This week, I have been out and about again making deliveries, meeting new customers and discovering new fabrication partners. It feels SO good just to have to get dressed and out of the studio interacting in person with people again! I’ve missed that, and feel like I’m just emerging from my zoom covid life. WOHOO!
I am still happy to hop on a zoom call anytime with our customers and all of you designers, builders, and architects, but I’m also happy to pile my metal in the car and come to you! I’m extremely sensitive to everyone’s time constraints and schedules, and I can appreciate the time it takes just to even to schedule a meeting. We are all so so busy! I can give you a quick show and tell run down in either 10 min or 40 min or over lunch or coffee. Whatever works for you and your team, and whatever is fun. For me it is motivating to show off my process and product as it feels like a personal story, and one which I truly enjoy sharing with an appreciative audience.
I find these meetings to be extremely inspiring on a personal and professional note, and in the end beneficial to my business and personal growth. Today I was invited to tour MN Builders, based in West Oakland. It is indeed our cool and hip hood! Alex Hodgkinson, VP of Business Development, took a full hour out of his incredibly busy schedule to show me their cabinetry shop and explain their design build construction process. Even the shop in full production mode was incredible, smelling of fresh wood, focused people working quietly, and immaculately clean with natural light. He showed me the artistry involved in each step of the process, and the different levels of sophistication and workmanship that they put into their craft. Even while using the most sophisticated machinery to cut and screw holes, they have extremely skilled craftsman at the helm, and have achieved a level of perfection even down to matching the wood grain. Yes I do notice every detail; I was impressed and felt very much at home.
Firstly, from a business standpoint, this is an employee owned and operated business, working locally and personally with clients. They care about their customers as much as I care, which is inspiring for me as a business owner working in this niche. I create an extremely well crafted high end product, and it’s nice to imagine my product passing through hands such as these that provide white glove service and experienced knowledge from planning and budgeting all the way through delivery and installation to customers. This is exactly the high bar of excellence that I want Modern Metal to be associated with in our Architectural and Design Industry from beginning to end.
Secondly, on a personal note, it is incredibly satisfying for me to be around like-minded detail oriented people in their craft. Alex has a background in construction, working with his hands, and now he’s able to combine his business savvy with his experience in actual crafting to bring more beauty to more people. It’s nice for me to be reminded that there are colleagues out there from builders to designers that are tuned into the details the way I am. I often feel alone, and somewhat self-tortured being so picky about every last detail. It is exhausting, and expensive from the extra thick card stock for cards, and branded wrapping paper to the best of the best in materials and fabrication, but today, being surrounded by Alex and his team, was a welcome reminder for me stick to my high standards, and stand tall! I do believe our niche clientele supports our tagline that #everydetailmatters enabling us to bring design to unexpected places.
