Today we’d like to introduce you to Karin Howe.
Karin, let’s start with your story. We’d love to hear how you got started and how the journey has been so far.
I started my design career as an Intern at a small boutique residential interior design firm in Boston directly out of College. I stayed at this firm for about 13 years working my way up from intern to design assistant. As years past I became project manager and ultimately finished my career with that firm as a Principal.
In 2012 I had my first child and realized working 60 hours/+ for someone else would not be conducive to my new role as a Mother. So in late 2012 I branched out on my own and opened up Karin Howe Design. I knew, very early on in motherhood that it was my number one role, but wanted to remain current in the Boston Design community. So I took the opportunity to remain close with the working relationships I had cultivated in my career at that point and was able to obtain fantastic jobs of my own.
Great, so let’s dig a little deeper into the story – has it been an easy path overall and if not, what were the challenges you’ve had to overcome?
Starting a new venture, on your own is always frightening. As I started out I realized, very quickly, that all the responsibility was mine. For instance, I needed to set up my own website and social media pages, do all of the day to day paperwork that I was used to passing off to my assistant. I do not have any of that support anymore and was forced to step up and do all the tasks that I never had to do before. Doing all this, while still trying to maintain client relationships, getting all design work completed, networking for new work for future business was tricky. It was an adjustment, but once I established a schedule to get all tasks completed, it all worked out.
The other large item that was hard to adjust to was making sure my role as a new Mother remained first priority all while maintaining all the work of being the owner of a new small business. As any working parent knows, trying to keep homelife and work life balanced and separate is a very delicate balance.
Alright – so let’s talk business. Tell us about Karin Howe Design – what should we know?
My company specializes in Residential Interior Design. In my career, I have worked on projects as small as 500 sq. ft. to as large as 30,000 sq. ft. and everything in between. The projects can be anywhere from a quick bathroom renovation, redesigning a living space or a full scale renovation of an existing home or a new design for complete new construction.
When someone calls upon me, as a designer, they are asking for help to have their dreams of the perfect space come to fruition. Most clients have some sort of idea of what they are looking for, but have no idea how to execute their vision. This is where I come in. My favorite part is working with my clients and help them visualize the space and help them understand their vision and make it happen. I am one of those designers that prefers to work with clients’ tastes, ideas and budgets versus having a certain “style” or “look” that gets reproduced over and over. The spaces I work on ultimately become places where my clients live, work and play so I want to make sure it is their vision and I am here to help them obtain that goal
I think what sets me apart from other designers in the area is my experience. I started my career from the bottom up. There is something to be said about working in all facets of a field. I learned something, whether it was big or small, from every position I held, to every person I came in contact with. Thus making me a well-rounded candidate for just about any design problem.
Is there a characteristic or quality that you feel is essential to success?
Being a multi-tasker is essential to the success of any job I have worked on. You need to be able to juggle many different tasks at one time all while maintaining composure and poise. Problems will always arise and you need to be able to think quickly on your feet and be able to properly execute a solution to keep the fluidity of a project in full motion.
This may sound strange, but in High School and College I was a waitress and I believe this was a great foundation to be able to multi-task in a fast paced, high pressure situation. You were always asked to move quickly, get things completed quickly and accurately all while maintaining customer satisfaction. The same rules typically apply while working on a design project.
Lastly, I think I listen to my clients and maintain their vision of a space. Most people come to me with a sense of their own style and thoughts of how they want their living spaces to be, but have no idea how to have those thoughts come to fruition. Or some clients have no idea what they are looking for and somewhat paralyzed and don’t know where to start. It is very crucial to truly listen and hear what clients are looking for.
Being a talented designer is a fantastic base for success but client satisfaction and client relationships are paramount for a successful completion of a project.
Pricing:
- Typical small project budgets $10,000-50,000
- Typical large scale project budgets $50,000-250,000
Contact Info:
- Website: www.karinhowedesign.com
- Phone: 617-571-4515
- Email: karin@karinhowedesign.com
- Facebook: Karin Howe Design
Image Credit:
Karin Howe Design
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