BLIK started out 15 years ago with just two people, an idea, and a loft in Venice, CA. When we finally moved into our first grown up office space on Abbot Kinney Blvd, we relished the challenge of turning a charmless box into a modern design space within our small budget.
So when Shanna Tellerman, the founder and CEO of Modsy, a new tech startup and design firm, approached BLIK with her project to create a welcoming and inspirational office for her employees on a pre-launch budget, we understood her struggle.
Anyone who has signed a lease knows the perfect space does not exist. But most startups don’t have the budget to gut their office and start over from scratch. So what to do? Identify the reasons or things you like or saw potential in that made you sign the lease in the first place. This is exactly what Tellerman did, who loved the new office’s hardwood floors, high ceilings and the charming details in the building from its history as a clock factory.
Modsy uses 3D visualization technology to help customer’s design their dream spaces, and “throughout the entire redesign process, we used our own Modsy service to visualize our new space,” Tellerman says. Proving if they could do it, they could inspire their customers that they could do it too.
Working with a budget doesn’t have to mean a limit to good design or that you can’t take risks. A major element in Modsy's office redesign is the main room’s wall murals. The team took a fancy to BLIK Wall Panels featuring bold geometric patterns and textures from UK artist Neasden Control Centre. The NCC Blues, with its classic “starburst,” and NCC B&W designs bring an element of mid-Century pop to the room, in addition to being affordable and easy to install.
Getting their office completed prior to the company’s launch party required all hands on deck. “Our entire team literally came together to create this space,” says Tellerman. And surprisingly, the most dramatic elements of the room, the BLIK wall murals, were remarkably easy to install. “It turned into fantastic team bonding and gave us a true sense of accomplishment.”
With a little bit of effort and some DIY teamwork, great design is well within reach.