Today we’d like to introduce you to Mariette Barsoum.
So, before we jump into specific questions about the business, why don’t you give us some details about you and your story.
I grew up in Egypt and attended college in Cairo, where I received a degree in linguistics. My original plan was to work in the hotel industry and use my love for different languages as a means to success. However, some might call it fate, but I soon met my future husband, who was living in America at the time. We got married, and I joined him in the states.
I began working a variety of jobs (after having my first child) but fell in love with my work under a large kitchen dealer in the Boston area. Eventually, a client would hand me a job that I couldn’t turn down — under the premise that I start my own firm. The rest, as they say, was history. Shortly after I began building my business on what it is today.
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?
Like anything, there are up and downs in my business. Certainly, being a woman in an ever-evolving social climate has been challenging at times. And, similarly, having English as my second language, required a lot of soul searching and hard work to gain the confidence that I have now — and the ability to reach people fluently.
On the other hand, a more universal truth: Some days go better than others, and some clients are more satisfied than others — at the end of that same day. However, I try and always be optimistic, work my hardest to provide the best possible services and understand that that is all we can really do. But, these universal struggles and comparative hard work on my end have brought myself and my business an enormous amount of success.
Please tell us about Divine Design Center.
I am the Owner, Co-Founder, and Principal Designer of Divine Design Center and Divine Design + Build. I am an Interior Designer and Certified Kitchen Designer (CKD), as designated by the National Kitchen & Bathroom Association, I have built a reputation over the years of putting my customers’ needs at the heart of innovative design. My awarded designs are extensions of my clients’ taste and I draw from the aesthetic of their existing home.
Furthermore, I opened up Divine Kitchens in the suburbs of Boston in 2004. And, over the next fourteen years, my husband and I have expanded our company from a Design + Build firm in Wellesley, Massachusetts (Divine Design + Build) to a second location in Boston’s North End Waterfront (Divine Design Center). Both locations work in collaboration with each other.
Our Wellesley location specializes in American cabinetry and is where we run out design + build team out of. On the other hand, our newest location is melting pot of European cabinetry, furniture, wardrobes/ closet systems, and bathrooms.
Here at the Divine Design Center showroom (our newest location), at 2 Battery Wharf, not only are we in the hub of innovation; being just minutes from the expanding Seaport, Cambridge and Metropolitan Boston neighborhoods, but, we are also fortunate to showcase 8,000 square feet of kitchen, bathroom, and wardrobe design.
Our location is pivotal for its accessibility to the general public. I love the feeling of being part of these neighborhoods specifically (The North End + North End Waterfront). Consequently, our showroom on Battery Wharf supersedes my goal to be the neighborhood destination for all modern designs.
Contact Info:
- Address: 2 Battery Wharf, Boston MA, 02109
- Website: www.divinedesigncenter.com
- Phone: (617) 443-0700
- Email: social@divinedesigncenter.com
- Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/divinedesigncenter/
- Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/divinedesigncenter/
- Twitter: https://twitter.com/DivineDesignCen
- Yelp: https://www.houzz.com/pro/divinedesigncenter/__public
- Other: https://www.linkedin.com/company/divine-design-center/
Image Credit:
David Bruno, Connor Bowen + Keitaro Yoshioko and Divine Team
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