We caught up with the brilliant and insightful John Melby a few weeks ago and have shared our conversation below.
Hi John, thanks for sharing your insights with our community today. Part of your success, no doubt, is due to your work ethic and so we’d love if you could open up about where you got your work ethic from?
I get my work ethic from a number of avenues, The main avenue is my competitive nature. This was developed from a young age. I always wanted to be the best athlete. Whether it was soccer, football, basketball, or golf, I didn’t like the idea of someone else thinking they were better than I was. It was always a healthy obsession with wanting to be great. This fueled me to practice, try a new approach, fail faster, and or just purely outwork my opponent’s.
This approach has continued into my profession; Architecture. I want to be the best. This mindset pushes me to work harder, try new technology, focus on the work and create a highly passionate approach to the homes we design. I want to produce the best designs for each individual project.
Also, what I have realized, is most of my competitors in the Architecture field are truly assets. These are people that are passionate about the same profession. It’s great to communicate, collaborate, and feed off of one another to grow. There is so much work out there for everyone and I am happy to see others in my field succeed as it pushes me to be great!
Great, so let’s take a few minutes and cover your story. What should folks know about you and what you do?
I am the Owner of Melby Design. We design high end luxury homes across the country. At Melby Design, we are very passionate about making the design process enjoyable. Great design is achieved through a creative process. Our intrepid approach to the design process has afforded us a vast variety of opportunities. We take a holistic approach with each project, evaluating the needs of the client with the constraints of a site to find the appropriate and yet unique solutions that exceed expectations. By utilizing our top of the line 3D software, we are able to present your home prior to construction. This is key as it can be difficult to fully grasp the site, color pallet, materials, or the perspective as you approach the home. There are no questions about what the home will look like as our design comes to life.
Looking back, what do you think were the three qualities, skills, or areas of knowledge that were most impactful in your journey? What advice do you have for folks who are early in their journey in terms of how they can best develop or improve on these?
Three skills/ qualities of mine that have most impacted my journey:
1. Passionate
2. Work Ethic
3. Empathy
I was lucky enough to find what I love at a young age. Work doesn’t feel like ‘work’. It is a double edges sword as I am able to work a lot and not get burnt out. I truly enjoy designing but still need to refine my ability to merge life with work. For the people out there whom are early in their journeys, I push you to continue to look for what you love. It doesn’t matter how old you are. Keep hunting until you find it, you wont regret it. Everyone has a different path.
When I was just starting out I worked for a large commercial Architecture company. I new I was in the right field but every year my passion level for the work was going down. I slowly realized that my passion was within the residential Architecture world. I made the switch, started my own company. This was another passion of mine that I came to realize. I enjoy operating my own company. I am a business man first and foremost. I just now happen to run a business within my field of passion.
Tell us what your ideal client would be like?
An ideal client for me is someone that is balanced in many traits.
1. I want someone that has ideas of what they want for their home but is open to new approaches and thoughts.
2. Someone that is flexible and can accept changes. Designing a home is a fluid process and new ideas can germinate at any point. It is just as important to know what people don’t like as it is to know what they do like.
3. I need a client that can have fun. This design journey can last anywhere from 6-12 months. That is a long time to be communicating. We get into a lot of intimate details with our clients when we are designing their forever home. There is so much communication back and forth that you want to develop a long lasting relationship with.
Contact Info:
- Website: https://www.melbydesign.com/
- Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/melby_design/?hl=en
- Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/profile.php?id=100063647166886
Image Credits
1. Interior photography by John and Maura Stoffer.
2. Ryan Hainey – Interior Design & Architecture Photography.
3. Renderings by Melby Design
so if you or someone you know deserves recognition please let us know here.
