Stereotypes & Tape Measures

Jo and I spend a lot of time getting to know our clients as we navigate them through the design process.   Inevitably, our clients get to know us pretty well, too.  Usually as they warm up to us, we find them willing to share information about preconceived notions they may have had before hiring a designer.  It is at this point, the humor begins.

Just three days ago, I was in a client’s home and while working on some measurements she said, “I have to tell you something…”  Giggling, she went on: “When I asked [my husband] if we could hire a designer to help out with this, he asked me what I wanted a designer for. ‘All they do is march around in obnoxious clothes and drive around in their Benz’s and Volvos.  What good are they going to be to this room make-over?  We need an architect.’”  I grinned at her, understanding her message - this isn't the first time I've heard this.

Five years ago, when Josephine and I emerged onto the design scene, we were completely unaware of this deep-seeded stereotype.    

The classes we took in college revolved around formulas of physics within a space and the kinetic elements affecting them.  Our ‘art’ classes consisted of mostly straight line drawings, lighting plans, building codes and scale rulers.  We stumbled into English class after those brutal 4-hour Human Factors exams, then we’d wander, delirious, into our textiles class right before landing facedown in our beds, only to fall asleep and wake up in the same position.  How could any diva overcome that type of work and still be a diva when it’s all said and done?  

Far be it from us to feed the stereotype strain.  We do, however, delight in the moment when our clients discover we are nothing like it.  We clamber through construction sites, tear apart old furniture and dig in the dirt on landscaping projects.  We wear jeans, our fingernails are short and we carry real-leather duffle bags because they’re tougher.   We use measuring tapes like they are an extension of our arms and our drawings are all done by hand.  Our own hands. 

We are two very real women who’d rather give our clients the crowning glory when their rooms are complete because we couldn’t have done it without them.  Our clients are our best ‘accessory’ and we are their favorite tool.

We don’t drive expensive cars.  We don’t have flashy clothes.

We are not your average decorator.

We are SPRAMA.