Sometimes it's just time for a change.
That was the thinking of Carole Bankston, who, after 16 years with the local ProBuild franchise, decided to open her own design shop.
"I'm ready to be my own boss, keep my own hours. I like the idea of being flexible to spend more time with clients. I don't want them to feel rushed," Bankston said.
The business is called Carole's Kitchen and Bath Creations. Her office isn't glitzy. It's essentially a hole-in-the-wall - one small room of a larger building near the intersection of Highways 160 and 145. Other tenants include Cobalt Mortgage, Story's Drafting and Design, and A Beautiful You Salon.
"It's all the space I need," Bankston said, glancing around at the close confines. "Most of my work is done on the computer."
As her business name implies, Bankston focuses on kitchens and bathrooms, whether new constructions or remodels. She mostly works on residences but is comfortable with commercial spaces, too.
Normally, at least with remodels, her first step with a new client is a house visit, so she can take dimensions and see how the room fits in with the rest of the home. Back at her office, she'll create a preliminary floor plan and then invite the clients in for feedback. She'll build three-dimensional renderings to help them visualize the newfangled space-to-be. She works with the clients to fine-tune it - move the island, add more cabinets, knock out an existing half wall, for example - and then moves on to the aesthetics, like paint colors and countertop textures.
Bankston said there is no predominant style in Cortez. In her nearly two decades in the local design industry, homeowners have asked her for Southwestern, Old Western, rustic lodge and modern looks. Others are a complete hodgepodge of eclectic materials. Whatever she encounters, Bankston tries to be accommodating.
"I cater to what the client wants. I can give advice, but I focus on their needs. No two kitchens are the same, unless you do tract homes," she said. "You have to be flexible because what's important to a client is completely variable. Do they care about storage, functionality, no wasted space?"
Bankston reaches the end of her role when she places orders for materials to manufacturers. But she often follows up once the project is complete to make sure the owner is happy.
Bankston particularly enjoys kitchen projects. She calls kitchens the "heart" of most homes, since people gravitate to them for conversation even when not cooking or eating.
Another reason behind Bankston's fondness for kitchens is the time she spent as a food service director for Canteen, a national company. She managed cafeterias at a golf course, a Revlon factory and Phoenix's Sky Harbor International Airport.
Speaking of international, Bankston only recently became an American citizen. Born in Canada to French-speaking parents, she came to the United States as a four-year-old when her father found work in the uranium mines near Grants, N.M. In the ensuing 50 years, she remained an expatriate, technically a Canadian citizen but with few roots there. She married an American in 1995, and even then did not feel inclined to file for citizenship.
"There were never any major hurdles. I never thought of myself as having a different nationality," she said.That all changed in 2008 while watching the presidential debates. Bankston realized she wanted a voice in the political process, and she was unable to do so with her current legal status. After extensive paperwork, she achieved her goal in 2011 and cast her first ballot last November. Even so, Bankston still holds onto a few vestiges of her Canadian heritage. She takes her french fries with vinegar. Bankston doesn't have much extra space in her diminutive office, but she nonetheless decided not to waste any of it. Being adjacent to a beauty salon, she stocks a selection of boutique items like jewelry, sunglasses, handbags, scarves, wind chimes and CDs from her husband's band, "Beautiful Loser Society." She had a window installed in one wall that functions as a display case for salon visitors passing by. Eventually, once her design business is better established, she wants to build up a small inventory of kitchen and bath decor.
"Cookbook stands, wine racks, that sort of thing," she said - essentially items to accent the rooms she designs.Bankston isn't filled with too much trepidation about owning a business independently. In her first three weeks open, she's had three clients with a fourth pending. She thinks being a long-term Cortez resident helps with name recognition and building a track record.
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