Tracey Priest Seibert is a high achiever.
Not content merely juggling a successful career at GBBN Architects and enlightening the future generation of interior designers as instructor in the University of Cincinnati’s top notch interior design program; Priest Seibert struck off on her own this year and opened Harkness Design Group (HDG).
"I like being my own boss," Priest Seibert says. "Working on my own gives me the ability to have quality, efficient 'head's down' time when I need to concentrate and be creative without the distractions of a large office [and] be my best self when I'm working so closely and hands-on with my clients."
And as a woman-owned company with credentials to prove it, HDG stands to benefit from this attentive approach.
Alongside Priest Seibert’s already extensive network of contacts, she adds, “there are certain types of projects – a lot of them state funded – that are set aside for small businesses, minority businesses, and women-owned businesses. I’m hoping that, by applying for certification, it will open some doors for me.”
Priest Seibert brings over 25 years of design experience to the table. Throughout her career, she has worked for a broad range of clients, large and small, from consulting on plants and lighting, to managing complete atmospheric overhauls, mainly in corporate environments.
And now that she's running her own shop, she can work in the style that best suits her goals.
With HDG, instead of deploying legions of emissaries to untold numbers of venues, Priest Seibert offers close collaboration with clients to create environments that mesh with their unique mission and vision; enhancing and extending their brand, culture and image into their workspace itself.
This does more than attract business. Today’s corporate cultures are learning that employees care about their surroundings. Priest Seibert realizes this, and is ahead of the curve.
Current economic downturn aside, “there is so much competition between people who have phenomenal skill sets, especially with Gen X and Gen Y,” she says. “They are not as loyal employees as the Baby Boomers are. So companies are finding that they have to go the extra mile to create an environment that an employee is going to want to stay in, instead of looking next door.”
Priest Seibert’s impressive portfolio, photographs of her work, and more information about HDG can be found
here.
Writer: Jonathan DeHart