A Year in Review: Saying Good-Bye to 2020....
"Recognizing the need is the primary condition for design."
-Charles Eames
This year created a brand new normal for people everywhere. As we worked collectively as a society to address the larger needs that arise during a worldwide pandemic, Studio Maven also focused on how to solve the specific needs of individuals and the spaces they live in.
Adjusting to spending much of the day at our individual residences, brings new challenges. This year highlighted that the space you inhabit may greatly impact your quality of life, and it’s important to give attention to how we utilize our home.
Creating spaces that address the needs of homeschooling, work from home life, personal entertainment, privacy, socialization, and comfort are quickly becoming more of a necessity than a luxury.
At Studio Maven, we believe architects have the responsibility to present practical solutions to solve everyday problems. We strive to recognize the needs of our clients so we can enhance the spaces that they live in and love.
We also made adjustments to our firm, due to the changing local and global environment. We’ve strengthened our internal operations, grew our firm, and partnered wisely so we can continue to better serve our awesome clients going forward.
Our biggest news of 2020…
We embraced our virtual setup.
Studio Maven has relocated from our office in the Design District of downtown San Francisco, to a more flexible setup. Since we were already set up to work virtually, we embraced the “stay at home” orders. Audrey built a shed in her backyard for Studio Maven HQ, Sophie & Sarah set up home offices, and we all bought into Zoom full-time. Sophie & Sarah had always been partially remote, with plans to someday be in person full time. We shifted our habits and setup weekly *virtual* team meetings and get-togethers. We’re grateful for this new setup, that lets us operate safely & continue serving our awesome clients.
We hired our first full-time employee!
We’re so excited to grow our Studio Maven Family. In addition to the Principal Architect Audrey, we also have a Studio Manager, a drafter, and now a full time design associate that we hired in June. After a few years as a part-time associate, we’re very happy to have Sophie on board with us! It’s great to be a specialized team that can focus on creating high quality, custom projects that get done efficiently and smoothly.
We began a new strategic partnership.
Back in 2019, at the AIA conference in Las Vegas, Studio Maven first met Charrette Venture Group. CVG is a team of specialists and strategists, and was created specifically to help small architecture firms grow and flourish. They seemed like the perfect match for us and after a great conversation with CEO Todd Reding earlier this year, it was an easy decision for Studio Maven to partner with CVG. Learn more about the partnership here.
Other highlights…
Studio Maven launched a Vlog Series to help people understand more about the world of architecture. Our first episode is live, watch it here.
Audrey got to speak at an AIASF Event that took place virtually this past October/November. It was a two-part discussion about The Journey to Entrepreneurship, and adapting to working in a pandemic.
Our website got an update! This year we were able to post pictures from five brand new completed projects to our portfolio, and we’re really proud of them.
Finally, we’ve been learning how to enjoy the additional time at home with family, find new ways to connect with friends, and we continue to be grateful for safety and good health.
Talk to you again in the New Year!
Audrey