Skip to content

Posts from the ‘Meet the Team’ Category

Apr 28

Meet Client Services Manager Jeremy Gould

IMG_3033

After working as a lead carpenter for 2 years, Jeremy Gould was promoted to Carpenter on Call Manager, a position that was responsible for sales, estimating and project management of small projects and home repairs. After some internal restructuring, Jeremy has now been promoted to be one of three Client Services Managers for Arciform.  This mission critical position is tasked with advocating for the clients’ goals and budget throughout the design and construction process and consulting on buildability and feasibility for each of the projects in his portfolio.

Read on to find out what inspires Jeremy about restoring and remodeling vintage structures:

How long have you worked for Arciform and what has been your favorite part about working at Arciform so far?

I started as a lead carpenter 4 years and 8 months ago. My favorite part has been the really great people here – everyone has such a great attitude and you can tell they genuinely want to be here. Being around positive people is big for me.

What inspires you about restoring and renovating older homes? What drew you to this line of work?

The thing that inspires me the most about restoring and renovating older homes is the architecture, craftsmanship and quality of the original materials – they are all things that you just don’t see nowadays. I also love re-using or re-purposing things just for the simple fact that it won’t go into a landfill somewhere. The people that usually purchase these older homes are so amazing to work with because they appreciate all of these things as well.

Describe one of your favorite past projects. What were the challenges? What were some of the features that made it memorable?

One of my favorite past projects was the Ranchel closet renovation. We hand built a reading nook designed by Anne De Wolf out of scrap steel parts. It’s unlike anything you’ve ever seen! We call it “The Egg,” it’s very steampunk. The biggest challenge was installing “The Egg” since it didn’t fit up the stairs. We had to fully build it in the shop, dismantle it for delivery, and then re-assemble it onsite.

Tell us what you consider are the hallmarks of a well-executed project. How do you know when something is right?

There are a few things that I consider to be hallmarks of a well-executed project. Number one by far is a happy client. I’ve had clients hug me at the walkthrough and tell me how much they love Arciform. Of course it’s important to stay within the estimated budget with few change orders. At the end of the project you should look at it and ask “Does the project look like what we intended?” Does the client look at it and say, “That’s exactly what we wanted?” If the answers to these two questions are a resounding “Yes,” then we’ve succeeded.

What’s your working style? How do you like to work with a client?

I want the client to feel like I am here to help them navigate through what could potentially be a long and complicated process with lots of decisions to be made. I never try and sell something I know is not right for the client. I’ve had several occasions where I met with a client and quickly realized that they don’t really need to do this larger project, and we were able to scale it back to fit their needs and their budget.

What are the top 3 things on your bucket list?

Well I’ve already done so many things on my bucket list like driving fire engines with the lights and sirens going, riding a bull and racing a race car, so my first thing would have to be helping my daughter experience life to its fullest and have a great time doing it. That couldn’t make me happier. For me, I want to drive the Cannonball Run, a cross country outlaw road race from New York to California. I’d also love to fly a P-51 Mustang in a dog fight.

Explore the Arciform Project Galleries | About Arciform | Schedule a Design Consultation

Apr 14

Meet Design Department Manager Marty Hegg

Marty vacation

Here is Marty after a Cape Lookout hike with “my two favorite people in the whole, wide world, Erik & Birgita.”

After working with Arciform for several years, we are delighted to promote Marty Hegg to the role of Design Department Manager. This recognizes the extremely important (but often behind the scenes) role she plays in every design we execute for our clients.

We sat down with Marty to learn a bit more about what inspires her about the design process.

When did you know you wanted to work in architectural design? Tell us how you got inspired to do this work.

I have a hundred technicolor & tactile memories from Kindergarten: my best friend’s living room walls (Easter egg lavender)…

couch

…our green scratchy frieze upholstery on the “davenport”…
…the oh-so-fancy red, flocked wallpaper at Eve’s Buffet (Fred Meyer’s restaurant)….

brick floor

… the brick-look flooring in my Aunt Mary’s kitchen….

terrycloth bedspread

… and my parents’ terrycloth bedspread I used to pretend was a fancy garden for my Fisher Price toys to play in.

Going over to friends’ or relatives’ homes, I often gave myself a secret, solo house tour to get the layout in my head. I have been drawn to interiors ever since I can remember, especially how different materials and colors can change the look and feel of a space.

Describe one of your favorite Arciform projects. What were the challenges? What were some of the features that made it memorable?

Hardison_1902_Exterior_A_2_P_Pro
The Hardison home is one of my favorite Arciform projects. I used to think Victorian homes were a little stuffy and formal, but these clients, Anne and all of the crew infused their home with such a sense of play. It is beautiful yet welcoming, cozy and creative, designed for the whole family to really enjoy.

Hardison_1902_Dormer_A_4_P_NonPro

Getting the submarine hatch up to the deck at the 3rd floor addition was a huge challenge! Actually, finding and purchasing the submarine hatch alone was a little scary.
Hardison_1902_Dormer_Rooftop_A_3_P_NonPro
What do you enjoy most about your job?

I love hunting for and finding anything from tile to cabinet hardware to great paint colors, then sharing them with the design team or clients. Pinterest is one of my favorite ways to collect gems to spec for our clients (paper-free, so I don’t fill any file cabinets).
I work with some incredible people, too! It is a beautiful thing to work alongside people who are both creative AND problem solvers. The design-build world is such a dynamic environment. I love walking out in the shop and seeing designs take their beautiful shape. I learn something every day from at least one person under this big roof.

What are the top 3 things on your “bucket list?”
1. To be an aerial photographer over North & South America for a month or so (childhood dream career).

2. To trace my maternal roots while exploring as much of Mexico and Spain as possible.

3. To visit Slovakia and see the house my grandfather grew up in, discover the Tatras Mountains & travel up the Danube.

Explore the Arciform Project Galleries | About Arciform | Schedule a Design Consultation

Mar 3

1 Comment

Congratulations to Jeremy for Becoming a Certified Project Manager

DSC_6098

We’re thrilled to announce that our Carpenter on Call Manager, Jeremy Gould, has recently been confirmed as a Certified Project Manager through the National Association of the Remodeling Industry. This vigorous certification process requires 16 hours of coursework and the successful completion of a 3 hour exam to demonstrate knowledge of project management skills and procedures. We are so proud of Jeremy for his hard work and commitment to ongoing professional development to improve the skills and resources he can offer to Arciform clients.

We sat down with Jeremy for a quick Q&A about his favorite projects, long term goals and how he gets his kicks on the weekends (hint: it involves fire!). Here’s what he had to say:

How long have you worked for Arciform? What was your first position with the company?

I have worked for Arciform for 3 ½ years now and I started as a Lead Carpenter where I obtained my “Certified Lead Carpenter” certification also through NARI.

What’s your favorite part about the work you do here?

I really like the wide diversity of projects that I get involved with here at Arciform. I’m the type of person that will get bored pretty fast if I’m doing exactly the same thing everyday. I very much enjoy having projects that present unique (outside the box)  challenges to work through that do not really have an obvious solution. For instance, I recently put together a project where the client asked if I could make his master bathroom door a motorized sliding door that was operated with the push of a button. I also recently finished up a project that we installed an interior “slide up” door custom built by Versatile Wood Products.

Tell me about a project you worked on this last year that you particularly enjoyed.

20131120_110111

I recently completed a deck project that I really enjoyed putting together due to some interesting challenges.

The first challenge was the fact that the deck is roughly 30 feet in the air hanging over a hillside.

The second challenge was a request made by the client to have a flat stone surface for the deck. The existing deck was as much as 8” out of level in some areas.

Her third request was to have a hand railing system that was as invisible as we could make it so that it didn’t block her gorgeous view of the city.

We ended up installing a membrane deck surface on the existing out of level deck joists and then installed 24” x 24” concrete tiles on adjustable legs sitting on the membrane. The result was a level concrete surface that moisture passes through and then runs off of the membrane beneath. Next, we installed a glass guard railing system with a ½” thick top rail and 1 ½” posts that we powder coated black (so they are invisible at night).

Lastly, we installed a rot proof fascia that was wide enough to cover the fact that the membrane deck and joists were 8” out of level so it looks nice and straight from the street below. I enjoyed working on this project because I got to design it, estimate  it, sell it and then project manage it.

Sounds like Arciform keeps you pretty busy. What do you do for fun?

Here’s a hint:

IMG_3039

I am a volunteer Firefighter/Engineer/EMT with Newberg Fire.. I typically will work 2 – 3 shifts a month from 6PM until 6AM where I stay at the station overnight. When I am on shift I am in charge of Engine 21. I drive it to any call it gets called out on and then I am responsible to make sure it’s ready for the next call afterwards. I recently got qualified to drive our new patient transporting engine which is one of only a very few in the state.

Also, every three months or so we do an all-day training burn where we will train on a house that someone donated to us to have burned down. My role during training burns is usually a crew leader training the probies.

I love being a volunteer firefighter partially because it allows me to be an asset to society. I’m not the kind of person that looks to the government or anybody else for any kind of assistance. I also love it because lets face it! It’s really fun! Nobody ever says they wanna be an accountant or a computer tech when they grow up, they wanna be a firefighter! Driving that engine with the lights and sirens goin’, headed to a big fire where you can see that giant smoke cloud across town just rippin! Blastin’ through town with everyone gettin’ out of your way! Then to get there and run into the fire when everyone else is runnin’ out.

That’s just down right fun, I don’t care who you are!

Do you have a home maintenance project that could use Jeremy’s “out of the box” expertise? Email him at jeremy@arciform.com to set up an initial consultation. We look forward to hearing from you!

Explore the Arciform Photo Galleries | About Arciform | Schedule a Design Consultation

Newer Entries »