Slow and Steady
Happy Saturday friends!
Today I am happy to say that my work week has extended into the weekend in the most beautiful, unhurried, and stress free way. I am enjoying a slow morning, sipping on a gorgeous Butterfly latte and soaking up this opprotunity to tidy up some work from last week and ready myself for the week ahead.
If you’re local to Peoria IL, have you tried Intuition Coffee Company?
As you know, BlackHouse on Bigelow has settled into its pace which, although slower than I had hoped, is decidedly better for its result. I feel like I am often caught in between a rock and a hard place and wanted to dive into how I, as a trade professional, interpret progress on a project and when how I decide if speed or result is most important. Spoiler…more often then not it is the result.
During the early years of Leslie Tyler Design I aligned myself with General Contractors. I leaned on them to manage construction for my clients and always thought that I would continue to do so. LTD’s speciality and value to the client was in the design of the space right? I thought that I wanted and needed someone that could worry about the nuts and bolts of how that space is put together. While it is not something I regret, what I have discovered over the past four years is that the degree of desire and need depended greatly on the circumstances. What I truly needed was a group of builders and trades that understood that lasting work must come from a place of patience. While there is no “one fits all” I can say that for LTD, process and quality will always outweigh the expediency of any project.
That is not to say that there is not value for speed, time is most certainly money especially in construction. But after having both options, what I have found is that the teams that do it fast, rarely executed the job with the attention to detail that I demanded and was committed to providing my clients.
Through trial and error I am excited that I have found my people. My crew that gets it. My crew that is eager to dive further into solving a concern and refuse the notion that “it can’t be done”. My crew who is thinking four steps ahead and my crew who enthusiastically pushes boundaries and innovation. My crew who values the craftsmanship of the 150 year old manor and my crew that embrace the innovation of adapting the 1910 bungalow into a home any modern family would find comfortable.
My mentor recently reminded me that when thinking about what my offer is to this world I must be clear on my value proposition. What do I do, and hint I can’t be “everything”. I couldn’t be me without inevitably not being someone else.
I am more comfortable than I’ve ever been to say what Leslie Tyler Design & Construction is and what we will continue to be.
We are not the firm that you come to when you want the project done fast, or at least fast for fast sake. We’re not who you call when you’re looking for a magical before and after in a weekend. We’re not the firm that will limit our sourcing to a fixture we can pick up today or edging that makes for a quick install.
We are the firm that you call when you want the best. When you demand the thorough build. When you want the firm whose attention to detail will supersede yours every single time. We are the firm that client’s come to when they want it done right, well, and the firm that will only leave you with a beautifully crafted space ready for you to enjoy.
This beauty, located in Galesburg IL, is getting foundation work that starts next week!
And that is the approach we are committed to bringing to BlackHouse on Bigelow. While this week may not carry physical evidence of a work. This week was spent preparing for all the intricacies of the work that will once again resume, and with it the fortitude that this turn of the century Foursquare demands.
Can’t wait to see you next weekend!
If you feel led to be a part of something much greater than us individually and embark on a journey to uncover just how meaningful saving an old house can be please use the link below to choose your level of sponsorship towards BlackHouse on Bigelow. Each contribution will receive our signature BlackHouse candle, which has long represented the powerful yet tempered energy required to bring forth a new vision.