Dear Friends,
Greetings from Mimosa Lane, the new hub of activity for Kristin Mullen Designs. I pray that you and yours are safe and well. The coronavirus has hit close to home for all of us, whether it is because we have family members that are very vulnerable, like my daughter Darcy, or whether we know someone who has lost a family member or friend to this virus, like our bookkeeper Debra has. These are unprecedented times for all of us and yet it is my nature to see the glass as half full.
The quarantine has given our team a precious commodity, which is time. We have had plans in the works for a few months now to make some improvements to the firm and we have used the bandwidth that we were unexpectedly given to materialize those plans.
For a bit of background, our team had a wonderful 2019, with three national magazine covers, an appearance in the Traditional Home Hamptons Showhouse, and a rising tide of business. This growth in our business has necessitated a new and separate role in finance and operations. We were looking for someone with a background in standing up new systems, a facility with finance, and who had the temperament and experience in dealing with creatives. As it turned out, I did not have to look too far.... I'd like to introduce you to our new Director of Operations and Finance, John Mullen.
John has run hugely successful business groups at Goldman Sachs and JP Morgan as well as his own firm and he has come out of semi-retirement to take on this hugely important role with our studio. This has been in discussion for months now - we will gloss over the wheedling and begging that I may or may not have done(!) - and has taken the last several weeks to bring himself up to speed on the business and operations of the studio. He has some wonderful ideas about how to better serve our clients and we will be sharing those with you in the weeks to come. His utmost priority is to improve client satisfaction and communications. Look for an email from him in the coming days to introduce himself to you directly.
Bess and I will still be your point of contact for all design and project management related questions. John will be your point of contact about billing questions, proposals and invoices. For this transition period, he and I will remotely meet with you and do calls with you about any operational or financial questions you may have.
I know that all of you are spending way too much time in your homes these days. Many of you have reached out with a wish list of projects you'd like us to undertake or pieces that you would like for us to source or design for you. Not surprisingly, a proper desk is high on everyone's list right now...
Be well, stay safe, and know that we are thinking of all of you.
