers...), but those need to be added in AutoCAD first and then they flip over into VI. doors, windows and ceiling fixtures are added in Visual Impressions as well as change the ceiling height, wall colors and dimensions and flooring. right now i can't change my room from a rectangle, but i've heard that could change. i'm excited to see what this product can do! plus it's so quick and easy to use, we could now do renderings for every job.

showroom update

we recently updated our showroom at work, taking out some older furniture pieces and adding a new Knoll Reff system work station we had done for a mock up. here are some pics!

Knoll Template System work station

Tubular Brno chair by Mies, Saarinen side table
KI Kurv Bench

Knoll Reff System, Techwood (Medium Oak), Upstart Legs in Medium Grey
with Generation task chair and Moment side chairs

day 10

today is day 10 of 30 days of Making the Cut. i've definitely been doing some slacking this week as far as meals go, but i'm still refraining from all sweets and unnecessary eating/snacking.

i have weighed myself and there is the possibility that i have lost 5 lbs since this whole thing started. i know i fluctuate between a few pounds, but last night i weighed the lowest i have weighed in several months, and this morning was even less (i know, you are supposed to weigh in the morning, but my original weighing was at night, so i am trying to "stay consistent" as far as that goes). it seems that my favorite jeans, which i haven't worn much in the last 6 months, are fitting more like they used to (or i really stretched them out...), so...

Tuesday bethany and i made an awesome lunch. california chicken salad with mango and avocado.
Wednesday lunch was a grilled sirloin salad with red peppers, red onion, and corn in a olive oil, lemon juice, and red wine vinegar dressing. it was pretty good as well.

exercise...has been...happening. roomie and i have been walking around the neighborhood, so that's better than nothing! i received my 30-day shred DVD in the mail yesterday so i will be able to use that soon! (super busy the next two days/nights).

california chicken salad with avocado and mango

other things going on:

• remodel is almost complete. carpet is all in (looks awesome) and almost all of the furniture is in. unfortunately i ordered wrong freaking panel frames so i have to order more now to complete everything
• singing this weekend at church, plus it's my brother in law's bday this weekend, and memorial day weekend (which means a day off! YES!)
• roomie and i are being screwed by the electric company, trying to bill us WAY TOO MUCH MONEY, since they finally read our meter...for the first time...since 4 months before we moved in. i tried calling and causing a rucus, but i suck at that and ended up in tears. roomie came through and made it all work out...sort of. they are taking some $ off, but we still think they are charging us too much.
• bridals showers and weddings for my awesome SKANK friends kt and nicole are coming up FAST!!