Today we’d like to introduce you to Devon Bieniawski.
Hi Devon, we’d love for you to start by introducing yourself.
I started working when I was 16 for an interior designer out of Houston. She needed labor for her Christmas decorating season and that led to a 2 year long internship. My fingers still hurt from the amount of faux trees I fluffed during those Christmas seasons and I still can’t shake the glitter! I went to Texas State University for a formal degree in interior design and business. I interned for a few different commercial design firms in college and went on to graduate and accept an offer from a small design firm specializing in affordable housing and hospitality design – an odd mix but it taught me how to work with any budget! After that firm, I went to work for a larger architecture firm designing and managing large scale ground up student housing projects across North America. This taught me a lot about how to produce and excellent set of drawings and work with team’s remotely. I had the opportunity to design custom products, furniture, lighting fixtures, and art installations. I loved how limitless this scale of design felt. After that experience I moved to a different architecture and interiors firm in Austin with a commercial focus. During my time there I had the opportunity to work on a range of project and client types. Some of my favorites are a beloved oyster bar in the heart of downtown and a test kitchen for a companies that supplies cookware to Michelin level restaurants and hotels. But, after several years there, I wanted to build something of my own and finally had the project pipeline to make it happen so Convive. was born!
I’m sure it wasn’t obstacle-free, but would you say the journey has been fairly smooth so far?
I don’t think anyone starting their own business would say its always a smooth road. I’ve been fortunate but there are still always surprises along the way and I’m still learning every day! I think the first struggle is saying goodbye to the team you are leaving and the steadiness of that job. The second is all things taxes and accounting! I was referred to an amazing business coach and book keeper who I still use and acts as a sounding board for my business hopes and dreams. I was lucky enough to already have projects in the pipeline when I started Convive. but business development and meeting a whole new network of people requires a lot of time, attention, and persistence and remains a challenge.
Thanks – so what else should our readers know about your work and what you’re currently focused on?
I strongly believe that the be a well rounded interior designer you need to have a little bit of each of these three core skills. 1 – A creative eye and passion for exploration. 2 – A technical skill set to produce drawings and sketches and communicate design intent during construction. 3 – Good communication skills! You need to be able to communicate with clients, builders, vendors, etc.
Convive. does not have a signature style and this is by design. I want clients to feel like a space is uniquely theirs and not Convive. project number 87. We try not to repeat the same fixtures, finishes, and furniture objects because everyone has different aesthetic goals and invest in us to make their project unique to them. We do ,however, have a signature deliverable. Clients come to us to manage very complex projects with lots of moving parts and pieces that they often don’t have time to oversee themselves. Our clients come to us for beautifully designed and managed projects that they won’t lose sleep over.
The projects I’m the most proud of are a direct result of how happy the client has been with the end result. Hearing that we nailed it, it feels like home, feels like them, or its everything they dreamed of keeps us going when the going gets tough!
I love projects with rich colors and patterns but I like to find meaning in everything and tie that back to the client. And if I can’t find it, I’ll have someone make something that fits the unique brief. I don’t randomly select wallcoverings or light fixtures or art just because they are pretty, I scour the details to see if a pattern or motif might spark a memory in the client, or if different textures relate back to the project location or if the art has a story that made the client fall in love with the piece or the artist. I love empowering people to share their story through the built environment we get to create together.
Our name, Convive. speaks to how we see our role on projects – a guest at the client’s table, here to help shape the spaces that will serve as the backdrop for some of our clients most precious moments and outrageous stories.
Convive. is a studio where exceptional design meets exceptional delivery. We promise to guide, educate, and advocate for our clients and their projects – always.
Are there any important lessons you’ve learned that you can share with us?
The most important lesson I ever learned in interior design came from my first ever design internship when I was 16. I walked into a clients house and it was very 1980’s. She had DIY’d her own entry way wallcovering with pastel tissue paper in large scale diamond motifs. Her formal sitting room had one of those cheetah print platform heel lounge chairs. I looked around and thought we were here to do a full blown renovation of the space. Luckily, I kept that thought to myself. It turned out the client wanted some help in her bedroom and living room and was so proud of everything she had done in the formal sitting room and entry way. She made the space her own and was in love with the result. It wasn’t technically good design, it was materials and furnishings I would have NEVER selected in my wildest dreams, BUT the space was a creative expression of her and brought her joy every time she saw it and had guests over.
That experience taught me that design is a powerful tool for self expression and storytelling, that it has the unique ability to positively impact peoples lives moment by moment and is incredibly subjective 😉
Pricing:
- Pricing varies from project to project because scope varies proejct to project. The best way to see about pricing is to head to our website and schedule a free 30 minute consultation call.
Contact Info:
- Website: https://www.convive.space
- Instagram: @convivespace
