Stir it Up

we're cookin'

As featured in the Pittsburgh Business Times
Oct. 24-30, 2008

HGTV spotlights renovation
of South Side row house

By Jonathan Barnes

In 2005, Blue Tomato Design owner Kim Collins planned to refurbish a century-old South Side row house into a home and studio boutique for her graphic and web design company. Months into the project, she was living there without plumbing, climbing a ladder to get to her bedroom and realizing what she'd undertaken.

"I thought it would be fun," she said.

Kim Collins spent 18 months renovating
her studio boutique in South Side, Pittsburgh.

Despite having few construction skills, with some help from her father and a few others, Collins managed to transform the dilapidated house into a sleek, modern space. HGTV producers liked her story so much that they recently filmed the designer at her Wharton Street boutique for the program, "My House is Worth What?"

Collins was picked for the show after sending in an audition tape and hearing from HGTV producers the next day.

Richard Wells, segment producer for the show, said that after seeing Collins' tape, HGTV was sold.

"We consider the personality of the homeowner, as well as the space. Kim's got a great story, and a really great presence," Wells said.

The renovation had it's problems, including an unreliable masonry contractor who didn't properly repair a brick wall. A heating/ventilation contractor left her heating system unfinished.

While ripping up the first floor, she found the joists rotten and sitting on dirt. Foundations had never been set for the floor, which tied into the brick structure. After digging and setting a foundation and rebuilding the floor, Collins installed wide-plank red oak flooring.

The project had it's quirks.

The weekend before Collins moved in, another homesteader broke into the place, and slept on the floor on a piece of fiberglass insulation next to Collins' hammer.

While she was tearing out the concrete in the courtyard, she found a large bone embedded in the slab. It looked human so she asked the people next door at the prosthetics company to check it out. They said it could be a human femur, so she called the Pittsburgh Police. They took the bone and later told her it wasn't human, but she's unconvinced.

Collins didn't tell her father, Jamestown, New York contractor John Collins, she bought the house until three months after she closed on it. Collins was afraid her father would tell her she shouldn't have bought the house.

"She had it in her mind that she wanted her own house," John Collins said. "With determination and energy, she just pushed forward."

The renovation took 18 months. An initial investment of $42,000 for the house was increased by $65,000 spent on contractor's fees and construction materials. Collins hopes to have the 1,100-square-foot home valued at $200,000 for the show.

"I was a single girl in a tough situation, but I stuck it out," she said. "Now, I feel like I can do anything."

JONATHAN BARNES is a freelance writer.

Have a Spoonful

saucy thoughts

Logo Me

So I get the question every once in awhile..."Why do I NEED a logo?" And I have to admit sometimes it sets me back and I have a take a deep breath and begin to formulate an intelligent answer to essentially explain why their business needs a face, an identity.

And really, why do we need logos, faces, identities and in the larger scheme of things... a brand.

SO.... what's in a brand? and why do you need a good logo?

Simply put, as I like to do, is to say...If you were to go the grocery store to buy a box of cereal and as you approached the aisle, every box looked essentially the same... how would you choose?

If you remember back a few years when they came out with the "generic" brand of cereal. Every box was exactly the same, white box with black type describing what's inside. I always hated when my mom came home with that boring white box. I hated the way it looked and I hated the way it tasted even more.

So generic!

But it was a brand... it was the Generic Brand and represented what you should expect inside.

My mom would always say, "it tastes the same as the all the fancy boxes, it's just cheaper".

Well I knew full well it wasn't just as good. It was almost tasteless, something was missing. The quality ingredients, the little extra food coloring that makes the fruity circles pop from the cold white milk.

She wasn't fooling me. And my love of branding started to grow. Even to this day I'm many times distracted by the beautiful bold packaging that grabs my eye and screams "I'm better and tastier than that boring package next to me!"

But looks can be deceiving. Sometimes, a company may spend tons on "branding" a disappointing product, or unreliable service. And in the end they most likely won't succeed. So it's not just about the logo... it's about the whole package. A great image representing an awesome company.

A great Brand.

So be conscious of your brand and always remember that it represents everything you do and grow it with great customer service and superb ideas and products.

Kim Collins - owner/creative director

 

Who's Getting Sauced?

clients we're serving

We created this site for Salon deStefino, a hip salon/boutique located on Walnut in ShadySide.

http://www.salondestefino.com

 

St Matthews Condominums in SouthSide Pittsburgh was looking for a revamped sexy image appealing to hip young professional couples... now being featured in this months copy of WHIRL Magazine!

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