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Interior designer's art: Listening to clients
Gerri Thomas has loved interior design since the eighth grade. It didn't become her career until her 40s, but she quickly found it was a perfect fit. "I love when somebody walks into their house or business after we've worked on it and say they love it," she said. "There's nothing better than that. It tickles me pink." As owner of Gerri Thomas Interior Design, Thomas does commercial and residential remodeling, such as a recent backyard project where she created an oasis with a pool, courtyard, deck, patio and fire pit. Thomas, 49, began her business nearly seven years ago after raising her children and seeing them off to college. Her first design project was the space for her husband's newly merged stock brokerage. Thomas said she was listening to the partners discuss the new building and immediately offered help. "Four men were trying to make all of the decisions," she said. "I told them there were many more choices and steps in the process, and they should do what they do best and let me handle it." Next, her husband's landlord asked her to design space for all of the building's tenants. "I had business cards printed, and that was it," she said. Thomas is currently working with Kutak Rock on its new space in the Kennedy and Coe building at the Waterfront. What is now bare concrete will soon be an efficient, beautiful and useful work space for the firm's attorneys, she said. Thomas says her business is the art of listening to her clients, visiting with their staff members and understanding their clientele. She said that's what makes her successful. In the case of Kutak Rock, which she's worked with previously, Thomas said, "I understand how they prepare for trials and the kind of work space they need." One of the most fun projects Thomas has worked on was a complete home remodel, which included removing walls and adding fireplaces. Thomas said she gets to know her clients so well they become fast friends. She even works on projects that are not related to interior design. Thomas said she is very mindful of keeping business local, which means shopping for decor in her hometown of Wichita. "If I provide loyalty to local providers and local business, the better Wichita does," she said. "And the better the local economy does, the more folks can afford extras like interior design services. It is a full-circle effect." http://www.kansas.com/business/on_the_job/story/533303.html |
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