We’re excited to introduce you to the always interesting and insightful Rita Narcisse. We hope you’ll enjoy our conversation with Rita below.

Alright, Rita thanks for taking the time to share your stories and insights with us today. We’d love to hear about how you got your first non-friend, non-family client. Paint the picture for us so we can feel the same excitement you felt on that day.

My first client I had met at a previous dead end job, and we quickly became friends she was more like a second mother to me we discussed my idea of opening a Interior Design company she then said to me “I will be your first client” like all people who say that you take it with a grain of salt, a few months later I had quit the job that I was at for about 6 months and jumped in full force and yes, she was my first client. Her house was a new build in a very exclusive community, she was lovely to work with and I was able to be creative with her design needs in mind. I can remember adding up her items and feeling that excitement of “this is my first client” it was surreal because I did not plan on my life taking a turn in this direction but I am glad it did.

As always, we appreciate you sharing your insights and we’ve got a few more questions for you, but before we get to all of that can you take a minute to introduce yourself and give our readers some of your back background and context?

I was hired by another Interior Designer to work with her firm in 2002 we worked side by side and built her firm together, little did I know eight months later she would turn to me with an offer I could not refuse, she wanted me to take over her firm it was time for her to relax and enjoy her family, I was blown away to say the least it was a rather large firm, but like all things I jumped into it. What I have learned is communication and organization is key, the people you bring into your company are those who will be a reflection of your company. We like to have our design team run with their creativity, and really think outside of the box. I have one thing I live by “if everyone else is doing it or its trending, I am not doing it” being a designer you have to be the one to set design standards and let each design speak differently to you. We are a full service design company and do everything from the ground up, to one room at a time our clients consist of residential and commercial and we don’t just listen to our clients we hear them. Should you become a client of ours we are there every step of the way with you during your project, and create your story of what you want your space to be.

Can you tell us the story behind how you met your business partner?

My husband Edgar (Eddie) is my business partner, we met in 2009 when both of our industries collapsed him being in construction and me in Interior design we found ourselves in the restarunat service industry we worked for sister restaurants and became friends. About a year and a half later he went back into construction and opened his own company DME Construction Group, life was moving forward for him as it should. I also did the same thing but went into Fashion design and started my life with my partner of 5 years and opened “Stealth Swimwear” at the end of 2016 we both were starting over yet again our relationships with our partners were over and we reconnected January of 2017 at my 40th birthday party. One night we were talking about my past life as an Interior Designer and he mentioned I should get back into it, this was a conversation I had with many people prior and vowed it was a career I would never go back to, yet I found us opening Nouveau International Design, LLC. We would joke that we were the next Chip and Joanna Gains, but we really were and are he does the construction side and I do the design side together we are always bouncing ideas off of one another and wanting the very best for our clients. Our first designer Sally came on board we had met her in 2017 at a company she and I had work for together, I would joke that we were going to break out of that place I lasted a few months and spun off onto my own, and one day I received a phone call from Sally and she became our first designer, she’s a big sister to me and we have been creating beautiful spaces together. The three of us together have built the company from an idea in to a reality, and now we have three more designers on board with us.

How do you keep your team’s morale high?

We adore our team everyone works great with one another and brings a uniqueness to Nouveau, one key point is organization and communication it is key to a successful design team, being a team player is a major factor within our company there is no competition or negativity within our team. Each one of our designers is there for one another and are willing to help on a project if its with ideas, install day or talk through a difficult design aesthetic. We connect with one another because when members of a team feel linked, they are more inclined to put up the best efforts in their work. Moreover, you must determine how you want to structure your team. When assembling and optimizing your design team, start by selecting experienced design leaders who can create and communicate a vision, and motivate both the design team and the organization. Personal growth is another important for everyone to move on to the next step Nouveau designers are highly motivated and strive to learn new skills often for theirselves and the clientele.

Contact Info:

• Website: https://www.nouveauinternational.com
• Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/nouveau_international_design
• Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/NouveauInternationalDesign
• Linkedin: https://www.linkedin.com/company/nouveau-international-design
• Twitter: https://twitter.com/narcisserita
• Youtube: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UC6gDsxmzuahrjPexPv58pXQ
• Yelp: https://www.yelp.com/biz/nouveau-international-design-ormond-beach

Image Credits
Rinat Halo Photography