Earlier last week I sat down with Alexander Jamie LeBlanc (or Jamie), one half of the team nicknamed “Ottawa’s designer guys”, to talk about the Alexander Crawford Design Boutique located at 1089 Somerset Street West and the interior design work they do for clients. If you are looking to add a little spice to your home or condo, these are the guys to talk to!
Matt: Tell me a little about yourselves!
AJ: Well we have told this story what feels like a hundred of times, Luc and I have worked independently for about 10 or 12 years and we didn’t even know each other. I have moved to Ottawa and was doing a design for a retail store, and by fluke was working in the store one afternoon. Someone had asked for help and turned out to one of Luc’s clients. As the story goes on, Luc’s client engaged both of us and didn’t give us a choice. Either you are going to work together or neither of you are going to work! It was forced, and that recommendation turned into another recommendation, and just kept going from there.
So you have experienced a little bit of growth since then?
We have grown from literally an 8 foot desk, to then last year being in the top three design firms in the city of Ottawa. We have brought the business from a hundred thousand a year to a few million a year. So we have significantly grown, now currently in our fourth year.
Tell us about some of your projects that you have done in the past…
Well we don’t like to brag about some of the big stuff because it dose not make some of the smaller stuff feel as special. But we do everything from hotels, to full condo developments like the one we just did for 101 Richmond Road. All of those condos are designer ready with designer finishes, also the lobby, theater, rooftop terrace.
What was one of your most memorable or oddest project that you have completed?
Hmmm that is a hard one. I would probably say the strip club. A pub style strip club. We have done an optometry clinic, one of my most favorite was Dr. Jill Taylor, right across from Tommy and Lefebvre on Bank St., it is very modern and is a favorite.
For the average person who is feeling the need for a little more, can they still hire you to redesign their condo?
Whether it is the 5 million dollar cottage we are doing right now, a 20 thousand square foot home we did last year or a its a 400 sq ft condo, the rules are the same. We charge for an initial consultation and by the hour after that. So everybody is on the same playing field, which makes working with us very easy. The largest hurdle is just getting us booked which right now is about a month in advance.
What are some of your goals?
Our goal right now is to have four or five little boutiques from here [1089 Somerset Street West] up to Richmond road.
We are sitting in one of your two boutiques right now, Alexander Crawford Design Boutique. What can people expect when they walk through the doors?
All of our stores are in fact boutiques, so people that come here can expect personalized service and have hired full time interior stylists to assist them. For the average client that is coming off of the street can still get educated response, not an answer from a sales clerk with no experience. They can come through here and flip through fabrics to pick their drapes or for a sofa and get the input from the interior stylists.
What about some of the furniture or pieces you carry and sell in the boutique?
A big thing to keep in mind is our price point. I like to use a decanter as an example, we sell one for $22 and we sell one for $225. When we do the purchasing for our nick naks (which there are a lot of) or for the furniture we try and cover everybody. We just introduced a new collection that Luc and I have worked on, called “My First Place. The My First Place goal is that no piece of furniture is over a thousand dollars. So you can get a full, Canadian made, lifetime warranty sofa for under a thousand dollars. Which normally would be an import or second grade, not like the life time warranty etc. But we also have five thousand dollar sofas, it is all depending on our clients and where their niche is. There is a piece of designer furniture here for everybody, no matter of their price point.
Tell me about your style.
Our style is best described as modern art deco. We both love art-deco which is very thirties feel, and we both really love modern so when you cross the paths, we are the result. With that being said, as designers we do not pigeon hole our work. I did not go to school and learn one particular design style, we do everything from transitional to traditional to contemporary to modern and our clients reflect that.
What is next?
I see us expanding the stores outside of Ottawa, and we are in talks with major television production companies. It is exciting!
What is one of your favorite places in Ottawa?
Hogs back falls!
(Luc popped in from working with a client)
Luc: I am from Ottawa and I cannot just pick one. I have always enjoyed the market because it is the most lively of Ottawa itself, also I find that the architecture of downtown also really does it for me.
For more information make sure to stop by the Boutique at 1089 Somerset Street West or visit:
http://www.crawfordalexanderboutique.com
http://www.designsby2.ca
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http://www.MattRichling.com
Matt Richling is a sales representative with RE/MAX Affiliates Realty Ltd., Brokerage, Independently Owned and Operated - The opinions of the authors expressed herein do not necessarily state or reflect those of the RE/MAX or RE/MAX Affiliates Realty Ltd., Brokerage.
