Our ultimate objective, whether building a home, purchasing a place to work, or doing anything else for a living, is to feel happy on the inside. It is hardly an easy or conflict-free existence. We might not discover all the happiness by accumulating a lot of money and possessions. We need a cozy environment to live in, work in, or hang out with our loved ones where we may experience the warmth of community while working toward a worthwhile life goal. When a dream comes true, it might make you happy on the inside and possibly for the rest of your life.
Sara Mann has an AEC degree in interior design from College Inter-Dec, and her work strives for a delicate balance between originality and functionality as they both contribute to the high calibre of her design approach. Sara is the principal designer at Sara Mann Interior Design in Montreal (SMID).
Sara started working for Andres Escobar & Associates, one of Montreal’s most prolific and renowned international interior design firms in 2011 and swiftly rose to the position of intellectual member of the company. She assisted in the project’s progress. She played an essential role in supporting senior architectural designers with everything from conceptual design through project completion; FF&E; research and specification, construction drawings, client, and vendor collaboration; project coordination, resource library management, and marketing. Sara firmly believes that cutting-edge interior designs should be delivered with the greatest purpose, persistence, and tenacity. She has gained project experience working with premier worldwide architectural interior design firms, development businesses, illustrious hotels, restaurant groups, and Bombardier’s best-in-class Business Jets.
From Childhood Passion to Working Professionally
When Sara was a child, she grew up watching Debbie Travis’ Painted House on the Home & Garden network channel. Sara’s parents would become motivated and begin house improvement projects, including Sara, her triplet sisters and her elder brothers. Sara realized she was hooked the minute she began experimenting with faux finish paint and going crazy over wallpaper. Sara estimates that she was 10 years old when her adventure began. As she was growing up, Sara consumed design-related thoughts every day, which sparked her enthusiasm for the interior design profession.
The Inception Story
When Sara went back to work after her sick leave, she saw that her ambition to advance up the corporate ladder had lessened. Sara’s urge to create unrestricted areas and develop real, enduring relationships grew even stronger. She recalls, “My spirit was telling me I had to move on to the next level and push past my fears and bring my dreams to reality.” After being diagnosed with a rare and incurable illness her perspective on life shifted drastically, it was as if Sara was reborn again, hence Sara Mann Interior Design was founded.
The Principal Designer of SMID
For Sara, having the flexibility to express her creativity while working as a principal designer means being able to build spaces that people can relate to, feel connected to, and become one with. She gets delighted when she has a client that is courageous, fearless, and in sync with SMID ideals, which are to push the limits and accomplish the goal established from the beginning and to have developers put in place whose beliefs are in alignment in delivering successful and one-of-a-kind results.
At SMID, Sara’s primary responsibilities include working closely with her clients, taking the initiative in conceptual design, architectural planning, design development, project management, monitoring, and coordination. She is overseeing costs, budgets, and preparing project estimates and proposals and also advertising services and bidding on new projects.
Setting clear priorities is a critical part of Sara’s role, as setting clear priorities helps everyone to focus on what matters. She states, “I make sure the “why” is clear. By being specific, we establish a transparent schedule together to ensure the workload is balanced and reasonable.” She further discusses that the project structure in which she operates is most important, the roles everyone plays, the objectives are defined, reliable resources are established, and powerful processors and tools are set up. Therefore, everyone can meet SMID’s vision.
Being a Leader
Sara is driven by her spirituality, her principles, her talents, and most importantly, she is driven by her instincts. If she starts to question and look at what others are doing, she begins to lose her clarity of thought. She states, “I set the tone. It must come from who I am and my authentic self.”
According to her, male or female, everyone has challenges they have to face. She asserts, “We must stand up tall and be heard. As executives, we must be creative to overcome those biggest challenges, there’s a solution to everything.” Nothing is impossible, we make it possible.
Sara advises female leaders to foster group trust and openness. She has been successful in building a thriving team by modelling the use of emotional intelligence. She believes it is empowering to be able to make decisions while being composed in the face of disagreement. To create a secure and forward-thinking workplace, a leader must be self-aware, adaptable, and quick to pivot. They must also be able to manage their own emotions and have no trouble communicating their sentiments to others. Sara has discovered that developing her emotional intelligence helps her lead and foster a culture where she is involved and linked to the environment of the company, and communication is enhanced. Sara states that emotionally intelligent leaders help their teams thrive in positive ways by guiding, communicating, and empowering them as their voice matters.
Humble Learnings of Life
Sara has learned over the past couple of years to simply listen to her inner voice, to do what is good for her peace. She says, “We can apply quotes we read for motivation and guidance, but once life starts teaching you lessons, you will learn those quotes become less and less relevant in your life. You will begin to write your own story. You call the shots; you will learn how powerful your voice is once you begin to understand your true worth of who you are as a person.” She further adds, “You learn from experiences, set backs, illnesses, pain, loss, betrayal, trails, and error, by not giving up. By keep pushing forward by doing the work, but be gentle with yourself, you fail? Get back up and try again but don’t quit, never quit on yourself, all you got is you. Before you know it, time passed, you pushed past your fears and your simply in your element. You write your own quote and that will become relevant in your life.”
“Listen to the feelings in your heart, your inner voice, and you’ll attract those that are in alignment with your beliefs, your purpose and sooner or later you’ll begin living your dream.”
The Future View
Taking on design projects that are true to her and her client’s vision, pertinent, and, to put it simply, “honest,” is how Sara sees herself continuing to enhance her abilities and her inner visionary growth. The teams SMID has created are contract-based, taking the project’s location and financial plan into account. Her long-term objective is to have full-time staff.
Sara wants to push SMID to be creative and innovative. She has discovered that the best way to do it is through undertakings that present hurdles and problems, which she views as a “blessing in disguise.” An opportunity for creative solutions to get herself motivated, excited, and most importantly, “CURIOUS”. She adds, “To transform our clients vision into existence, to create designs that are successful, rewarding, and exceptional.”
Website: www.sminteriordesign.com
