Creative industries in Washtenaw County add hundreds of millions of dollars to the local economy. In the weeks and months to come, host Deb Polich, the President and CEO of Creative Washtenaw, explores the myriad of contributors that make up the creative sector in Washtenaw County.
ABOUT KAMI MICHELS:
"I am a a vintage furniture loving mom of two rambunctious humans, so of course, I believe that the design process should first and foremost be fun. My approach to design is to maximize the function of the space while making it “sexy,” as I tend to say. I moved to Ann Arbor in 1997 to attend The University of Michigan, where I earned my BFA in Sculpture. I later attended Eastern Michigan University and worked on my MS in Interior design. I am a little quirky, proud of my geekiness, and bring a high level of genuine creativity to my clients. My designs have earned numerous awards and features on Houzz. Catch me around town—you’ll know it’s me because of the orange hair, eyebrow piercing, and tattoos."
RESOURCES:
Center Design Build on Facebook
Center Design Build on Instagram
Center Design Build Contact Info
TRANSCRIPTION:
Deb Polich: Welcome to 89 one WEMU's creative:impact. I'm Deb Polich, president and CEO of Creative Washtenaw and your host. Thanks for tuning in today and every Tuesday to meet the Washtenaw County artists and creative people who make this--our community--one of the most vibrant in Michigan. You know, I think I've mentioned before that one of the top five ways people express themselves creatively is in their living spaces--from layout to color choices to furnishing. We want to feel good in the places we spend most of our time. Some of us have the knack, but sometimes we need help. And that's where someone like Kami Michels, an interior designer, comes in. Kami, welcome to creative:impact.
Kami Michels: Hi, Deb. Thank you for having me.
Deb Polich: Yeah. So, you know, I think that there's some psychology to why spaces, the spaces we inhabit, have such an impact on us. What would you say is the reason? Is there kind of like a layperson's description of why that's so important?
Kami Michels: Oh, goodness. Well, I can say that for myself, personally, my home is my heart. So, it's a place that I want to reflect myself, my family, our values, be accepting, be nurturing. And I've worked with clients over the years who have lived in homes for whatever amount of time that they weren't that, you know? So, they come to me and say, "Please help. I've hated this space the entire time I've been here. Every time I look at it, it makes me angry. And I've lived here for 20 years!"
Deb Polich: Wow! That's a lot of time to be angry. So first, do you do only residential, or do you do industrial, or do you do a little bit of everything?
Kami Michels: I've primarily focused in the past on residential. But Center Design Build also does commercial.
Deb Polich: And that's where you work: Center Design Build.
Kami Michels: Yup!
Deb Polich: Right. And you studied art at the University of Michigan before coming here to Eastern to work on your master's degree in interior design. Tell us about that transition and how your interior design work is inspired by the application of a visual artist.
Kami Michels: Oh my goodness! So, my brain has always worked in puzzles, if that makes any sense.
Deb Polich: Okay.
Kami Michels: So, at the U of M, I say that I played with fire and dirt. For my undergraduate, I was a ceramic sculptor.
Deb Polich: Okay.
Kami Michels: And that was really hands-on creative in a way that you could create it yourself, right? After undergraduate, I didn't really know what I wanted to do. And to be honest, I didn't realize that interior design, or even necessarily remodeling, were a career path that existed. I grew up in a small community in Michigan where that really wasn't a thing. Once I found out that Eastern had an interior design master's program, I was like, well, let me tell you, I four-pointed that program because I found what my heart had been looking for the entire time.
Deb Polich: I want to say that that's actually what the show's all about: helping people understand that there are career paths-- creative career paths--that one might not have just landed on in their everyday life as a young person.
Kami Michels: Yeah, definitely. And I feel so wonderfully fortunate to have found my path.
Deb Polich: Absolutely. So, hey, I picked this right up from your webpage. You say, "My approach to design is to maximize the function of the space while making it." And I quote you here. "Sexy." What do you mean by that?
Kami Michels: So, my brain always works. We need to make a space functional first. You can make anything pretty or visually pretty, as far as interiors or exterior spaces go. If you do that without the function, why go through the effort, right? Why end up with a beautiful space that doesn't work for you and your family or your business and your clients? So first, we work on maximizing functionality--make sure the space is going to work for those people who inhabit the space. And then, we make it beautiful, right? We make it sexy. And that's whatever that means to you in your heart. Whatever brings you joy.
Deb Polich: A matter of form, function and sexy. I like it. 89 one WEMU's creative:impact continues with interior designer Kami Michels. So, clients must come to you with an idea of what they want. Where do you start? And how do you help them get what they want, or, sometimes I suspect, improve upon what they think they want?
Kami Michels: Yes. So, it really involves asking a lot of questions--questions that sometimes are pretty awkward. But they come from a place of kindness to try and really understand what our goals are. You know, if we're talking about somebody who's home that they've lived in for a year or five years or 20 years, talk to me about what really works for you. You know, what do you like most about this space and how it functions for you and your family, right? If you've lived here, what doesn't work? Do you have enough storage. Do you find that you're always tripping over each other when you're trying to use the space? Are your kids getting in your way when you're cooking at the hot stove? So, we start with the functional questions first. It's basically like, "What works in the space? What doesn't work in that space? Do you have any ideas for improvement?" And then we start with the puzzle pieces--putting everything into an order to make it the best it can be.
Deb Polich: I like that idea about puzzle pieces. You know, as a designer, you bring a lot to the room or to the puzzle, and you've also got access to products and materials and examples that, even with websites, like Wayfair or House, the general public doesn't. How do the resources you have access to help lead your clients to the selections that enhance their spaces, the furnishings, and the like? You know, like the perfect kitchen faucet or the coolest cabinets.
Kami Michels: Yeah, well, you know, I've been in the industry for about 15 years, so I certainly have a pretty good depth of product knowledge out there. I also have vendors that I work with and really trust. Say, that kitchen faucet. I know which brands are the most likely to hold up when we're talking about making actual selections. Again, it goes back to that questioning. Are there any general styles or photos you can point to that you like and that you're drawn to? I'm not asking for a specific "I want this faucet or this light fixture." But then, with that information, I do the legwork on my clients' behalf, so that they don't have to spiral, right? So, I know what generally we're looking for, but they don't have to put in 20 hours or 10 hours of research, finding something that's going to fit their needs and also fit their budget. Because I can tell you, working on my own house, I do spiral.
Deb Polich: So much!
Kami Michels: There's too many things! Yeah. So, I try to protect from that effect. You know, we want to make the process as fun as it can be and as least amount of stress as possible.
Deb Polich: Well, you know, I've been in this world and doing my own homes for a long time. And it used to be that you could only go to retail stores. But now, we have House, and now we have HGTV. How do those kinds of places aid or compromise the design process?
Kami Michels: Oh, goodness. There are goods and bads. I'm really a fan of the House web page. I think that it's been a really great resource for homeowners and for designers and architects if you look at what's going on. I hate the word "trend," but what people are really excited about going on. As far as television shows and HGTV, it's entertainment. I think that that's something that's important to keep in mind as a viewer and as a professional in the industry. A show, for example, "Property Brothers" is very entertaining, but in the actual remodeling and construction world, we don't ever want to start knocking down a wall and then slap our faces and say, "Oh, no! That's a load bearing wall!"
Deb Polich: Problem!
Kami Michels: Exactly. We don't like to have surprises. We like our projects to run as seamlessly as possible, through material selection, through the building process. So, you know, I think also, unfortunately, that TV shows have done a disservice to homeowners setting expectations for project cost.
Deb Polich: And do you have a challenging project or design problem that you encountered and had to solve something that was really impactful for you?
Kami Michels: Oh, goodness! There have been a number of them. I can think of one recently. It was a space in Ann Arbor. The homeowner had been there for a number of years. Really, just a beautiful person. And she hated her kitchen/dining room. And to be honest, it was the most, nonsensical layout that I have seen in my lifetime.
Deb Polich: You sometimes wonder. What were people thinking?
Kami Michels: Exactly! So, we ended up removing a fireplace, removing a wall, just completely reimagining the space. It was unique with tall ceilings on one side. We added beams, and it just really, truly, from a layout and from a end result, ended up being a place that brought her heart joy.
Deb Polich: So, that's actually my last question. How do you know when a client is thrilled?
Kami Michels: Oh, when we hug. When we hug. Yeah. Yeah. I tell people that they're stuck with me beyond the duration of a project. They're now a part of my family.
Deb Polich: Oh, that's great! That's a great answer. Kami, thanks so much for being on the show.
Kami Michels: Oh, thank you so much, Deb.
Deb Polich: That's Kami Michels, director of interiors at Center Design Build. We've been talking about the art of interior design. Find out more about Kami and see some of the spaces she has designed at WEMU dot org. You've been listening to creative:impact. I'm Deb Polich, president and CEO of Creative Washtenaw and your host. Mat Hopson is our producer. Please join us every Tuesday to meet the people who make Washtenaw creative. This is 89 one WEMU Ypsilanti. Public radio from Eastern Michigan University.
If you'd like to a guest on creative:impact, email Deb Polich at deb.polich@creativewashtenaw.org.
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