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AMY REED BROWN & JODI FORSYTH Harker Design; JENNIFER ZUNG & RANDY BLOUGH Harmony Design; JOHN WALKER Mill Iron Timberworks
AMY REED BROWN & JODI FORSYTH
harker design
This twosome runs the Jackson office of Harker Design, which started in Idaho Falls and now also has an office in Big Sky, Montana. “We have been working together for twelve years now, each of us bringing different strengths to the table,” says Amy Reed Brown, ASID, about her relationship with Jodi Forsyth, Allied Member ASID. “Two heads are better than one,” Jodi adds. Being associated with a multi-state operation allows them to have many resources at their fingertips. The first thing they ask of clients is how do they see themselves using the home, and what do they want to feel when they walk in the door. “We really try to make each project individualized for each client need,” Amy says. This spring the synergistic pair will be implementing “some fun new showroom changes,” with a bit of a redesign of their own space.
TH&L: What are your backgrounds?
ARB: I wanted to be an interior designer from a very young age. I grew up around Logan and attended Utah State. I moved to Jackson in 1994 and have been with Harker Design since 1998.
JF: I attended Bucknell University in central Pennsylvania. I became interested in interior design as an adult. I migrated to Jackson in 1991 and started working for Harker Design in 1996.
TH&L: What inspires you?
ARB: The environment and our four seasons. We have changes in color here.
JF: The relationships we have developed, and seeing a client enjoying our design work and coming back for more of our services.
TH&L: What is your approach to design in the Tetons?
JF: Each client and project is unique. We strive to get to know the clients well so we can create a design that reflects what they want in a home.
ARB: In the last few years, we’ve seen that our clients want their homes to be more comfortable, usable, and sustainable, rather than the house being a showpiece.
TH&L: What do you enjoy most about the business?
ARB: I love seeing the new stuff—the fabrics, finish colors, furniture shapes—and getting to go to the design centers.
JF: It’s never the same and I never get bored. I also love to see a project completed.
TH&L: What do you find most interesting about what you do?
ARB: I like being an advocate for a client, especially when the client is not in the valley for the entire project.
JF: People make this job interesting, and working on a team to make a client happy —the architect, builder, and designer working together for a successful project.
TH&L: What’s something else people should know about you?
JF: I needlepoint and knit. I always have a project going.
ARB: I’m a foodie and I’m enjoying watching my three-year-old daughter develop a sophisticated palate.
JENNIFER ZUNG & RANDY BLOUGH
harmony design
Jen and Randy first met at the Timberline Bar in Victor at the Grand Targhee Ski Patrol’s annual Powder Pig Party. They quickly found common interests when disclosing work experience and a mutual passion for the outdoors. Harmony Design was incorporated in 2005 and opened in downtown Driggs in 2006; the partners married in 2007. Jen holds a bachelor’s degree in civil engineering and a master’s in hydrologic science, while Randy graduated with a BS in landscape architecture and owned a landscape architectural company for many years. Jen worked for an engineering firm in Colorado under “a wonderful boss” who gave her “the courage to create her own firm.” What are their other driving forces? “Jen motivates me and inspires me!” says Randy, while his wife attributes her inspiration to the local and seasonal environments. “I like to get up with the sun,” she says. Longtime Teton Valley residents will know their offices as Dr. Head’s old yellow house on the corner of First Street and Little Avenue.
TH&L: What is the first question you ask a client?
JZ: We want them to identify their overall goals and their vision; sometimes they do not know where to start.
RB: We like to find out something about the client and their family. Getting to know them on a personal basis helps the whole process. We want to find out their motivation; is it economic? Do they want to build a family legacy rather than create something to sell?
TH&L: Do you have a signature to a project?
JZ: A lot of what we do is look at the big picture. We believe in the integration of a project with the surrounding landscape, and looking at solar, wildlife, pathways—taking the holistic approach.
TH&L: What’s has been your most interesting project?
RB: I think working with some of the private developers in ’07 and ’08 in Teton Valley and influencing them to think about their developments in a more sustainable way. We also facilitated a charrette in McCall (Idaho) to bring a group of business and property owners together to plan a business property development; that was very interesting.
TH&L: What do you enjoy about the business?
JZ: The creative meetings, brainstorming, and overseeing the project—the “What if we did this?” kind of meetings and seeing the “A-ha moment!”
RB: Meeting people and developing relationships with the project owners, the neighbors of clients’ projects, and the P&Z [planning and zoning]. We actually like going through the city and county planning process.
TH&L: What are you planning for in the next ten years?
JZ: We never wanted a huge business. We have eight people now and that feels good at this time. Maybe we’ll be a twenty-person firm at the most when we can expand our services.
RB: I want to continue to provide good jobs in Teton Valley and dig deeper roots into the community.
TH&L: What is something else people should know about you?
RB: I groom the ski tracks in Alta and I’ll find any excuse to buy a new tool.
JZ: I love endurance events. I’m motivated to move my body faster, running or skiing.
JOHN WALKER mill iron timberworks
“I love being in the field on the projects,” John Walker says. He started building furniture, first with his father at age eleven, then in high school. He worked construction in his twenties, learning about building custom homes from his mentor, Mike Beauchemin, a now-retired home contractor. Noting that he still feels “education happens every day,” this 23-year resident of Jackson was an architecture student when he began visiting the area. In the 1990s, John concentrated on log and timber homes, becoming well-known for his work with recycled materials; now at least half of his projects are centered on modern designs. “In the custom-home building market, the younger generation is more educated about the environment and quality, thus pushing my building techniques and challenging me to become better at my craft,” he says. A continual challenge is to prove to people that he can build homes. “I started Mill Iron Timberworks from my wheelchair and I learned very quickly how to answer the craziest questions concerning my injury,” he says. John still likes to build furniture, and often creates a piece for clients as each project is completed.
TH&L: What inspires you?
JW: Complexity—I’m driven to try and achieve perfection. I have a true passion to build. I love creating the “wow” factor, when it’s all done, for the architect, for the owner, and for me.
TH&L: What is the very first question you ask clients?
JW: I ask them what are their goals and expectations. I believe that establishing good communication at the beginning is the main key to a successful project. I want everybody happy.
TH&L: What’s your approach to design?
JW: I work with architects bringing their designs to life. It’s not just building cabins anymore. I have a love for working with reclaimed timbers, but contemporary design construction must be perfect, fine and clean, thus pushing me to be more detail oriented. You cannot hide a mistake in a modern structure, where you can hide a bit of imperfection in log construction.
TH&L: How is your company different from other construction companies?
JW: My passion to build, an eye for detail, and a desire for me and my employees to continually grow in knowedge about the best building practices; we are involved with ongoing education and certification in building science, thermography, and Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design (LEED); we also hire master carpenters that know my expectations. All this sets us apart, and I believe ahead, of other contractors.
TH&L: What’s next?
JW: To build my first LEED home and shoot for the gold (one of the highest levels in the LEED Green Building Rating System™.) We’re working on a year-round residence, in town [Jackson}, with a geothermal heat source on a tight lot. It’s exciting! This will push us to learn more and become even better at our craft.
TH&L: What’s something else people should know about you?
JW: I love to be outdoors. I like riding my hand cycle on long-distance tours and spending time in a kayak paddling flat water. I’ve been fortunate enough to ride my hand cycle in Europe and many places in the United States.
