athena lorenz athena interiors success of my business. athena, what differentiates athena interiors from other companies in the valley? athena interiors is always willing to do what it takes to ensure the fulfillment of our clients’ needs and i can honestly say, i have never had a client who hasn’t been happy with the work i have delivered. the greatest joy that i get from my job is the development of a relationship with each client – i begin to understand them, know what they like and don’t like, and it becomes easier and easier to suggest materials and design ideas that go with their personalities, as well as the desired outcome of the space we are working on together. i enjoy bringing to my designs the inspiration from the extensive traveling i have done throughout many countries. a recent trip to puri, orissha and calcutta, india in 2016 opened me up to some interesting architectural ideas for my vastu projects. what specific skill sets do you have in your background that have made your company unique? athena interiors is able to deliver our clients the full package when it comes to working on their construction projects. we are capable of offering minimal assistance or full project management of residential and commercial projects, new construction, vastu remediation or design, as well as commissioning custom artwork, draperies, producing sub-contractors for electrical, tiling, landscaping, etc. we provide furniture and equipment selections, color consultations and so much more. i have always dreamt of having a business where a client could come to me with twenty different needs and i am able to assist in meeting all of them and it feels amazing to be able to accomplish this. for example, i have a medford client whose project i have been working on for the past 6 months and he’s a busy guy who prefers to be mostly hands-off. i have been project managing the whole job, bringing in contractors, subs, engineers, wallpaper specialists, cabinet makers, handymen, landscapers, and the like. i am good with delegation and my team and i are timely with meeting important deadlines. tell us about your clients here in southern oregon. what are they looking for and how do you meet those needs? my clients in this valley have ranged in age from early 20s to mid 80s, with a wide variety of design needs. a lot of my local clients are looking for someone to design an addition, a remodel or outfit a new construction building with good design and finish materials selection. many projects are smaller - where we design only one room, choose new furnishings, paint colors for an exterior, window coverings and custom draperies, or new flooring for an entryway. we have had some california residents who are transplanting to oregon and want us to manage their entire home remodel, while they continue to live down south. an interesting upcoming project for a local ashlander will be to design a coastal cottage guesthouse on her daughters’ property on the coast of california. my team and i meet with the client, ask the right questions, do the necessary legwork of understanding the project scope, budget and timeline, client needs, design style and desired outcomes, and then we get the job in our calendar. you like to be very organized with your projects. can you share some examples with us? depending on the level of organization a client or their contractor needs, we can adapt and give what is asked of us. my personal philosophy is there is no such thing as enough spreadsheet documents, plans, elevations, 3d renderings, etc. to convey the necessary design message. i need to be clear, concise and understood when it comes to construction — most budgets can’t afford any mistakes. i create a clear outline of the project using a scope of work document. often we will create a job site binder with all the job information, including an inspiration collage, existing and proposed drawings, specification info on each appliance or plumbing fixture, tile layouts, electrical layouts if needed, etc. some jobs are just simply choosing colors and finding some new furniture and we’re done. these don’t require nearly as much careful monitoring. athena, will you please introduce us to your team and each of their special skills? of course. so, ali mastain is our associate designer. she’s ultra-organized, great at budgeting and loves art and design. she has a ba in art history and a master’s in art, style, and design from christie’s education in london. she is currently a student in the online certificate program at new york school of interior design and will graduate in may of this year, when she will go full-time at the company. ali particularly enjoys collaboratively developing creative design concepts and color palettes, drafting, and finding the perfect materials for each client’s unique project. donavan murray is our administrative assistant at athena interiors. she is a self- starter, great with digital organization and is always creating new solutions to any flaws she notices in our systems. she loves interior design, as she has grown up in and around the business since her mom is a successful designer and her dad is a contractor. she works part-time during the school year and full-time during the summers and is currently a junior introducing interior designer and vastu consultant, athena lorenz. a local ashlander, athena has designed her business around the principles of good communication, understanding the needs of her clients, and delivering an end result that is beyond expectations. with over 12 years of experience in the industry, athena offers specialization in interior design, project management, green design, and vastu consultation. athena is organized, disciplined, and driven towards excellence. in today’s interview, we talk about this. athena, hello and welcome to localsguide. hello, thank you so much. i’m excited to have this opportunity to chat with you and to share with a broader audience what athena interiors is happy to be able to offer our community. to begin with, will you please tell us a little bit about your training and background as an interior designer? i have had a love of space and improving it since i was a child. i attended marylhurst university in portland and received a bachelor’s of fine arts in commercial interior architecture with an emphasis on sustainability. i then went on to study vastu shastra, which simply put, is the art of building in harmony with nature; feng shui was derived from this ancient science. i am certified in vastu residential and landscape design as well as site analysis, and for many years have studied sthapatya veda, the south indian architecture methodology. i have always been passionate about the environment and work to incorporate green design into what i do. i firmly believe that you can never stop learning or getting better at whatever it is you choose in life. i will continue to keep up on new design techniques and certifications throughout my career. athena, before launching your own business here in southern oregon, you spent many years working with industry professionals. will you talk about these experiences? in portland and fresh out of college, i interned for a contractor who had been through the econest training and then another contractor who worked for greenhammer construction. it was a great way to better understand how things are put together and what goes into the construction of the spaces i would be designing. in ashland, i decided to get my feet wet by freelancing under various other businesses that needed some design, drafting, or materials selection. i took on some of my own clients as well, so i actually started my own business in 2014. i have worked with orw architecture, dorris construction, arkitek: design & architecture, coleman creek construction, on point construction, ashland design studio, ben the builder, belbuilt llc, lowe’s home improvement, and dei engineering, to name a few. i am so appreciative of the opportunities i have had working with these companies and the relationships we have built over the years. brian dunagan, owner of dei engineering, and i plan to share an office space again later this summer. what have been some of the most important lessons and skills you have learned about running your business here in southern oregon? since rebranding and launching my new business name a year and a half ago, i have realized that we really do live “in a small town” and “word does travel fast,” and that’s exactly how athena interiors has kept so busy. by offering high-quality services to my clients and nurturing strong relationships with my vendors and contractors, i have been able to expand my business and keep a healthy workload. being available for client communication, dependable for all the contractors’ and subcontractors’ questions and producing what you say you are going to produce in a timely manner have been important to the 16 localsguide communit y newspaper | w w w. localsguide.com 10 0% post- consumer paper