Julianne Yurek
Although we hate to see Alison Heath leave us as director of marketing, we will be in good hands with Julianne Yurek. Julianne, who graduated from James Madison University last spring, will be working with one of our owners, Ricardo Berrum, as she gets up to speed.
The story of how Julianne came to be with us is as interesting as any of our customers, which include her parents.
First, though – and we love this – she took a break after graduating by heading out to the Philmont Scout Ranch in Cimarron, New Mexcio. This place is like Mecca for Boy Scouts, who come from all over the country to this 165,000-acre spread each summer – 20,000 of them in all. They spend the entire summer hiking through the back country, rock climbing, logging, learning music, watching the stars, even learning about weather.
Baldy Mountain at Philmont Scout Ranch
Julianne, who heard about the gig through an Eagle Scout friend of hers, worked at the trading post and hiked every weekend. “It’s really life-changing for some of those young men,” she says. And by the way she describes it, it might have had a similar effect on her.
When she came home for the fall, the interior design major found out that her parents had just ordered the Waterfall chest from Hardwood Artisans, but her mother was worried about the order. The light finish she requested might not go well with the yellow walls in the house, and her mother wanted to know Julianne’s opinion. “When I come home, I always play interior designer for my mom.”
She ended up calling Mark and putting the order on hold. Julie came down to the shop and met Alison to discuss a better finish for their chest. Here is the result, in mahogany with curly maple accents:
Waterfall Chest in mahogany
Waterfall Chest side detail in curly maple
While Julianne was there working out the new design and finish, she and Alison got to talking, Alison asked for a resume, and as it would happen, Alison’s assistant ended up leaving fairly soon thereafter for another job. Enter, Julianne!
Now that she’s been here for five months, we asked her about her favorite pieces. “I’m still on the fresh-out-of-college budget,” she says, but: “I’ve been eyeing the platform pedestal bed – I really love it.”
Platform Pedestal Bed
She’s also falling for the Shinto Bench. “It has beautiful details in it – it’s an elegant design.”
Shinto Benches in mahogany and walnut
We asked Julianne about her marketing goals for us, and she said she’s most interested in featuring the work of local artisans in the Fairfax showroom. “I think it will be neat to involve more local artists in our store and bring the community together,” she says.
She also wants to put more of her interior and graphic design skills to work. “I believe our furniture is a functional piece of art and deserves that respect. I am excited to engage more interior designers and art collectors with our company and keep up the excellent reputation it already has,” she says.
We have nothing but great expectations.
