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Here’s a link to an article supporting what I was saying: http://www.usatoday.com/money/economy/housing/story/2012-05-15/housing-fills-in-urban-areas/54979594/1

I use facebook, we have a much underused blog and a website. We do get business through facebook recommendations and our website. We are the only design/build firm in our area that actually has images of their work online.
I post status’ regarding our projects on Facebook and also share quotes, designs we like, designs we don’t like, tips on…[Read more]

I have heard a successful business person tell us not to do profit sharing…just some advice we had passed on to us. They said that anytime you hire a new person or buy a new piece of equipment the other employees see that as taking some of their money, because they don’t understand overhead, etc.

I agree with Jordan. If the work is completed correctly the first time and on time perhaps bonuses occasionally would be incentive enough. We thought of this…our business is MUCH smaller then yours we had hoped to have two crews but really have all four working on one project at this point. We are still learning how to manage multiple projects…[Read more]

Wait a minute…I am a soccer mom, designer and occupier. haha. I protested then and I would again! The scourge you are imagining was a VERY small portion of protesters.

Thank you very much! 

I think this is true…that design/build is doing better. I am still amazed that we have as much work as we do. Our area is busy for design/build work, we aren’t the only ones filling this need. We had our first larger commercial project and won a bid for WSU…on top of our residential designs. We have four full time employees right now and we…[Read more]

Piet Oudolf. Just a plant designer, nurseryman and author…

Aiyou:
 
The subject you have posted about here has been discussed in this forum to the point it is ready to be dead and buried. Many, many people who are dealing will all sides of this concern have already commented, at length. I am one of them. I suggest you do a search here with queries such as “unemployment”, “job prospects”, “recession” and…[Read more]

hahaha…love.

Hey Aaron,
I haven’t read all of the responses so hopefully am not being redundant. Both my husband and I have BLA degrees from the University of Idaho, graduated in 2008 and 2009. First off…the depressing news. Neither of us got jobs BUT I didn’t apply. My youngest is just two years old, so the plan would have been for me to get a job at a firm…[Read more]

that is really cool, i should try that!

May I look? harrishaiqqal(at)gmail(dot)com

Let’s not overlook whether it was necessary to provide such a detail in the first place. We learn that this is what LAs do while we are in school. Sometimes it is exactly what you should not do. I don’t know which was the case here, but we should be aware of this.
 
If the design is sold as a separate service so that a client can either accept…[Read more]

It is always difficult in these situations. You have a client that you want to keep and get referrals from, but you don’t want to lose all your income on this project.
It is always best to be up front on these things in the beginning and legal action is probably over kill. The client may not even know they are doing something wrong. So make sure…[Read more]

Ya, I love his hand-drawn business cards too.  My favorite is the one that says ‘Jeff Shelton Architect slow but expensive’…

This is common language in the contract, and it is due to the whole “prototype” design practice, mostly used by chain restaurants and retail stores. It is in the contract because they tend to build one of four or five slightly modified versions of the same design, sometimes numbering in the hundreds of buildings. Generally, with these, new sets of…[Read more]

I think there seems to be some confusion on a “design” or “product”. If you have a patent on a design or product, then No, people can’t duplicate it. But, a landscape design of a neighborhood park or residential backyard for instance, can be copied to another location. Or are there specific elements in the park or backyard that are protected by…[Read more]

Thanks for posting that!  He does some really expressive, fun work.  I bet he really enjoys his practice.  Seems like a very interesting character as well, going by his work and the company he keeps.  Very artistic family.

I would highly recommend the Santa Barbara Botanic Garden. You will go by the Mission on the way there, so if you want to play a real “tourist”, that is still worth a visit. The Santa Barbara Courthouse downtown is an absolute “must”. There is a great park near the wharf that is also across from a very big hotel resort. I can’t think of the name…[Read more]