We recently connected with Amity Worrel and have shared our conversation below.

Amity, looking forward to hearing all of your stories today. We’d love to hear about a time you helped a customer really get an amazing result through their work with you.

I have been working with a creative and inspiring couple for many years now. We renovated their 1920’s bungalow over ten years ago to great success. We kept in touch over the ensuing years and then they reached out with a problem that they needed help with. They were tried of having to compromise on their living and working environments by having to rent space off site from their home for them to peruse their creative interests. They also love to host friends from all over the world and were using an airstream trailer on their site for longer visits. It was important to them to solve for creating space for those two needs without compromising their homes integrity or over building on their beautifully deep and historic North University lot. I was able to meet with them a number of times to understand their needs. I introduced them to a few different architects that I thought might be a good match and they landed on one. I was also able to put together a landscaping and building team that was a balance of professionalism and shared creative goals. The team is now well underway on a fully designed addition, renovation, and new build all on the historic lot. The property meets the clients goals for not feeling overbuild, it reflects their ascetic, it serves the purposes of creating work space for all their interests and it has comfortable guest accommodations. We ordered European windows, we are designing our own stained glass panels for the custom staircase and we have not only added living space but we have created inspiring outdoor spaces for movie viewing, gardening, dining and communing with nature. The most meaningful aspect of this whole process has been balancing the clients needs with the demands of a large team of experts all working for the same goal and keeping the communication flow thoughtful and respectful while holding space for the client to stay caught up and to feel listened to.

Amity, love having you share your insights with us. Before we ask you more questions, maybe you can take a moment to introduce yourself to our readers who might have missed our earlier conversations?

I started in this industry in the mid-1990s in NYC, where I began working in a highly traditional, high-end design firm. I fell in love with the business of design and found my calling ultimately working at a total of three firms before starting my own business. I was lucky enough to be at successful firms that were small and selective in terms of who they worked with and who they developed on their team. I got a really exciting opportunity to work for discerning clients all over the world. I went back to school for design at NYSID and Parsons, but most of my experience was in the filed on job sites and working with vendors and craftsmen. In my current firm we work on high end residential projects in Austin, Philadelphia, Boston and NYC and wherever our clients take us. We focus on renovations, additions and sometimes new builds but always with heavy decorating at the core. We love to customize, we make most of the furniture we use in projects and we work with artists from all different disciplines to bring clients’ visions to life in the real world. We want folks to know that we are true experts in the field with deep experience and we are interested in an empathetic approach to design solutions that reflect our clients’ visions first and foremost but do so with full respect to the artisans and professional we bring along with us.

We’d love to hear a story of resilience from your journey.

When the going gets rough with a client and emotions get high I pride myself on being able to face the situation with empathy and integrity. Years ago, we had a client who clearly felt disconnected and out of control of their project. I was able to be direct and honest with them about how their project had grown through their own decision making. I had done a stellar job of tracking their requests and purchases so when it came time to share that information with them I was able to do so in a way that made it clear to them that we were professionals and taking our role seriously. It was during the covid shut down that this issue came up and I think not having face to fact contact with the client had added some challenges to the work. I was able to get compensated for our work, make the client feel seen, get the general contractor the information they needed to complete the job and walk away with my head held high. It was not easy but it all worked out in the end.

We often hear about learning lessons – but just as important is unlearning lessons. Have you ever had to unlearn a lesson?

One thing that is coming up in my business now, 13 years into running this version of it, is that what worked for me in the early days will not necessarily work for me now. Early on needed to be scrappy and work with vendors and team members that I could afford on a more limited budget. I was smaller and more involved myself so I was able to make all the big decisions myself and did not have to rely on others to know how to navigate client management etc. Where we are now is a much more sophisticated company. I now have a “big ship” to steer so I need to focus on teaching and mentoring to create strong and more professional team members that can make smart decisions when I am not around. The early work that got me here will not get me there! After thirty years in this business I know enough to know that to scale a business that is successful I have to have systems in place and procedures as well that help my team navigate their work.

Contact Info:

• Website: https://amityworrel.com/
• Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/amityworrelco/?hl=en

Image Credits

Image 1 of the portrait is by Likeness Studios.
Images 2-4 are by Andrea Calo.
Images 5-6 are by William Abranowicz.