149 – Sandra Funk: New Jersey Girl of Interior Design

Click on the photo for more! Sandra Funk: New Jersey Girl of Interior Design Today in The Lounge, Nick talks shop with Sandra Funk of House of Funk, interior design’s Jersey girl. Though originally from Michigan, Sandra now calls New Jersey home. House of Funk has offices in both New Jersey and the beloved New York City. Sandra took an unusual path to her interior design career; from planning to be a third-generation tire heiress, to a website/business finance consultant and then finally to an award-winning interior design principal. Find out how she did it all, in this episode of The Chaise Lounge. Breaking the Ice Sandra is a lover of neckwear. From scarves to necklaces, this is her accessory of choice. She supports Chavez for Charity, a maker of jewelry that gives a percentage of proceeds back to charitable causes, a business model that Sandra has also woven into House of Funk. Her perfect night out is a beautiful night stroll through New York City, stopping in for red wine and apps, and seeing where the evening takes her. She is a wife and mother of two beautiful daughters and takes great advantage of the Au Pair program! Growing up in Michigan, Sandra was always surrounded by a strong DIY spirit in her family and community. This is where the initial interior design seeds were planted. Getting Into the Business After assuming that she and her sister would take over the family business of tire retreading, it came as a shock when her father sold the business. Sandra had even started college as a finance major in order to do just that. Upon graduation, forced to discover a new path, Sandra took on her first job as a business consultant, which allowed her to travel while she figured out her next steps. At that time, website usability consulting started to take off. As Sandra headed in that direction, she began taking interior design courses at Parsons School of Design to facilitate her website design work. She fell in love with interiors through her studies. Suddenly, the dot-com crash happened and Sandra was laid off. She, however, could not have been more pleased! It was full steam ahead of her interior design career. Sandra’s first design gig was at Ethan Allen as a sales consultant and decorator. She received terrific training and was chosen to design TV host, Joy Behar’s, home office which would subsequently be featured on the television talk show The View. Upon leaving Ethan Allen, Sandra joined the team at Christopher Norman, where she really got to know the "Who’s Who" of the New York Interior Design community and learn about the intricacies of high-end design. The Nuts and Bolts of House of Funk House of Funk is a 6-woman team. Sandra is the creative overseer and editor with two lead designers. She has a head of PR, Head of Finance and a Coordinator that wears many hats. While Sandra tools around in CAD to facilitate the design idea process, she leaves final specs to her rockstar lead designers. She also enjoys using Wecora to pin ideas for design charrettes and also loves sourcing personally once the design direction has been established. Sandra likes to walk the city to source and contact her go-to vendors for the perfect item for clients. When it comes to vendors, style and quality are imperative, but customer service is THE most important factor. Vendors must stand behind their products after they’ve been delivered and really believe in their business. Sandra makes sure to build relationships with vendors that have high integrity as this will always translate to their projects. Sandra advises that when adding to your team, always allow people’s strengths to shine. It is more beneficial to do what you are good at. Try not to seek out that one person that you think needs to do everything. Internships are another great way to get to know someone and find out if they are a fit for your team; much l...