Today we’d like to introduce you to Danielle McGee.
Danielle, let’s start with your story. We’d love to hear how you got started and how the journey has been so far.
The need to create, to design and transform, that’s always been with me. Growing up for example, I’d spend hours re-carpeting the floors of my doll house using scraps of mom’s quilt fabric, painting murals on my bedroom walls or covering the ceiling with burlap and lath for a more rustic look. Design for me has always been an escape, it was not until later on I realized its powerful ability to communicate idea’s and inspire an emotional response.
In design school I became enthralled with the idea of temporary environments. There are no codes, no rules, it’s essentially four walls and wherever the imagination takes you. I started my professional career as an Interior Designer, but quickly found I preferred a more hands on approach to my practice.
Exploring materials, pairing them, deconstructing them. I’ve always spoken in a tactile language really. Texture means so much to me, the feeling of a cool concrete wall against your skin, or the fuzzy dense feel of a braided rug, slipping on a wood floor. My relationship with materials is an important one, it’s honest, intimate and true. Through the curation of tactile elements and their application in three dimensional form, I am able to inspire feelings of nostalgia, passion and discovery.
The methods of communication I’d learned in formal training as an Interior Designer carry over seamlessly into the world of events. Where I once managed a team of builders, painters and lighting specialist, I now lead a team of photographers, caterers and florist. Each design practice, whether it be events or interiors requires an understanding of the big picture, seeing the whole forest and not just the one tree. Taking something that is born in the imagination and transforming it to an actual live experience requires an ability to communicate your ideas. Collaboration is really where the magic happens.
Has it been a smooth road?
Setting out as a small business owner is never easy, especially when your services are in the creative industry. Like many artist, us creative often have to make our own way.
It feels as though I’ve started over many time’s in this journey, but really I think that’s just part of self-discovery. Sometimes failing at something is more important than succeeding, the learning happens when you get back up. Each client, each classroom, each mentor has taught me something new. Where I am now as a designer is really a result of these various experiences.
So let’s switch gears a bit and go into the Good Look’n story. Tell us more about the business.
Good Look’n is a design service, specializing in the artful planning of events, and other temporary spaces. I work with clients to craft experiences for special events. People sometimes ask me, ‘what’s the difference between an event planner and an event designer’? In my opinion there is none, all planning related decision making has some level of aesthetic consequence. From the Venue you choose, to the style of food, to the time of day, to wardrobe, to lighting etc. each decision is an element of design in that it directly relates to the overall look and feel of your event. I think having that perspective is really what set’s me apart from other folks in the industry.
I believe in process driven design, in other words a beginning middle and end. We start by developing a clear foundation, also known as concept development. I ask my clients ‘how do you want your guest to feel’ then help them in designing opportunities for those experiences to take shape within their project.
I see myself as a crafter of experiences. Through the transformation of physical space, I create the illusion of the imaginative, bringing the clients vision to life. Nothing is more satisfying in my practice than seeing the look on the clients face when they walk into a finished space for the first time.
How do you think the industry will change over the next decade?
The events industry is always changing and here on the East Coast we are just getting started!
Over the next five years I think we can expect to see a more common understanding of the quality this service provides to the overall event experience. I hope to see more designers in this niche popping up tipping the scale and pushing the envelope in terms of creativity.
Contact Info:
- Website: goodlookn.com
- Email: www.danielle@goodlookn.com
- Instagram: www.instagram.com/good.lookn/
Image Credit:
Cara Totman
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