Interview - Inna Agujen

When we saw how Inna was allowing clients to visualiz their future space virtually, we had to know more.

Tell us a little about your background before you were a realtor?

My background was in Animated and Feature films creating visual effects and 3D environments. I worked for Blue Sky studios, a subsidiary of 20th Century Fox. My position was Senior Technical Director.  Before Blue Sky, I worked for FX Boutique in NYC creating commercials and animations. 

You have an interesting service you offer your clients when they want to look at house, what can you tell us about it? 

Yes, I am one of the partners in a company which manages the marketing side of my listings. Procyon 7 LLC. One of the services we offer is 3D scans of homes for sale that allow potential buyers the ability to view online and in VR using glasses like google Cardboard to better visualize their possible future.

We also create 3D renders of houses to-be-built from architectural plans. Then we create VR, videos of 3D renders so that house can be viewed even before it is build. Everything is put together online for potential buyer to see. So all of my properties get its own website with all of this content. 

What is the most interesting or fun home VR experience you have had? 

I think the most interesting VR project I did wasn't for my listing, but for the Westport/Weston Y. Since a 3D scan needs to be done when a building is empty, it was challenging.  The YMCA is always full of people from 5am to 10pm. I had to be there at 4 am in the morning before opening and it was kind of surreal experience to be in this huge open space alone. 

Can clients view the designs remotely? Do they need a headset?

Yes. Headsets are so inexpensive nowadays especially Gcardboard.  You can actually make one yourself with cardboard or buy one on amazon for 5$ then put your phone sideways and you are now emerged into VR experience.

What have you noticed is the reaction people have to the VR?

Inna Agujen Realtor Virtual Design

People have an amazing response to VR and it makes my job of showing houses a lot easier. I can highlight the areas that we want buyers to see and not miss. When you show a house in person you can sometimes miss awesome features. Also, people tend to like playing with this interactive tours especially with doll-house view which is called that for a good reason, it literally makes house look like a dollhouse that you can spin and see any room from any angle.

3D Rendering & Virtual Staging

Interactive Tour

YMCA Project

Interview - Bethany Armstrong

Often people aren’t sure exactly what a Professional Organizer does sometimes they even confuse us with interior designers. Bethany Armstrong of Hue Designs helped us shed some light on the differences.

Most people may think they know what an interior designer does, what exactly do they do? Interior design has a wide scope that goes far beyond paint colors and throw pillows! It actually is rooted in a mood, feel, and emotion of a space. Combine that with technical aspects that are extremely important like balance, scale, flow and function, interior design is an art form that takes skill and patience.  Without one of these aspects falling into the perfect harmony, a room will feel off. Even worse, it won’t be functioning properly. It’s a discipline that involves listening to a client’s wants and needs then interpreting those artistically for the result that will accomplish those important goals within a budget. Last but not least, interior design involves working with various trades and sourcing materials in the best interest of the clients while providing excellent management of the overall project, time constraints, budget requirements, and installation issues.  And yes, sometimes there can be a bit of marriage counseling involved when there are different design aesthetics that need to come together for a happy mix that the family can enjoy!

For you, what does it mean to be an interior designer? For me, to be a designer is a humbling and important role. People invite me into their homes and lives to help them solve design dilemmas that will ultimately improve their environment. This isn’t something I take lightly. It’s an obligation to keep the client’s best interests at the forefront so the best quality products are installed by highly qualified tradespeople. There’s a tremendous trust that comes with being an interior designer because clients are looking to you for advice, education, guidance, and knowledge. I find that it’s extremely important to be upfront with my clients and manage expectations throughout the entire process. It’s inevitable there will be hiccups along the way in a renovation project but I always communicate options that are available. I also work with an amazing team of experts and professionals in various areas.

What project or projects have you worked on that was the most fun? That’s a tough one! Every project is fun because I get the opportunity to work with great people bringing beauty into their lives in ways they weren’t expecting. Yes, everyone can buy furniture but my value comes from kicking it up a notch! Every project should be unique and truly tailored to the client. Fun for me is hearing, “wow I didn’t know I was going to like that!” It’s important to let your designer expose you to new ideas you might not have been open to previously. It just might surprise you what transforms when you come out of your comfort zone a bit!  

If clients ever have a vision that may not make sense in the real world, how do you steer them back on track? I’m a huge believer in being upfront and honest even if it’s not the news that’s easy to give. My promise to my clients is that I will always keep your best interest at heart so if I tell them something isn’t going to work it’s for a reason that I will explain. I will give options and provide information for decisions. There are times where I will take a version of the client’s vision to adapt it into a workable solution whenever possible. That’s a challenge I enjoy!

Is it hard to keep up with changing styles or are some looks timeless? With social media, it’s definitely easier to see more of what’s happening in design worldwide but it can be overwhelming. I find you can never go wrong with a strong foundation rooted in good design and layer that with styles that might be trendy. Those layers are accents that can easily be transitioned out when tastes change but the overall design concept remains. It’s hard to resist what’s trending at times but if it’s the only aspect that’s holding up the design, it will look out of date quite fast. My design style is one that is inspired by the client’s needs and then layered for added interest.

Check out the Hue Designs Instagram feed.

Interview – Kate Koeppel of Koeppel Design

Koeppel Design is a graphic design studio based in San Francisco, CA. In 2013, Koeppel Design launched a line of handcrafted products for the home, designed and manufactured in San Francisco.

-Can you discuss your background and how you first got interested in storage solutions?                                                     I've always had an interest in collections (buttons, stamps, ephemera, vinyl) but as I've gotten older I've realized the tendency to collect is a slippery slope towards disorder if I, or anyone really, is collecting without reflection. I didn't plan for my design career to be so closely informed by my love of music or by my tendencies towards order and structure;but it happened very naturally! I consider myself very lucky to have built this funny job of design + organization + music, because it hits so many of the right buttons for me.

-You have mentioned you believe a well-organized collection is going to be a well-used one, can you expand on that?
Sure, I think that its much easier to enjoy a collection if you know you're not going to be frustrated by it. If you can't find what you're looking for, or you've forgotten whats on your shelves, it is harder to invest quality time in that collection. I get a lot of pleasure out of listening to vinyl, because it forces us to take a break from work, our phones, etc. This is something that my husband and I enjoy together, and our friends and family often come together to spend time listening to music, socializing and unwinding together. Our vinyl collection is large, and it could be intimidating, but it is easy to access because it is organized with a clean visual system- any friend can stop by and pull out a record, which makes it more fun and social. We get to share what we love with the people we love.

I think a collection, (no matter the content) says so much about a person's values and interests-- I am often so delighted to be "invited in" to other people's collections- whether they collect a certain genre of music or time period, its like a little museum of that person's life! I design products to help others engage in more active, analog experiences, because I hope that my work encourages more people to pause more often to enjoy whatever media format they collect-- and if it happens to be more organized and looks good, even better!

-Can you discuss the importance of products being handcrafted?
For me, it is important to know and understand where I am investing my money, because I want to understand the full life cycle of a product. I'd rather have only few things that are well made than lots of possessions that are poorly made, or will need to be replaced. I really respond to objects that I know were handcrafted, it feels more meaningful to know where something came from, and how it was made. When I launched our first collection of products, I wanted to make the products that didn't exist on the market, and I wanted to make useful, durable products that I would use in my own home, and would be easy to incorporate into other people people's home aesthetic. In business we try to honor the values that we think makes good community- we work locally, we support other small businesses, and we try to use all our resources and materials very carefully and responsibly. 

All our products are made with a high grade european birch wood. Panels are laser-cut and engraved by machine, however every other part of the production process is done completely by hand. Every product we produce goes through multiple rounds of inspection to ensure we're delivering the strongest, cleanest and most useful product we can. All of our wood products are hand-sanded to ensure a clean, smooth finish.

-How does the custom creations process work?
We offer quick and simple customizations of individual record divider panels, (this will be available starting Oct 1-Nov 10th only)  but if a client has a large collection they need help with, we also do fully customizable design.

We work with clients to help customize systems that will work with their home, library or personal system. We can make dividers for any kind of media, storage system or space. We can do any size or shape panel, and we can laser-engrave just about anything! We usually start with a conversation about the collection, and after getting all the necessary measurements the process is pretty simple- We'll mock up a design, then once it is confirmed we'll move into design and and production. The whole process for a custom set usually takes about 3-4 weeks depending on the size of the order, and how busy our production team is (this is available year-round, expect in December).

-A lot of our clients don’t know what to do with their vinyl records, what are your best recommendations?
For me, taking the time to listen to vinyl is an immersive experience that you have to be present in. The format dictates that you have to be physically present to move the needle, flip the record, and be ready with the next LP. Listening to a full album is about taking a break, and actually focusing on the experience of music- physically being present and engaged as opposed to a possibly more passive music experience, say in streaming music.

I think knowing what is in your collection, is a big step towards actually using and appreciating it, no matter what you collect. If you've got a ton of vinyl LPs, CDs, or DVDs I think the first step is to put them in a place where you can see them, and then organize in a way that makes sense to you. The method doesn't matter so much, whether it is alphabetical, by genre, or artist, but that way you can see what you have, and its easier to find the things that you love. I've personally found that I'm more likely to spend time listening to my music collection when I can see it, and when its easy to access.  Our products also help preserve and protect collections, which is really important for vinyl collectors.

-What are your most popular products and why?
Our record divider collection is by far what we're best known for. Our record dividers allow our clients to build a organization system that works with their collections, no matter how they like to organize. Alphabetical organization (and our A-Z dividers) tends to be the most common way vinyl collectors organize, but I don't feel like there is one right way to catalog- its more about finding a system that works for you. Many of our customers also love genre panels, so they can use a mix of genre dividers and alphabetical dividers together.

Around the holidays, we offer gift certificates which is a pretty popular way to give the gift of organization to collectors in your life! We offer wood gift certificates in any denomination.

Product Review - Mifold Booster Seat

Give Me A Boost

It is possible you may have already seen or heard of the Mifold booster seat. The crowd-funded innovation has certainly generated a lot of buzz. Many have noted that the seat is a game changer and when one realizes it is basically the first new child booster seat design in over fifty years you feel like agreeing. Inventor Jon Sumroy had an if you can’t bring the man to the mountain, bring the mountain to the man moment. When my wife first told me about the Mifold (and after I saw the size) I kept asking the same question about our oldest son’s height. Once she repeated the concept a few times it finally sunk in. Instead of raising the child up in typical booster seat fashion, the Mifold lowers the seat belt to the child (see here).

The Mifold’s greatest strength lies in its portability and if anyone has ever looked over in traffic to see a youngster not in a booster seat you start to really appreciate the feature. The Mifold earns the name by folding to the size of an Amazon Kindle for use in grandma's car, taxi or the new carpool dad’s impulse purchased Porsche. Once unfolded the lap and shoulder belt are slid down and fed through the base. It should be noted that the Mifold was a little difficult at first for my 7-year-old to figure out, but now he is an old pro. However, since he is now at a different non-raised angle in the car he mostly points out airborne things of interested which are mostly clouds.

Over the years, I have noticed many car seats and booster seats collect in the garage especially in large families who have a wide age gap among the kids. The Mifold certainly provides a nice alternative to the traditional phone book model booster seat. And as an Organizer I think you know how I feel about phone books.