Urban Safari Design is the name of the interior design business that I own along with my business partner Peggy. Peggy and I have known each for a very long time and we've always had a passion for anything related to design and decor. The fact that just the thought of a trip to Pottery Barn or Z Gallery makes me excited should tell you how much I enjoy what I do.
We've only officially been in business for our second year now and we've done several jobs. You can click on this link
www.urbansafaridesign.com to see a portion of the work we've done. We have been meaning to update the website with some of our more recent projects but we just haven't gotten around to doing that quite yet. Suffice to say, we have two projects currently ongoing right now and the last one we completed took somewhere around 8 months to complete. That lady was, how shall I say this nicely.....a challenge.
She would like something for about a month or two and then decide after much wear and tear and cat abuse, that she no longer liked the item. That made for MANY return trips and alternative ideas and suggestions. They say what doesn't kill you makes you stronger and this project definitely put our skill, our patience, our time and our focus to the test. It was a major job in that she was completely redesigning the interior of her house, complete with moving of walls, new flooring, new countertops, lighting, color schemes, remodeled bathrooms and last but not least decor.
We really had to exhale once that job was complete but it did help us to realise that we really do love what we do in spite of everything. Unfortunately, none of those photos have yet made it to the website but once they do, I will be sure to let you know.
All of this prefacing is to say that about a month ago, I met a gentleman on a flight to London. We had just exited the plane and we had some brief idle chatter and ended up exchanging business cards. He was a doctor and I told him of my athletic endeavours since I was on my way to a track meet at the time. The only business card I had at the time however, was my Urban Safari Design card and so I gave this to him.
Upon doing so, he asked, "So you do interior design too?" I told him yes and he mentioned that he lived in Malibu and that he a rather large project that he was about to embark on, a commercial project and that he was in need of an interior design company - would I be interested?? Of course I said yes but we both had to head in our separate directions to catch our connections. He said he would be in touch.
Fast forward to about 2 days ago and my cell phone rings and it's the doctor, asking if I'm still interested in the job and can my business partner and I come for a meeting that night. We make plans and we meet him at his house. So get this, this man offers us the job of designing the interior of the 100,000 sq. ft. "warehouse" that he has purchased and that he wants to turn into a spa resort of sorts. He asks many questions and we answer the best we can. We are somewhat overwhelmed at the scale and size of the job but we don't let him see us sweat:) We are both Stanford grads and he is currently a Stanford Dr. and works very closely with the university. I think he likes the common ground we share.
Additionally, he wants to hire us as in house designers for future projects and pay us a regular salary, while allowing us to do other projects that we care to that do not conflict timewise. DEAR LORD!!! Is he for real? Can this be happening? Why us? We're such a small company! These are the questions we quietly ask ourselves but we maintain our air of confidence and competence! He wants the job done by June no less and wants us to let him know as soon as possible.
Two days have now passed and we've had some time to think it over. The Lord must be shining brightly on us is all we can think because the kind of income this type of job would provide is beyond our WILDEST dreams!! Now nothing is written in stone as of yet and our most major problem is time but with some fervent prayers, diligent work, thorough execution and some guidance from above, this could very well be the opportunity of a lifetime. Keep your fingers crossed!!!
