INSIDE IONIC - Harry Harris

Inside IONIC

William Henry “Harry” Harris, III, AIA

Director of Religious Architecture

Based in our Richmond, Virginia office, Harry has an extensive architecture background and is known for establishing enduring, successful business relationships. In his current role with Ionic DeZign Studios, he is responsible for business development and client relations.

What are you currently working on?

I am currently working on several church projects in Virginia, which include additions to St. Thomas More Catholic Church in Lynchburg, a Master Vision Plan for Mt. Zion Baptist Church in Powhatan County and renovations to the Sanctuary at the Glen Allen Church of Christ. I’m also working on a new multipurpose addition to Bear Creek Baptist Church in Bakersville, North Carolina.

What inspires you?

Assisting our church clients in realizing their vision by enhancing their facilities to accomplish their mission and ministry within the church’s community.

How do you like to spend your free time?

From a young age, I have enjoyed sailing and I currently continue to sail the Chesapeake Bay whenever possible on my sloop, “Sapphire.” There is nothing more refreshing than manning the helm of a sailboat on a brisk day on the bay with all sails aloft.

Do you have a favorite quote or saying?

“Unless the Lord builds the house, its builders labor in vain.”  Psalm 127:1

Is there anything else you would like to share?

I have had the good fortune to assist the youth of Richmond through my 35 plus years of service with the Kiwanis Club of Richmond. Our life safety programs for at-risk children and our annual Christmas party for the patients at the Children’s Hospital are always inspiring. 

Also, as a board member for more than 30 years, and a past vice president of Elk Hill Farm, Inc., a treatment program for at-risk boys and girls in the Central Virginia region, I have been inspired by its success. The program has grown from one campus treating 30 students, to five campuses treating more than 700 youth. Our design of the Singleton Chapel at the Elk Hill Goochland Campus continues to be my favorite Sacred Space design project.

This is the first in a series of “Inside IONIC” posts, designed to help you get to know the talented, innovative team at Ionic DeZign Studios.

Team IONIC welcomes Cami Hahn

We are all very excited about Cami joining our family here at Ionic DeZign Studios. She will be our new Director of Business Development as we continue to grow and expand.

Cami Hahn joined Ionic Dezign Studios in November of 2015. Mrs. Hahn is a successful sales & marketing professional with over 25 years of securing business to business sales in the fields of architecture, economic development, commercial flooring and packaging.  She has extensive experience interacting with corporate CEO’s, CFO’s and related industry professionals.  Prior to joining IONIC, Cami spent 13 plus years successfully directing business development and marketing activities for a similarly sized Virginia Beach based architectural and interior design firm.    Previous experience includes four years as a Global Project Manager with the Virginia Economic Development Partnership attracting new business investment and jobs to the Commonwealth of Virginia as well as being a territory manager with Shaw Commercial Carpets. She has a BS in Finance from Virginia Tech and is an active member of several commercial real estate and economic development organizations.  In 2010 she was honored by Inside Business Magazine as one of the region’s “Top Women in Business” and is a 2014 graduate of the CIVIC Leadership Institute.

 

EDUCATION: 

B.S. Finance, 1989, Virginia Tech

 

Current Industry & Community Association Participation:

CIVIC Leadership Institute

HRACRE:  Board of Directors, 2005 – Present

CREW Hampton Roads:  Charter Director, 2004 – 2009, & 2011, Past President (2008)

VEDA (Virginia Economic Developers Association) 1998 – Present

Hospice House of South Hampton Roads, Charter Director & Secretary 2015 - Present

We are all excited about what the future brings us in 2016 and beyond and look forward to making and securing relationships and the opportunities they provide.

D. Eugene Thompson, AIA

Ionic DeZign Studios, Inc.

President + Founder

"Creating places and spaces that enrich the lives of those who use them."

Quote of the Week

"Everything you can imagine is real." Pablo Picasso

Ionic Dezign Studios, Inc
www.ionicdezigns.com

Interior Design Developments

Often times the smaller projects or interior projects take more work.......sometimes LOTS MORE WORK! That can be understandable due to the touchy feely conditions of fabrics, furniture, wallcoverings, textures, colors, floorings, lighting and whatever else that can possibly interfere with the mindset of a client ....... On that particular day.

Yes, sometimes we change our minds daily. It's our human nature I guess to continually think about different options if we are truly thinking about different options and not simply stuck with, " I know what I want!" mentality. I'm good with that.....I want our clients to walk away pleased that they have explored multiple possibilities for their new space......even if it means going back to the first one we started with.

Unfortunately there are many clients who simply cannot SEE their space with standard drawings. And that is where we are able to clear the mental blocks by giving them clearer vision. It takes much effort many times but is worth it......3D Interior models. Here are a few examples of our work that reflect the simplistic and the complex when it comes to presenting interior concepts.

Dining Area at 100 Main

Bar Area at 100 Main

 

Sitting Area at Westminster Canterbury

Sitting Area at Westminster Canterbury

Center Living Space at Westminster Canterbury

 

Have a great day my friends and we look forward to working with you.

D. Eugene Thompson, AIA
Founder + President
Ionic DeZign Studios, Inc.

www.ionicdezigns.com

"Where art and architecture come together"

EMPLOYMENT OPENINGS at IONIC

Ionic DeZign Studios is looking for a Design Professional to assist in our growing portfolio of multi location projects.

5-10 years experience in preparation and design of construction documents. Well versed knowledge of construction techniques. Capable of directing and managing others. Revit, autocadd and Microsoft software knowledge. Licensed architect preferred. 

IONIC is a Virginia Beach based Architecture and Interiors firm. We work on a variety of project types, including retail, restaurants, hospitality, corporate offices, mixed-use and commercial, financial, municipality projects as well as religious architecture and custom residential homes. IONIC is a firm that strives to set the bar higher in terms creativity and ingenuity throughout the design process. Yes, the work is demanding and it takes the effort of putting in the time in order to reap the rewards. However, just as hard as we work we believe in playing equally as hard. Team IONIC is about relationships. Within a supportive and mentorship philosophy, IONIC provides a climate where you'll succeed and be a part of a continuously growing and evolving family of designers.

Send resumes and interest to info@ionicdezigns.com

Attn: Eugene Thompson, AIA

Welcome to Shannon Riell

A late post due to all the holidays, finishing the office, and all the other hurdles the last few  months. We welcome Shannon to the IONIC family. She will be handling all the project management tasks while assisting our design staff and admin for many other things. She is another "glue" holding us together.

Along with some general office duties, Shannon coordinates and tracks all of the product submittals that are received for the projects we are currently engaged in. Making sure that we review and return information in a timely manner is important to us because we know it is important to our clients and contractors.

She is also involved with engaging the local and out of town planning departments determining our design requirements for all of our projects on the east coast and Midwest. She tracks and follows up on progress with the submissions for building plan review and health department so we can obtain the necessary construction permits. After construction begins filing and organizing all the special inspections reports, field reports by our design team as well as progress payments to general contractors. She is a busy lady.

We welcome her to the team.

Ionic Dezign Studios

www.ionicdezigns.com

Welcome Alison Allred

We want wish a giant welcome to Alison Allred, Assoc ASID-IIDA to the IONIC family. She joins our team in support of our efforts in the production world for our restaurant clients as well as adding to the expansion of our interior design department. Be sure to watch for more as we post her profile information in the coming weeks. Welcome!

Ionic DeZign Studios

www.ionicdezigns.com

Creating Places and Spaces that Enrich the Lives that Use Them.

The IONIC Rejuvenation- The Journey

This January we finished up the renovations and expansion to our office in Towncenter area of Virginia Beach. It was a long time in the planning primarily due to soooo many ideas running through my head and partly due to our expected expansion. Initially in January of 2013, we had decided that the front office area needed a facelift. We had been there nearly 11 years and several things that I didn't like......or maybe was just tired of...needed to be addressed. This area included only the front reception and the conference room.

Then it happened. I hired another person......and then another.....and then another....oh wait where are they going to sit? I needed to expand. Thankfully there was an open vacant conference space available adjacent to our existing space. We set out task to see how we could take just a minimal amount.......ahhhhh....might as well take it all.....you never know. So we did.

Planning your own architectural office isn't really an easy thing. After all we have so many ideas running around in our head for all of our clients. But this was ours! What could we possibly do? We had to restart our design efforts and begin again as well as negotiate the extension to our lease.

Phasing first had to be considered as we knew that we had to maintain operations throughout the entire construction time. One area needed to be finished....or mostly finished....before we could move on to the next area. We figured we would have to live through some mess.

Program space became our next issue to tackle. There were several areas we needed to account for in our new space that we lacked.
 

1. Storage Space: more storage space for all catalogs and samples that seem to continually spawn within our office walls. We never seem to have enough shelf space. A simple closet.....you know....a place that you can toss stuff you don't know what to do with and that cannot be placed on a shelf. We needed a junk closet bad. Of course it would be the nicest of junk closets! It needed to handle things like a vacuum cleaner, old files, old drawings, paper supplies....and whatever needed.

2. Production Space: obviously what started this whole thing! We needed to account for our current staff plus whatever additional we might anticipate in the near future. This was meant to be an open office studio area.

3. Conference Room: We really needed a new conference space since our little room couldn't even handle our own staff meetings any longer. There were times when our client meetings even got larger than we could handle. We needed something that could accommodate 10-12 seats. This held us back. Honestly, we also needed more meeting spaces because there seemed to be more and more times that more than one meeting was taking place. This was going to be a task to configure our space to handle something like this and still maintain proper flow. 

A few things that we wanted to incorporate into our renovation was sustainability or reclaimed artifacts. We needed to practice what we preach. However you can't always plan these types of designs entirely because you need to search for those products you have in mind. Then once you find what you are looking for.....figure out how to design around it and properly incorporated. Repurposing items in a manner that you never expected is also a lot of fun......another goal of the office design....FUN!

Over the next few weeks we will share in detail each of the rooms and the details of how we accomplished our goals. We will share materials acquired, furniture purchased, pieces made and how we did it. Stay tuned each week for updates.

Ionic DeZign Studios

D. Eugene Thompson, AIA

www.ionicdezigns.com

Where Art and Architecture Come Together

2014 Forecast

So are you prepared for the new year? Have you cleaned off your desk of all the leftovers of 2013 and set out to meet your new business resolutions?

Have you even thought about new business goals for this year?

The holidays are over and it is time to roll up our sleeves and get back to work. Time to set out to focus on the goals we want to achieve. It is January 2nd......your behind already! 

Each year it seems that the last one passed us by faster and faster. All the good intentions I had are just a faded memory. Things I wanted to do to market the business, to meet expectations.....to make those expectations a reality. They slip away. Time is short and opportunities are few, don't waste them to the procrastination giant slumbering inside.

Picking up on the heels of a successful 2013, one of our best, IONIC prepares to launch into its most energetic marketing campaign as it rolls into its 15th year of business. In response to the abundance of work in various markets, we have increased our staff of design professionals to accommodate our client's needs. An increase of nearly 40% over this time last year. In addition, we have added to our administrative and marketing personnel to handle both the project management needs of the new construction projects and reaching out to the new markets IONIC intends to increase it's presence in.

With all these new members to our team we had to increase the size of our office. Since we were expanding, we decided we might as well take advantage of the opportunity and create a new working environment. The renovations at IONIC has allowed us to exhibit some creative and innovative uses of materials, lighting and colors. The use of reclaimed elements were aggressively used thoughout the space to present not only our "FUN" side but how we can use sustainability features for our all design projects. Keep your ears open for our announcement on the upcoming open house.

The new year brings IONIC more projects up and down the east coast as well as extending into the Midwest. Our ability to quickly adapt has made us a resource for our national client accounts. Projects that have been sluggish due to the market concerns over the last few years have now gained a foothold and should begin early in the first quarter. Be watching for our job site signs as they pop up all over Hampton Roads.

Whatever your needs, be sure to look us up and talk to us about your potential project. Architecture, Interior Design, Historic Preservation as well as custom residential design are all part of our Strategic Planning portfolios. Our friendly staff will be glad to help. We look forward to a successful 2014 with our clients, contractors, consultants and friends.

Best of wishes to all.

 

Ionic DeZign Studios

www.ionicdezigns.com

D. Eugene Thompson, AIA

Ionic DeZign Studios Hits Growth Spurt

It all started thirteen and a half years ago. Out of the front living room and dining room of the Thompson household and then into it's office near town center in Virginia Beach. Slowly and steadily (minus the economic speed bump of 2009) IONIC has been progressively getting a little bit bigger and doing a bit more and more. Where once we were limited to focus on a select area of work within a certain distance within Virginia's borders, we now have projects in Pennsylvania, Maryland, North Carolina, South Carolina and Georgia. There are only a few in those distant states so I don't want to sound like we are bigger than we are but that is still a beginning.

One project at a time we have continued to serve our clients by being attentive to their needs and listening to their concerns. We have focused our practice around serving others by helping accomplish their goals while having a little fun along the way. But most of you already knew that about us if you have worked with us before.

What you may not know is about how we are growing. Initially we planned to incorporate some new finishes and fixtures to our front office space. After all we had been there for almost nine years. Even though it served our needs, we felt a need to project more of the style of work we do within our own surroundings. It quickly became evident that we needed others things for our growth. To handle all the work we needed more people, to handle all the people we needed more desks and chairs, to handle all the furniture, computers etc......yep you got it....we needed more space.

After shifting and compressing and everything else possible it was simple.....we needed to grow. Our quaint little conference area no longer handled the bigger meetings we were no having. It didn't even handle our own staff. Storage for files was a premium. Our library of products, catalogs and finish samples was bursting at its seams. Fortunately we had a plan to solve all this. Actually for an architect....we had many plans. Just which one to choose?

Proudly, with the assistance of our landlord, Suburban Asset Management and their leasing agent CB Richard Ellis, we have that plan. Our new expanded office space will allow us to stay in the same location but stretch out in the areas where we need the most growth...THE DESIGN STUDIO. Nearly doubling the size of our current office footprint, the space will allow for a few new private offices, lots of storage, lots of working space for samples and catalogs, a new contemporary conference room, break room and of course space enough to comfortably accommodate all the design staff giving us ample room to accommodate a staff of nearly 20.

We are just beginning, and as we have preached to our clients it doesn't have to break the bank to accomplish great design. We hope the renovations will not only reflect some of the character of our work to our clients, but also provide for the needs of a very hard working group of architects, interior designers and engineers that collaborate here. Our goal is that before the end of the year our office will be ready to celebrate it's new diggs.......no pictures until then....just wait a see.

Thanks to all those that have helped us grow.

Ionic DeZign Studios, Inc.

www.ionicdezigns.com

It is Time for Your Home's Interiors

The IONIC Process
Building Dream Homes by Design
Architecture Interiors & Furnishings

Award-winning IONIC DEZIGN STUDIOS offers complete interior design and furnishings services to our valued clients as a compliment to our integrated design process. Timeless design, creative vision and an extensive resources network culminate in personal statements of distinction for you. After all that time and effort has been put into the architecture and interior planning, wouldn't it be a waste not to plan for the furnishings as well?

Interiors
IONIC is unmatched in providing comprehensive interior selection and finish services during the design and construction of your home. As an integrated part of our architectural services, our team of designers will work with you on the selections of appliances, lighting fixtures, mirrors, wall finishes, tile patterns and floor coverings... just to name a few! These are often incorporated into the interior three dimensional model. There may be other ways to accurately represent the design so that you can clearly see the design intent we are proposing.

We offer an in-house design center and an extensive network of resources to provide complete interior services to reflect your individual statement. Our team of architects, builders, project managers and interior designers work together to instill the "WOW” factor into each project. You can imagine the amount of coordination that is required for all of this work. We catalog everything and review it all so you don't have to do all the running around. Our reward is the satisfaction of our client's pleasant surprise when they walk into their newly finished home.

Furnishings
Team IONIC is available to assist in the procurement of fine furnishings and accessories, custom upholsteries and draperies for your new custom home. It is always a pleasure for us to assist in the final step of the creation of your family's new sanctuary. This isn't an easy process but we have found after all the time spent together developing the architecture of your home, we typically know much more about your likes and dislikes. As always, we pledge our highest commitment to serve your best interests during this intimate process.

The IONIC goal as your furnishings designer is to streamline and greatly facilitate the overwhelming task of furnishing your new home.

Our furnishings designer begins working with you from the preliminary stage of architectural design, cataloging existing furnishings and determining the optimum furniture layout for your new home. The team will present fabric and furniture options, as well as window treatment solutions for your consideration.

Refinement of selections and timely order processing is managed for you during construction to insure timely delivery and installation concurrent with construction completion. After all we wouldn't want you to have to sit on the floor you first week in your new home.


D. Eugene Thompson, AIA
President
Ionic DeZign Studios, Inc.

www.ionicdezigns.com

Exotic Materials

Sustainable materials can be a lot of fun if you use them right. Here is one that we are currently working with on a project.  Can you guess how we are going to use it? This shoud be lots of fun!

www.ionicdezigns.com

Behind the Red Door

I recently read an article about the color you choose for your front door and how it may send a message about your personality and the atmosphere inside your home. Here are some of the comments from the article below:

What does your front door say about you?

According to the Paint Quality Institute, your front-door color is a key to your personality as well as to the atmosphere inside your home.

"Like a necktie, which is the focal point of an outfit, the front door is the focal point of the home," writes Debbie Zimmer, the editor of the institute's newsletter. "The color there sends a strong message – in the case of the front door, providing insight into how we view our home."

And just what do those color choices say?

Paint Quality Institute doesn't comment on white, a color that may communicate "This is how the door came, and I didn't care enough about my home's exterior to change it." I am sending this message with my back doors. My front door sends a similar message: "I came with the house, and my owner is too busy writing to paint me another color."

Maybe your front door is speaking more eloquently. If you have a bright-colored front door, here is the message you may be sending, according to the paint people:

Red: You've chosen the color of passion. Your door says the home inside is vibrant and "full of life, energy and excitement."

Green: Your home is a place of health, safety, tranquility and harmony. This is a popular color.

Blue: This color, which may be the most popular, connotes home as sanctuary. A blue front door signifies that the home is calm, serene and relaxing.

Black: This color doesn't signify depression or mourning but power. The owner of a black front door is sending a message of strength, sophistication and authority. His home is a serious place "inhabited by a person of substance."

Brown: Uh-oh. This color carries a mixed message. A brown front door, either painted or stained, may convey warmth, stability and reliability. Or maybe not. A dark-brown front door suggests a desire for privacy and isolation. Changing your front-door color is a quick way to add curb appeal.

Okay so many of you have seen our designs and the way we often use some unusual colors for various accents.  What does all the other colors have to say? Some of our favorite colors are:

LIME GREEN: Is it the same as regular green? I don't think so.  Lime says inspirational, sustainable, but yet bold and lacking fear.

PURPLE: We use purple a lot in our work.  Purple is a sign of Royalty and richness.

CRANBERRY: Not the same as purple nor red.  It is it's own color family in my opinion.  I recently said in a previous post that Cranberry was the new color for 2012.  Cranberry I even painted my front door this color.  Used it to accent our house during last Christmas.  Cranberry has a bit of royalty in it along with sophistication and warmth.

ORANGE: Wow...would you really paint your front door orange? Maybe....you never can tell.  Orange says that you are playful, cheerful and just plain happy all the time.  It could also mean that you went to a school like Oklahoma State and it is your school colors!

YELLOW: There are so many different shades of Yellow/Gold that can be used for everything. The brighter the yellow the more playful and sun-worship like you may feel. The darker the yellow the warmer you feel and richer it comes across to others. Yellow certainly inspires happiness and open feelings. I think many of the shades of Yellow can be used together as well.  I have several different color stripes on my living room wall doing that very thing.  It works!

Those are just the colors of your front door.  I would love to try out other ideas that relate to materials.  What about GLASS doors? How about a silver metallic door like STAINLESS STEEL or ALUMINUM? What about CORE TEN STEEL.....with a bit of RUST? I think we could have some fun......what would these materials say about you?

Have some fun my friends and experiment with color in your latest projects.  Enjoy the color pallets!

Think Tank Round Table

Tuesday night I was fortunate enough to be invited to a think tank session with a group of local colleagues to discuss the treads in architecture, society as well as a focus on the way we see our clients doing business in the future with integrated furniture systems. I want to thank IBI, Image Business Interiors and Teknion for inviting Ionic DeZigns to be a part of this small group.  Representatives from several of the leading firms were present including, Lyall Design, HBA, Cox Kliewer & Company, Clark Nexan, RRMM, Francis & Reeve.

Some very insightful discussion was presented by Kay Sargent, Vice President of Architecture, Design & Workplace Strategies,  in how we see ourselves, as designers, in the upcoming years. It was nice to hear from other firms in the area about their concerns regarding market change, client demands, economic struggles and how to navigate around these hurdles that as business owners we all face.

2012....Tangerine?

I just read a quick article where they have announced to the world that in this coming 2012 the Pantone color Tangerine would be the color of the year......really.  http://www.pantone.com/pages/pantone/category.aspx?ca=88 I am either seriously disappointed or overly ecstatic about this news.  Why you may ask? Well, because we have been using that color for several years in many of our designs.  Maybe not "tangerine" proper but pretty darn close! Now I don't claim to be any prognosticator of the color wheel but I have been using colors before they become officially popular for the last several years.  Oranges and Purples were part of our collection 7 or 8 years ago....maybe more. Then it was Lime Green. you can just browse through some of our project photos and see where we have splashed all of this colors though out our spaces.....long before their time.

Tangerine: Let me see:

• Thompson Residence - Big stripe on my living room wall. (2008)
• Gloucester County Library - La Diva Chair and slanted wall (2003)

http://ionicdezigns.com/gloucester_library.html

• Achievable Dream Library - Throughout (2006)

http://ionicdezigns.com/ads.html

• Ionic DeZign Office - Back office wall (2008)
• Great Atlantic's New offices - accent walls (2011)
• Star Express Convenience Store - Accent wall (2011)

This one is getting it's permits right now to begin construction soon. http://ionicdezigns.blogspot.com/2011/10/we-were-contracted-to-create-new.html

• Russo Law Office - check out the interior accents being built right now. http://ionicdezigns.blogspot.com/2011/11/russo-office-complex-begins.html

There is probably more but I cannot think of them right now.  It is pretty amazing when you select a color that you feel is the right one for a project and then it is justified by seeing the industry (everywhere) make the similar selection.  you can see it Christmas ornaments, clothing, post it notes, shoes and anything else you can imagine. These selections become my favorite colors as well and yes I probably have them scattered around my house or hanging in my closet.

Pantone can make their selection and I will certain respect that.  Maybe they are just telling us that the design world has been making this selection and now it is time that all the rest of the world needs to catch up.  Last year the color Turquoise was the color.....and we were prepared.  Take a look at our Virginia Originals located on the CBBT designed in late 2009.http://ionicdezigns.com/cbbt.html

That is okay...it is good to be ahead of the curve.....maybe even being considered one of the ones who sets the trends.  Hey, I look at it this way.....I will finally be able to buy that Tangerine lounge chair for my living room to match the stripe!





So would you like to know what I am saying the new color is?......Stay tuned....and I will share soon in our project that we are developing right now.

Have a colorful day my friends!

Russo Office Complex Begins Construction

We are excited to finally see the Russo Office project begin construction this month. The 10,000 square foot office facility located near Towncenter in Virginia Beach will house the attorney offices of Phillip Russo as well.  Our office developed not only the shell building structure that has a high level of sustainability design elements incorporated in the planning. The three entry towers represent "light houses" that when illuminated at night will glow through the frosted panels.  Inbed ground lighting glaze upwards along the side column pillars that encase the "light house".

The interiors of the Russo office plan offers a grand entry with lots of light and volume filtering into the waiting area.  The natural lighting will filter further back into the office from the tall windows with the assistance from the screening awnings positioned mid-span on the windows. Bright colors, diverse use of natural materials and creative use of space are welcomed into the interior office plan.  Again we used sustainable principles for the design by utilizing borrowed lighting and reclaimed lumber for portions of the interior finishes.

The design team consisted of Ionic DeZign Studios doing all the architecture, interior design and Sinclair, Pratt & Cameron participating for the structural side.  Martin Engineering is the civil consultant and the construction being performed by JD&W.  We welcome seeing the progress happen!

12 Year Anniversary

Amazing how time flies!
And it flies whether you are having a good time or not.  In my case that is anyway.  Thankfully we have been having a great time.  We are rejoicing in 12 years of service to our clients and the Tidewater and surrounding areas. I have mentioned in the past how lucky we were to get past each hurdle.  The last few years have been particularly difficult with the economy struggling but it seems that the some of that burden has been lifted and we are progressing out of it. 2010 was a good year in rebounding & recovery. 2011 so far has been an amazing year at we finish up the 3rd quarter with some projects getting approvals from city council, others finally getting financial approvals (an important part these days) and still other projects coming in the door from past clients that we haven't seen in a while.  That is always welcome!

We also are very excited about introducing our new website this year....actually as we speak. So if you read this today, please note that we are trying to get all the information uploaded and data converted.  It has been a long and frustrating process, most because I am so picky.  After several stabs with web designers without success (come on we are architects...it has to be cool!) we ended up taking our thoughts and creating the graphics we wanted.  With help from Kristen Bunting @ Design-Nectar we are finally able to have something we are proud to share with others. A big THANK YOU to Kristen! http://www.ionicdezigns.com/

So many wonderful things are happening these days and we truly feel blessed,  We have an awesome team of individuals in our office to service your design needs and thankful for their involvement with the family at Ionic DeZign Studios.  Thanks again to all of our clients, vendors, suppliers, consultants and friends We look forward to many more years.

Past Anniversary Logos:



10th year anniversary logo





11th year anniversary logo

Employee Profile:

Emily A. Thompson, ASID
Director of Interior Design

Emily graduated magna cum laude from Virginia Polytechnic and State University, with a Bachelor of Science in Interior Design in December 2006. She is a member of the ASID (American Society of Interior Designers) and is currently preparing to become a LEED accredited professional as well.


Emily first began working with us as a high school student and returned to work for us during school breaks. Her employment with Ionic DeZign has proven beneficial for her own experience in addition to having been an excellent asset to the company. Our office benefits from the diversity she brings with her through her education and experience.

With a love for computer generated modeling and rendering, the technical aspect that she brings to the firm allows us to create unparalleled design presentations to better illustrate our concepts and ideas to our clients. These models have been used not only in presentations for client use but for the contractor coordination and organization of specialized construction.

Y E A R S   O F
E X P E R I E N C E


10 years experience - 10 years with IDS

E D U C A T I O N

Bachelor of Science / 2006 / Interior Design / Virginia Polytechnic and State University

Associates Degree / 2003 / Liberal Arts / Tidewater Community College


R E G I S T R A T I O N S

2006 / Professional Interior Designs/ Virginia


P R O F E S S I O N A L
A F F I L I A T I O N S

American Society of Interior Designers

Hampton Roads Association for Commercial Real Estate