The High Price Of Design Experience

And a great opportunity.

When I First started in the Design Business I was hired by successful Interior Designer in Manhattan. We completed installing a big beautiful brownstone on East 73rd Street    

( between Park & Lexington ). 

We had been working all day finishing this job, making sure everything was just right, and every piece in its rightful place. The project had turned out beautifully, all 6 stories were fabulous.

We were finally back at the office , it was about 7 PM and I was packing up to go home on this cold and dark January night. Just then my boss called me outside and hailed a cab for me, 

I thought to myself,  he must be sending me home in a cab & paying for it because I worked so darn hard .

When I settled in the cab and looked up to say goodbye,  he handed me a bucket. In this bucket were cleaning supplies consisting of  paper towels, Windex, Ajax and a toilet brush. 

I said : " What is this for ?" He said: " I want you to go to the brownstone tonight and make sure that the bathrooms are not dusty on the counters or toilet seats. And make sure the toilets are clean. "

I absolutely flipped out !!!  I mean, I was a little designer. Little designers were not supposed to be cleaning toilets. Were they ??

I said:    " I have never cleaned a toilet, I am not cleaning their toilets !!!! " 

My boss smiled at me and said: " If you want to work for me you will,"  and he shut the door and off I went in the night up 3rd Avenue.

I was so angry, and I thought to myself, what were my chances of getting hired again by another designer of the same caliber, with my limited experience ? 

Thankfully, I only thought about it for 2  1/2  seconds.

I knew right then that I was willing to do whatever it took to gain the knowledge of an Uber Talented Designer. Who , by the way, was generous with the answers to any of the sometimes stupid questions I asked. He shared his personal design rules, which he came by painfully.

These rules came about because of a few expensive mistakes made in his early career.

I learned something about myself, I learned how much I wanted this profession. And how much easier it is for me to take my false pride for a moment, and just put it in a pretty little box for a while. 

Life for me is so much easier when I move with the direction of things, and just try to trust a little bit. 

I know less today ( if you follow my meaning ), than I did at 22 years of age. For me learning never ends, whether it is related to work or personal relationships. 

And it has been my experience, that an open and willing mind is a healthier mind.     And as you might have guest by now, I scrubbed that toilet until it sparkled , and did so with gratitude in my heart.

I mean after all, did I think cleaning a toilet would make me less of a person ?

Quite the contrary.

 **swarovsky crystal studded toilet

( enlarge any picture for more info and a closer look )

Renee Finberg 'TELLS ALL' in her blog of her Adventures in Design