Gimme Five!

June 18^th is the ‘official’ fifth anniversary for Arrow B Architecture.  Many dominoes fell and planets aligned for it to come to this – and a lot of damned hard work.  I started with a couple of clients and a confidence that I hoped wasn’t misplaced.  I sought advice from colleagues and peers and total strangers; most of it was good.  I told one of my former principals that I’d gone on my own.  After a long pause he responded “What are you doing?  Did you learn nothing from me?!”  Actually, I had.  I took everything I’d learned after 20 years in the industry- five firms, dozens of principals, managers, peers and clients – and cherry picked what I thought would work best.  And a great thing happened – more clients came, and then referrals, and then repeat clients.  Arrow B started to get a name for itself.  Now we’re growing again (Interested?  Call me…seriously) and this year is well on its way to being our best and most fun yet.

And while we’ve had the good fortune to make some great spaces that make for pretty pictures, I am most gratified by the relationships we have forged along the way.

To our officemates who aren’t in the biz but provide humor, perspective, a connection to the real world, and the occasional beer…

To our professional support staff who are patient with the fact that I retain more about building codes than I do billing codes…

To our reps and vendors who answer countless questions, schlep myriad samples, and are proud to see their products in our projects…

To our contractors or subs who scratch their heads over what we’ve drawn and work their hardest to make it real…

To our clients who have entrusted us with their investment, vision, and sometimes quite literally their future…

To our consultants who provide the underpinnings for every project and make them actually work…

To our employees who go with the flow, represent the firm exceptionally well, challenge me, and create some really great work…

Thank you.  We have no success without your support, experience, hard work, patronage, and loyalty.

Now before the orchestra plays me off:  To be the spouse of an architect is hard.  When that architect owns the company, well I am certain that’s a special ring of Hell.  I would be nowhere without the absolutely unfaltering support of my wife, Sarah.  (I like to think it’s unfaltering, but I imagine she is also a gifted actress.)  She is my rock when I need grounding and foundation and my river when I need to be uplifted and carried.  She is truly a force of nature and words cannot adequately express…without her, there is no Arrow B.

Our success these past five years is truly a shared accomplishment.  And this is just the beginning…Cheers!