Ten years ago I started Watkins Design Works in the Charleston Area Alliance small business incubator on Smith Street near Capitol Market. This year I’ve been busier than ever. It’s been fun working with 3 new clients on 6 different projects, and continuing relationships developed over the past few years. One of my first new clients and new projects this year was selecting and procuring artwork for Charleston Area Medical Center’s Teays Valley Outpatient Center. This has led to two more artwork projects for CAMC. Another unique art project completed this year was a 60′ long by 10′ tall photographic…
Welcoming 2023
It’s been awhile since I’ve published a newsletter. Marketing when busy is one of the hardest things to do as a small business owner! I have been really busy with work and backpacking trips, as well as downsizing to a small condo and then completely redesigning the kitchen. But 2021 and 2022 brought some great moments: With the Appalachian Mountain Club, I led trips to beautiful places: an early spring women’s trip to Sky Meadows State Park in VA, a bike-packing trip on the Pine Creek Rail Trail in PA, and an Appalachian Trail dayhike to Raven Rocks in VA.…
Re-membering in the age of climate crisis.
I read with great interest Jonathan Franzen’s recent article in the New Yorker titled “What If We Stopped Pretending? The climate apocalypse is coming. To prepare for it, we need to admit that we can’t prevent it.” I came away with different conclusions than other environmentalists. When I moved back home to West Virginia in 2007, I already had ten years of green building experience under my belt, yet it felt like every time I offered a “green” recommendation on a project, an idea to solve a community problem, or suggested a shift in perspective, I was met with the…
State’s future requires triple bottom line thinking (WV Sunday Gazette-Mail, Feb. 10, 2019)
Recently, I attended two different economic forecast meetings in the Kanawha Valley and would like to share some thoughts as a small business owner and environmentalist regarding the future of our state. I am sole owner of a professional services company and while the new federal tax law is helping me financially in the short term, tax law in general does not influence my business decisions when it comes to hiring and expanding. Long-term economic growth would be the driving factor, and what I’ve seen forecasted is more of the same level of thinking and keeping of the status quo.…
When should you hire a professional interior designer?
I’ve been practicing commercial interior design for over 20 years, yet many people are still unsure about what I do. The industry hasn’t been effective at making the profession as well-known as other design professions, and with overlaps with both architecture and interior decoration, true interior design can be seen as a bit of an unknown. One key difference between interior design and architecture is scale. To design a building is a much larger proposition than designing an interior space. In my experience, there are benefits to having both architects and interior designers on a project team. As in all…
Ingenuity Can Help West Virginia Change
Senator Joe Manchin’s passionate plea to save what’s left of the coal industry is extremely discouraging for West Virginia. Rather than show leadership during this time of energy transition, Sen. Manchin (as well as Senator Shelley Moore Capito, our Representatives in Congress, and most other statewide leaders) chooses to take the well-worn path of the status quo, and lacks the vision to see a real future for our state, one based on new technologies, services, and renewable energy. Sen. Manchin says that carbon capture and storage (CCS) “has not been demonstrated at any commercial scale power plant anywhere in the…
USGBC Strives to Improve Quality of Life
As a commercial interior designer who’s been working in the building industry for over 20 years, I couldn’t agree more with Brooks McCabe’s assessment that the built environment is “more than just bricks and mortar.” And as Chair of the U.S. Green Building Council’s West Virginia Chapter, this definitely holds true for me and our members. The purpose of the organization is to improve the quality of life for West Virginians by transforming the way the built environment is designed, constructed, and maintained, resulting in buildings and communities that are environmentally, socially, and economically prosperous. That is a big purpose,…
Entrepreneurship Week 2014
In November 2014, the Charleston Area Alliance celebrated National Entrepreneurship Week by highlighting several small businesses, including Watkins Design Works. Click here to read the full article: A Passion For Her Profession.
Nature Can Be A Model For Success In WV
(from The State Journal 4/4/14) Green building and issues of sustainability appear to be at a crossroads in West Virginia. Several factors contribute to this. One, the state legislature adopted the ASHRAE Standard 90.1-2007 for energy use in commercial buildings last fall. Now, West Virginia energy standards are finally in line with the majority of the country, including our neighboring states, yet still not at the forefront of current code adoption. (Maryland adopted the most recent energy code, ASHRAE Standard 90.1-2010.) Two, the so-called “war on coal” and the collateral damage of climate change from burning fossil fuels has heightened…
Charleston Gazette Op-Ed 1/29/14
Whether we realize it or not, right now we’re seeing what happens when one leg of the Triple Bottom Line is broken. We all understand a company’s “bottom line.” Indeed, Freedom Industries must be well aware of this common business phrase. But when we only consider the financial bottom line in decision-making (Economy), we leave the other two legs of Equity and Environment potentially damaged. Economy, Equity and Environment – the “three E’s” making up the Triple Bottom Line. Also think of it in terms of the “three P’s”: Profit, People, Planet. We’re sold different stories regarding what our priorities…