Hello and welcome to Episode 34 of design.
Curious podcast, I'm your host and Mentor.
Rebecca Ward. Today on the show, we have
Jessica Marshall of brass Rose interiors and you're going to
love hearing her story. It is a unique one for our show,
because she is a Hospitality designer and so she has a lot of
great insight about that. So let me tell you a little bit
about her. But first, I want to remind you,
I have a special download For you, the three things.
I wish I had known before starting my career in interior
design so you can go into the show notes, click on that link
and get that into your inbox, because I know you want to know
more about the career and the things that I wish I had known
before I started out. Okay, let me tell you a little
about Jessica, she is the Sacramento area.
Is only interior designer focused on the hospitality
industry who has over 20 years of experience in both the K and
the US. She's also the only interior
designer that has been voted in as a board member for California
Restaurant Association. So already great accolades after
graduating from the University with a degree in interior
design, she decided to focus on hospitality industry interning
at HP a led her to La company where she did purchasing and
project management for luxury hotels, working on projects,
such as Ojai Valley, Inn and Spa.
Ba from intern to interior. Designer to design director, she
has designed and managing Terror projects for Marriott Hilton and
IHG with a desire to work internationally.
She lived in England for eight years, where she got to work
throughout the UK, evolving brand Interiors for restaurants
and bars. Both front and back of house.
Currently settled in California, Jessica decide to open brass
Rose to exclusively serve Boutique business owners.
Following a dream, looking to build a Them experience through
service and atmosphere and we get into all the details about
her journey in the episode. So let's get to it.
You're now listening to design, curious a place where you
creative one are here to learn about what it really is.
Like, to be an interior designer and I'm your host and Mentor
Rebecca, Ward, if you're worried about how to succeed in a
creative career, if you're ready to learn your next steps to
become an Interior Designer. And if you want the satisfaction
of doing something you love every day, you are in the right.
Right. Place grab a coffee, a notebook.
And let's dig into today's episode.
Hi Jessica. Thank you for coming on design
cures, podcast, so great to have you here.
Thank you, thanks for having me. Yeah, I am really interested to
hear your story because we've been friends for a couple years
and I don't know if I know you're full story so the why
don't we get started on how you got into interior design.
Okay, so I actually got started from interior design in high
school. I grew up in a very small town
that Cows and horses and one of our classes has actually
interior design and of more residential based but they had a
few people come over from like different universities and kind
of give their spill in like their program with an interior
design. Mmm.
And like being from a small town.
I was like I am out of here. When I graduated I mean go to a
A college that's far away. But then I ended up the one that
I got accepted to. Well I got accepted to a few but
the one I ended up going to was actually, in San Francisco.
Hmm, that one was kind of Closer by than I was expecting, but it
was so different from from here. Yes, still a big city, exactly.
Yeah. Lately different like, cows and
horses. I mean, because a group and
Loomis California. Yeah, it's a lot different now,
Right now 20, which is good, but yeah, that's how I kind of got
dropped into it. Okay, did you know that you are
creative before like hearing that talk on interior design?
It just you gravitated towards that subject because it's kind
of something that you're already really artsy, and creative and
high school. It seems like the only thing I
was actually interested in was like art and then also like we
had a Humanities class and I was interested in the humanities.
He's close to you but that was kind of more of a what do I do
with that? It'd be like more Museum jobs
and everything. So it was like, well, how could
I make money and be an artist at the same time?
And so interior design and was kind of what I leaped into I
actually before I went to college.
I had no idea actually what it really entailed, okay?
So going into college, it made me understand really the
program. I was in there's like all these
different options that you go into.
Residential, you could go into. Commercially could go into
hospitality and that before I had no idea.
It was like a whole experience. Yeah.
So how did you like San Francisco the university that
you went to did? You thought it was a good
program and they had good options for interior design?
Yeah, it was great. So I ended up choosing the
private. So I went to the Fashion
Institute of Design and Merchandising.
I did that, because Cuz I was quite impatient had a program
where you could get through your ba with me three years.
So it wasn't taking a break or anything.
So, I ended up selecting that one and it was really cool
because you had this still do like you're normal like math and
you're history, also your English but they also had all
those different areas within interior design that you got to
explore. So they have like a potential
thesis Had commercial and they had a Hospitality one.
So throughout the three years that you're actually there you
were kind of exploring those three different.
Okay. So you didn't have to choose
one. They let ya were all of them all
of them, right? Yeah.
And then they made you do an internship.
I think every college or university should make you do
that for sure. I agree.
Yeah. And so where did you intern at?
So I ended up interning. Any at or Spenard Associates.
So HBA, they're like the kings of hospitality own.
The hospitality interior design world, you do all the really big
luxurious and they do a lot of fun, a fun hotels to.
So they do like the Ritz Carlton's and they do the huge
Marriott's and Hilton's and everything.
And I think for me because I was like, right out of high school
and I was like, I'm out of this little town.
Want to go see the world, I want to go experience at Hospitality
really interest me because it had like I was able to go
traveling for work, or I was to experience all the restaurants
in San Francisco. So it's just the more traveling
and culture that appealed to me it was more like the whole
hospitality industry. It's like that's my jam.
Yeah. Living in San Francisco.
Every time. Like we went out to like all the
fancy Restaurants and we checked out all the fancy hotels.
And anytime I got to travel I was like this is what I want to
design, it felt there was like a huge pool towards that.
I think it was just because mainly I wanted to travel I mean
so I've always been interested in different cultures and my
family's always been about food to so anything to do with food.
I'm like all right. Wow, that's it.
That's really great. That you are able to intern for
Them, did you end up working for them after college?
Or did you what was the next level actually?
So after college, I was like, oh my God, what am I going to do?
I'm done. Like, because you're so used to
just going to school your whole life and then once that's done,
you're like, okay. Now I need to like, figure out
where I'm going but I'm doing so within my internship, they were
talking about. You kind of have to go wherever
the jobs are so I applied like all over the place and And I
ended up applying pretty much anywhere and everywhere I
actually did get a position HBK but they wanted me to move to
Hong Kong and I wasn't ready to move to Hong Kong.
So I ended up taking this position in the Santa Monica
that I applied for it, which was in hospital.
A design. So I went down there lived in
Santa Monica and her dog do Beach.
So that was awesome. Sounds great, hurry.
Okay, to be to know dolphins. And so I got a really good but I
mean she hired me because of my experience and my internship
with a okay. And she was a small boutique
kind of business like our, she had actually only one other one
other girl working with her. So, okay good at making her team
of 30 stop doing some really cool hotel.
Seems like we ended up doing the Ojai Valley Inn it up to me and
I'm a lot of the franchisee hotels that you like the Best
Westerns. So that was a great experience
because she was so small. They ended up doing a lot of
like the purchasing and we could think about Dean and a lot of
the project coordinating and then we got to touch like a few
little. The concept designed to mostly
did the concept. Okay, yeah yeah.
So working for a smaller firm, did you?
So see the business side of it as well.
Yes. Yeah, we her all about her
headaches. We hurt.
Oh, things that you're loved. I mean we were some funny
schedules. We worked because she wasn't a
morning person. Oh she worked in 27 so we worked
N7 but yeah we got to learn a lot about the business side.
I think working for a small firm is like really awesome because
you get to like have Hands-On on like everything.
But aside from the purchasing side project management from
design. So you get to touch my clothes
with the different things. Yeah.
And because she was a small office, she shared an office
with her brother-in-law and her husband, and they ended up doing
movies. Oh, and skydiving.
So like, when I was trying to project manage all of the, and
the hotels that we had in stuff, I used to watch her
brother-in-law, go like, in and out of our office with his
parachute. And I was like, I want to do
that. And so one day on my, on my day
off, he took me to go skydiving and I got addicted to skydiving.
Oh no the addiction wasn't actually the adrenaline rush.
It was a Clarity. So it's like you're jumping out
of a plane and you're falling at like 200 miles per hour mate and
you're just so focused on like pulling your shoe like this.
The only thing you're thinking about is that one thing, and so,
like all the stress of like your job and life, and work, and
everything just goes, like right out of your head, and that was
fiction. So, I ended up not only doing it
to redesign down in Santa Monica and it up doing some skydiving.
Jumping with people like a nanoscale are just guys who
taught me how to skydive actually did like Point Break.
Dad and Charlie's Angels. So we worked on a few
commercials that her brother-in-law and her husband
guy. So then like in the evenings or
like sometimes I would even do an interior design.
I end up doing like a jump and so they'd fill me.
And then when they like zoom in to the person who actually lands
at the model, if you wake me up at the one up in the air.
Yeah. But there's a connection to so
all about like the whole lot of traveling and everything.
The guy who taught me how to skydive and didn't get me a job
and I'm New Zealand. And this is kind of like around
the time. I think Lori the Rings.
Like first came out, it's kind of like, oh, I've heard about
New Zealand, because of this movie, but so I ended up going
there. So I ended up actually taking a
whole year off of interior design.
And I think I did that because Has one I got burnt out from
going right from high school to call it and then doing like that
three-year like push and not having to time off except for
like a week for the holidays. Mhm.
And then like right into a job and then I think something and
it is stressful like project management and like the whole
procurement and stuff of interior design is stressful.
Yeah, it's really stressful and then I think being able to like
to take that break to work abroad.
I couldn't turn down. So we ended up doing that.
And then I live down there for a year doing skydiving, unlike
movies and a few cinematography of cameras and the tandems.
And I ended up meeting my husband there.
And so my guy being yes, skydiving.
Well he wouldn't cry. Have to like you went skydiving
at all but he was actually working in Australia but
traveling around New Zealand. No, I meant Em down there and
he's from England. So after your down there, he
ended up proposing and I ended up moving to England and then I
got back into interior design when he went to England and I
went to England. Okay, wow, that's kind of
secure. It is, but it makes sense like
having that kind of Gap year or, you know, some time to just.
Yeah, you explain about Yeah, it was an unexpected Gap and I just
ended up getting into kind of like a dangerous passion but,
but it still in it kind of like checked off the whole like
travel bug that I had to. Yeah.
And it just kind of led me on like a whole, like international
interior design path even though I took that that you're off.
Yeah. So what is it like designing
internationally like They have so many different codes and
regulations. Mmm, but America has the most
restriction out of everything. Okay?
So it was in a way, a little easier.
Mhm. Doing Hospitality.
Because I didn't have going back to hospitality.
I didn't try to like switch between residential or even like
Office Buildings or commercials they and their job and
Manchester doing restaurants. We did a few little pubs that
had like ends above them. Oh, yeah.
But they were mainly restaurant. Hmm, it was really interesting.
I think, the more like we have a lot of, like, the 80 cows and a
lot of restrictions depending on your jurisdiction.
Mhm, Thursday, action. Kind of really depends on the
codes that you end up doing for the restaurant that you end up
doing, which is kind of crazy. Mhm.
But there it was. Like the whole country was
pretty much uniforms, and you did have Ada regulations that
were not as regulated as ours are here.
The most regulations that you had over in England or was
actually the buildings. So they a lot of them were
historical buildings. Oh yeah, hmm.
So one of the buildings that we worked on, it was a crypt oh
like weight in like the Middle Ages.
Yeah then it turned into A wine cellar and then it turned into a
cafe. Oh, so we did the remodel for
that. We had to actually get an
archaeologist and make sure we weren't disturbing any bones.
Mmm, couldn't also put. We can put any holes, like any
new holes. It couldn't put in the building
at all. So we work with what was there.
So that was a challenge with the lights because the lights were
like really done. Those were kind of the
challenges. Found and Europe that we worked
with a lot. So most of the historical
buildings. Yeah, yeah.
Wow, how fun though? So once you had decided on
Hospitality design, were you ever curious about exploring
other commercial or residential? Or is it just like you knew
Hospitality was for you and you still love it obviously.
So yeah, no, it was always just Hospitality was always what I
love. Lived.
I've never thought about anything else.
Yeah, I mean really recently I thought about like more of like
the boutique Office Buildings and some retail but it's still
yeah it's still Hospitality so it's really just restaurants and
boutique hotels. For sure.
That's great. That's like a I mean it's really
like a niche that you can just stay and do excellent at, you
know, it's your you really excel at that and that's When I get
inquiries for this types of things, I send them your way.
You're really good at it. Yeah, I think it's just, it's
really just based on like, what you love.
Hmm. Like like I was talking about
like, with my family, it's always kind of been about, you
know, you gather with your family and it's always about the
food, it's always around food and then my experience in San
Francisco, really changed me because of the restaurants that
we went to the atmosphere. Here and then College D and
Hospitality thesis, you got to design.
I mean, obviously when you're in college like you design a hotel,
right? But you're not given a budget
that was just like okay just design it and it's based off
your creativity and it was also based off code which was cool
when you get into real life. When it's about the budget
restaurants to have that challenge of of a budget, really
tight budget especially with a lot of Clients that I have
because it's kind of like they're trying to create their
dream, but it's also like they're just beginning.
So they don't like a lot of capital to put into it, right?
So that's that's one of the challenges of doing the
restaurant industry. Is that it's not that often
where you get a restaurant owner who is willing?
I mean, sometimes you do who's willing to put out, like I don't
half a million. That's a lot for a restaurant
unless it's like a huge another play.
Lane to actually franchise out. Yeah, it is but budget is always
challenging really any aspect of design because it's so limiting
to your dreams and hopes. It is right the challenge with
hospitality where it's like you've gotta make sure that your
materials are very durable. Yeah they meet well for here it
is meet your fire rate at codes and stuff like chili.
They might have changed it in England since I've been there
because I was in England about eight years ago, actually nine
years ago now and There wasn't anything that had to do with,
like, fire rating. Oh, okay.
When we made sure like the materials were actually like
durable. Hmm.
And they could sustain like the amount of people that are going
to have but yeah, the fire rating wasn't an issue over
there. Like we never really had to
worry about that may because it rained so much everything that
California would. Yeah.
That's True. That is true as a little bit
less flammable, I think. Yeah, okay.
So you were in England until about nine years ago, and then
you decided to move back to California or dead.
Yes, yes. Oh, because I was originally
from here, when I was in England, after I did, like my
whole like, okay, New Zealand working in New Zealand, and then
working in England, I always away from high school until
then. So that was a good.
I'm bad. At math, is why I'm going to
tear. Minor 20 years, I whatever.
Yeah. But being in England, I'm my
grandparents passed away. So it was a part like they like
literally passed away like all within like the same year.
Oh no. And it was hard for me to get
the funding to come back home for like all the funerals and
for, you know, I mean before we even the funerals just to say
goodbye and stuff so it's time for me to come back home.
So I kind of did like a whole a whole circle, but Yeah, so that
those main reason I came back and then I just got right back
into the hospitality aspect of it when I was actually working
and England. The company that I worked for
CDs Williams. They did back of house
commercial design. So like the the kitchen, so we
can go here and all of the, what we call, like K sheets over
here. So, the kitchen.
So that was the first company I worked for that basically zero.
And on restaurants and adopted the zero and like the
front-of-house their main thing was actually doing the
commercial kitchens. Okay?
Yeah. Because there was a Leah
separate ball game for me. Yeah.
Because they did pretty much everything.
So they picked out stuff from the plates that go on the tables
to the front of house design to The Branding to actually the
installation. So they have their own
construction team to. But, um, They're a big so
working at a company like that, you got to experience a lot of
it. But you got to kind of
understand how important it was for like the operational flow of
the restaurant because you could make it look as pretty as you
want. But unless you have like
operational flow less, they have the right staff for the service
unless they have the right food coming out, they don't really
succeed. So you kind of need all those
things. So learning that Is gold really
in about the kitchen equipment, learning about the operational
flow on your design for the front of house.
And then so when I moved back here, I actually found a company
who did that also, mine has been installed that they didn't do
the install bit, but did commercial kitchen was actually
there it was their main thing. So they did all the commercial
kitchen drawings and design and so, They hired me to actually
build up their interior design so that way they were able to
offer their clients like the full service.
Okay. Yeah.
And so then at what point did you start your company?
So I only started my company like two years ago.
Okay. Yeah I'm ready.
Call it like a baby isn't but I've been doing interior design
for Hospitality for like over 20 years.
But yeah, so when I, when I got here the Benny that I worked for
was a great company, they were based in Sacramento and that was
the whole reason why I moved back because my family's in this
area but they move their headquarters to Costa Mesa and I
wasn't going to move, they just move back, right?
So we ended up not arguing with them anymore and I got back into
a hotel design for this other company and I saw their company,
they did like a really big hotel.
So they did the wind Garden ins they did the Marriott.
ABS. They did the IHG hotels.
It really big franchise Hotel Hilton.
Hilton was really fun to work on.
I like the built-ins. Yeah.
So he also answered built, their interior design company.
I had to say it two years ago to start my own, are you okay.
And how are you enjoying it being a, I love it.
Oh my God, I love it so much. Hey do I look to you get to
select the projects that you want to work on?
Hmm, I know as a business owner. And I mean, you have to make
your pills to that's always the, you know, scary part.
Yeah. Is is getting, you know, all the
financing to all them all the money.
Yeah, it's been fun. Hey good.
So where do you see yourself going?
Like, you think you'll grow to the size of having some
employees or just going to see how it goes from here?
I think I would like to but I think I'd like to see Boutique.
Okay. I don't think on Honestly, I'd
have probably more than like five people.
I mean, that's how I see myself currently.
I really think it would be awesome to somehow collaborate
or like partner with someone who does kitchen design as in like
the commercial kitchen design, just because it's not really my,
I could do it. I'm good at it, but I don't
really like it as much. Yeah.
So to hire someone off on or to collaborate with someone
Actually does that bit would be good?
And then obviously getting someone to do, bookkeeping to,
right? Yeah, social media, I'm not very
good at social media. I think it's probably my age
where I'm just, I'm not like, I don't know.
I'm kind of morph so focused in the moment.
I sometimes forget to video things, right?
Yeah, yeah. And that's what I'm bad at.
Yeah, we can Outsource that eventually.
I'm sure. Yeah.
So, for someone Who is maybe going to design school and
considering Hospitality design what your recommendations, like,
what is it that they need to kind of really be interested in
or know about before committing to hospitality for Hospitality?
I think if you have more of like an interest in a passion for
like traveling and food, that's that's kind of the base of it.
But knowing that hospital Money design has a lot to do with code
restrictions. It has a lot to do with
operational flows of the business.
It's kind of not really all about your aesthetic like if it
was all about my aesthetic things would be like black and
elegant and have some crazy, fun graffiti art work all over the
place, but but it's more about your clients.
And and what they're trying to achieve as their own customer
experience. Like, we just finished up a
booty law office, she was a divorce attorney and her client
experience, but she wanted it. Is that she wanted it to be like
cozy and comforting. And like here, here's a tissue,
not like, I'm going to like, you know, make sure you get what you
need kind of thing. I do like her interior.
Is we're all about that. It weighs more.
It was more natural and it was comfy and cozy for her clients.
So that was her brand and then it's kind of yeah, like
especially with their restaurants if you kind of have
more like an idea of like menu and logo.
That's an order of what we go off of and how you want your
clients to your customers who come into the restaurant to
experience, how you want them to.
So it says it's about the brand, their final Journey.
Any really, that's how you end up designing for them.
Do you work a lot with graphic designers on The Branding
messaging and brand development? Or is that something that you
actually work on yourself? Like have you developed your
graphic design skills and things like that for working with a
brand. So closely to development I
recommend that they always go to a graphic designer or a breast
specialist. A lot of times when the clients
come to me especially See restaurants.
They already have like their logo and their venue.
So they've already started working with someone and he does
branding hmm. And then if they don't then we
can I have many times. It seems like lately put
together kind of like a guideline.
So I'm doing a no bar right now. And the guy, he literally gave
me like a t-shirt of like a Miami Vice kind of theme and
that's what? They had to go off of so he
hasn't started the brand yet for grantor a graphic artist which I
suggested he does but what we can do is kind of end up
choosing like well this is what, you know, the font in the colors
that was based off of the Interior Design.
These are like the wine glasses, the cocktail glasses the
silverware and stuff that will look good.
So we kind of give them a guideline but yeah, to get like
all Of that. So he's got like business cards
and websites and stuff that I actually coordinate with this
brand. We see ya, you're a
professional. We my Diaz and guidelines.
Yeah. Anything else you would
recommend for designers starting out or someone carries about
doing Hospitality design. Definitely always do an
internship okay? No matter what.
I also feel kissing in high school, it's kind of like all
about the grades so that way you can get into the college.
And then I found out that, like, no one told me, but like, they
don't really care about your grades in college, so it doesn't
really matter if you get like straight A's, I'm saying, like,
flunk your classes but it's not really the main focus.
I feel like if you end up out of college, having a really good
portfolio and really good experience and then like decent
grades, your good really golden. And I think I stressed a lot in
college about just trying to get like a really good girl.
Okay. Yeah, and then also the
internship, which I, you know, they convert resources, getting
to know people is definitely something.
Whether you're in your own business or you're in school or
in about going to college just getting like networking and
getting is like a huge, huge Advantage.
So internship and resources, gal.
That's great advice. Thanks.
Where can people find you? They want to look At your work
and they can find me on my website, I'm, which is just
www.prestigemitsubishi.com, or they find me on Instagram, I'm
normal on Instagram. I haven't moved over to talk
yet. Instagram is just at Brass Road
Studios. Okay, great.
Well, include that in the show notes, and thank you so much for
coming on. It's been great talking to you.
I think you're my first Hospitality designer.
So, So it's great to get your perspective and then just
hearing all the different avenues that you took to get to
where you are today. So so interesting.
Thank you, Jessica. Yeah, thank you for having me.
We'll talk to you soon. Such an interesting path that
Jessica had and I really enjoy hearing her story even about
skydiving. You never know what experiences
are going to inform your current career choice and give you some
more knowledge that you can apply to your design projects.
So I really loved interviewing Jessica and it go ahead and
reach out to her. If you want to ask her more
about Hospitality design, if that's something you're
interested in, will have her contact info in the show notes
and you can find those at our Ward Design.com for / podcast,
don't forget to leave a rating and review wherever you, listen
to podcast. I love to read those.
And here at what you enjoy about the design, curious podcast,
stay tuned for next week. Another great episode and until
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