BRIC: Week 2
During my second week of this placement, it has really become apparent that this is my passion and the career I long to be in. I have always wanted my own business and I feel this placement is going to really help me get there. I have been taught so much in my 3 years at uni, it has definitely taught me the foundation such as: rendering, 3D modelling and AutoCAD, which I am now helping Bally and Paul with but going out and getting real industry experience is something I would recommend to every student.
Client 2
Through the week I received a phone call from Bally asking if I would feel comfortable visiting a client’s house to measure up rooms and windows to be fitted for curtains. I was excited for the task but I was so nervous as I seriously struggle with tasks like these because of my dyslexia. I explained this to Bally and we took it slowly, with Bally teaching me all the terminology for curtains, I learnt the importance of communication with trades-people.
This is where the importance of dimensions come in, it’s important for me to draw and take down notes concisely and clearly, so that I can pass on information to other interns for them to draw up and also for the curtain- maker so that she can produce the correctly sized curtains.
After measuring up Clients 2 house last week, we have now moved on to the product selections, proving to be more difficult than last weeks as these clients do not often share the same design opinion.These clients are looking to invest into the products for their new house and don’t mind spending if it means the item is ensured to be a good quality item. One thing I have found myself struggling with in my placement is the concept of money. Budget is not something that we take into consideration or are asked to be aware of when working on projects at university so it was very new to me but with help from the team I feel that I have significantly improved when selecting products for a project.
Before doing product selection I would have argued that it should be a relatively easy job, with not much to the task other than surfing the internet, picking out furnishings. However I realised it can sometimes be difficult and so, here’s my step by step, to make sure that I cover all these before proposing:
- Browse through a number of websites before finding furniture,(that even you might not necessarily like but you know the client will).
- Check if it is the right dimensions to fit the space you are proposing it for, is it?
- Read the specifications to make sure everything is A-okay.
- If you can’t remember the discount with the company, phone them up and ask.
- Ask how much retail price is and how much trade discount is.
- VAT. Inc. or VAT exclusive?
- Ask the company for a lead time.
- Propose concept to client.
- Repeat.
Furthermore, it also helps that I visited the space which allowed me to gain a deeper understanding regarding what would work and what wouldn’t. This was a great experience which I never thought I would have the opportunity to do. BRIC allowed me to go and meet an existing client, which helped me to begin ascertaining these sales driven social skills. It was extremely interesting to see how Bally interacted with this client. My thoughts and input were also very welcomed when talking with this client and their project and so made me feel like I had really accomplished the task of selling a concept to the client based on their space and tastes.
I was tasked with designing a bespoke wardrobe for the above clients Master Bedroom. There was a lot of communication required to gain the right dimensions and specifications but it was very important to get these things absolutely correct. I communicated with the clients and with the carpenter to ensure everything was 100% correct and everyone understood the wardrobe and it’s configuration in unison. I also learnt the importance of contracts during this project, noting that you can never be too careful when writing the specifications of a bespoke product to cover your legal and business reputation and also to ensure the client is shown what the finished product will be.
