Whether you’re looking for natural stone, brick, man-made stone, or cut stone for your patio, walkway, outdoor fireplace, outdoor kitchen, or water feature, odds are that you’ll find it at the Hedberg Landscape & Masonry Supplies showroom in Plymouth. For 25 years, the Hedberg family has been helping builders, architects, designers, and the general public finish their selections (while following product guidelines and allowances) and create beautiful color schemes and landscape designs through the use of brick and stone.
This Wednesday, Feb. 13, from 5:30-7:30 p.m., browse the showroom, enjoy complimentary appetizers and beverages, and learn from three talented local designers—Joy Robichaud, Katie Constable, and Kara Karpenske—as they share design tips and tricks for today’s homes during a free seminar. The designers will give individual presentations, highlighting specific examples of their work as they give pointers and answer questions about how best to integrate stone and brick into arts and crafts-style homes, contemporary/modern homes, and traditional/historic homes.
Here’s a little insight into the designers who will be at the Feb. 13 event:
KARA KARPENSKE
Kara Karpenske, founder of Kamarron Design, Inc. (KDI), has 12 years of experience in the design world. Her clients range from families to celebrities, musicians, and professional athletes. She has served as vice president of the International Furnishings and Design Association, is a current member of the Interior Design Society, and was selected as a finalist in 2010 and 2011 for the Better Business Bureau Integrity Award, recognizing companies who display an outstanding level of ethics and integrity in all business dealings. Her most recent endeavor includes hosting a Sunday radio show on myTALK 107.1.
Q. What are your greatest design strengths?
A. As the creative energy and team leader, I am the force behind the designs that represent KDI. I am known for my uncanny foresight to see a finished project and I am well versed in balancing color, texture, and scale. I also have an innovative ability to conceive solutions to challenging projects.
Q. What are some of the challenges you face as a designer?
A. Finding solutions that work for two clients with totally different tastes and ideas for a space.
Q. What’s the most valuable thing you’ve learned in your years of working professionally as a designer?
A. To fully think the space through. Listen to the clients’ needs first and to be fearless in showing options that will really create their desired dream space.
Q. What are some common misconceptions about what you do?
A. That working with a designer is more expensive than purchasing retail. Many designers have accounts with manufacturers and offer a shared discount with their clients. When you hire a designer, you get this in addition to professional design service. I think sometimes people forget, too, that their time has value. You save time when working with a designer.
Q. Do you have any advice you can share with our readers?
A. We offer one-hour in-home consultations where we provide limited design advice, interview the client(s), and talk about how we would work with them. Clients can also tune in to my radio show on MyTalk 107.1 on Sundays and go to our website kamarrondesign.com, click on “Company Profile” and “MyTalk 107.1 Host” for free design tips.
Q. What can Design Week attendees expect to learn at the event?
A. Trends and tips for 2013 … and interesting solutions to design.
KATIE CONSTABLE
With a homebuilder for a dad, Katie Redpath Constable of Redpath Constable Interior Design (RCID) grew up immersed in the industry. While attending the University of Minnesota and working toward a degree in interior design, she took a job with the airlines, where she was able to travel internationally. Exposure to the history, cultures, and architectural influences of the world later became a source of design inspiration. She worked for well-known local designer Billy Beson directly out of school, and started her own company 20 years ago. Although she does everything from cottage to contemporary, new construction has become her “calling card.”
Q. What are your greatest design strengths?
A. New construction and design—I have a strong understanding of the process of building. I love to explore the new innovative use of materials.
Q. What’s the most valuable thing you’ve learned in your years of working professionally as a designer?
A. Listen, listen, listen. Stay on (or ahead!) of the builder’s deadlines.
Q. What are some common misconceptions about what you do?
A. That my job is glamorous! Many meetings are held on very cold, dirty construction sites. Many times, I am in Sorrels and not-so-attractive down coats and snowpants.
Q. Do you have any advice you can share with our readers to simplify the design process?
A. Prior to taking on a new project, either remodeling or decorating—pull out pictures from magazines that resemble the overall “feel” you like from a space. Not necessarily a sofa, or chair you like, rather an atmosphere you are attracted to. Be honest about your expectations of function and materials.
Q. What can Design Week attendees expect to learn at the event?
A. I want people to know how important a designer is on a project, and that the designer can be involved on many levels. I often tell potential clients that the process is very individualized. Each client will vary in the amount of time they have and the amount of interest/level of involvement they are willing to put into a project. Most designers are willing to work at whatever level works best for the client.
JOY ROBICHAUD
Joy Robichaud of Joy Robichaud & Associates has been a designer for 25 years. She spent a decade honing her design skills at Charles Cudd Company, designing all of the model interiors and helping launch Charles Cudd’s retail furniture business, before deciding this was her dream career. She graduated from the University of Minnesota with a degree in interior design, is a member of the American Society of Interior Designers (ASID), the Builders Association, and has received numerous Trillium and Reggie awards, recognizing excellence in design, construction quality, and value.
Q. What are your greatest design strengths?
A. My greatest strength is my ability to get inside my clients’ heads. It’s my job to help pull their vision out. I want their spaces to look like their personality and not a reflection of my personal tastes or me.
Q. What are some of the challenges as a designer?
A. We have to be experts on everything—there are so many details on every product we’re using; so many details with seat depth and cushion construction and how things are put together and how fabrics function. I’ve been doing this for 25 years and I still learn something new every day—there are so many variables to consider. The longer I do this, the more humbling it is.
Q. What’s the most valuable thing you’ve learned in your years of working professionally as a designer?
A. If there’s a problem or an issue that comes up during the process, I won’t accept “no” for an answer. If it’s a matter of timing, or something went wrong, I think it’s very easy [for vendors or subcontractors] to say no, it can’t be done, but that just doesn’t work for me. There’s almost always a way to resolve issues.
Q. What are some common misconceptions about what you do?
A. That the space will be a reflection of what I like, rather than what my clients like … and another misconception is that our job is to spend money. Our job is to help clients save money by avoiding costly mistakes.
Q. Do you have any advice you can share with our readers about simplifying the design process?
A. Be clear about your budget and communicate a lot on the front end. Very often, there can be a miscommunication between couples when it comes to the budget. Be cohesive as a team so there’s no misunderstanding.
Q. What can Design Week attendees expect to learn at the event?
A. I’ll be talking about how to select stone in different applications—the pros and cons of different types of stone. I actually did a project on Lake Minnetonka last fall and will use that as an example of my work.
Meet these designers, ask your own design-related questions, and enjoy appetizers and beverages at the Hedberg Masonry Showroom
, 975 Nathan Lane N.
, Plymouth, MN 55441 from 5:30-7:30 Feb. 13.
The event is free, but registration is required. RSVP by calling Gail at 763-392-5920 or emailing gails@hedbergaggregates.com.
