We are kicking off our 2023 series of Meet the Team with introducing you to Jade Heiler! Jade is an experienced architectural designer and has been with us since late 2021. She has been a great asset to the team working on projects with a world-renowned chef that is expanding in the US market, as well as working on multiple locations of The Capital Grille. Before working on hospitality projects here at Aria, Jade gained experience in a diverse range of projects covering municipal, educational, retail, and entertainment sectors. Jade takes pride in her work and enjoys the challenge of working through construction details to best support the design intent. Fun Fact: Jade studied Fashion Design and Retail in undergrad and worked as a merchandising manager before making the switch to Architecture and pursuing her master’s degree! Learn more about Jade Below!
Jade graduated with her Masters in Architecture from Kendall College of Art and Design.
How many places have you lived in your life and where did you grow up? I grew up in Matteson, IL, on the south side of Chicago. I went to Central Michigan University and moved to Grand Rapids, MI after that. I lived in Michigan for a total of 11 years. I just moved back to Chicago in 2021!
What neighborhood do you live in and what is your favorite neighborhood place to visit? I live in Uptown. During the summer, my favorite place is Foster Beach. It’s a tourist-free beach and only a couple blocks from my condo. During the winter, my living room is my favorite place to visit!
Jade and her siblings
How many siblings do you have and are they anything like you? My sister Jasmine is a year older than me and she’s very cool, calm and collected. My brother Clyde III (or Tre as we call him) is 2 years younger than me and he’s also calm and quiet, and together we nerd out on video games and Star Wars. I’m the middle child and definitely the liveliest of the three. I keep everyone entertained.
Do you have any pets? I have a black cat named Reggie. His full name is Regulus Arcturus Black, for my Harry Potter fans out there. I also have an Australian Shepherd named Lando Calrissian, for my Star Wars fans out there.
Best travel story? I spent a month in Volterra, Italy during grad school for study abroad. We lived with another group from a Polish architecture school and made some great new friends. My favorite part was the karaoke party we had one night at our host restaurant. I did a duet with one of the students from Poland, to Déjà vu by Beyonce and Jay-Z. The restaurant owner called me Jay-Z for the rest of the trip.
Using her fashion design and modeling experience, Jade walks the runway to show off our team’s 2022 STITCH competition entry.
What did you want to be when you grew up and why? I always wanted to be a fashion designer and I did get a degree in fashion design. But the more I studied the retail and business side of things, the more I fell in love with it. When I transitioned into architecture, my thesis project was a design for a clothing store that functions like a real world version of Instagram influencing. My favorite part of retail and restaurant design is creating an experience through all of the little details.
Jade’s high school band walking in the Thanksgiving Day parade (left) and showing off her newest hobby, building Star Wars Lego sets.
What is the dorkiest thing about you and why? I collect Star Wars Lego sets. I don’t know how it started but I now have 27 of them. Putting them together is probably my favorite pastime and how I relieve stress. The only ones I don’t have yet are the ones that cost over $500, but I’m planning to complete my collection this year.
What is something most people don’t know about you? I played the clarinet in the Marian Catholic High School marching band. My sophomore year we were in the Macy’s Thanksgiving Day parade, and my senior year we were in the Rose Bowl parade.
Words you live by and why. “Nothing ventured, nothing gained.” My dad drilled into me that I can do anything I put my mind to, that it’s better to try and fail than not try at all. That quote is my mantra. I’m not afraid to make big changes in my life and now I’m right where I want to be.
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Meet the Team: Ndeye Fatou Daikhate Njie
Welcome to another addition of the Meet the Team! Fatou has been with us since June 2019 and has quickly made her mark on our team by being a REVIT expert and is one of our BIM Coordinators. As an Architectural Designer, Fatou has a lot of involvement with the Dave & Buster’s brand, working on multiple locations from Cary, NC to the newest projects in Texas & Pennsylvania. She also has been involved with Supercharged, the Hawthorne Casino project, and has even worked a bit with Cooper’s Hawk on one of their new locations. Prior to her time at Aria, she worked at a handful of other local architecture firms and attended the Illinois Institute of Technology for her degree in Architecture. Read on below to learn more about Fatou!
Fatou’s home country Senegal.
Where did you grow up? Senegal, known as the “Gateway to Africa” and located at the western-most point of the continent is served by multiple air and maritime travel routes. The country lies at an ecological boundary where semiarid grassland, oceanfront, and tropical rainforest converge. Fun Fact: There is an exhibition at the Field Museum in Chicago about Senegal.
Fatou and her family visiting Guanajuato, Mexico.
Do you have any children? How many and what are their names and ages? Yes, Ramatoulie (12) Abdoul Ahad (3)
What is your ideal “I think I’ll call in sick today” day? Rainy Day (I hope this will not catch up with me one day, lol).
What is something you get overly competitive about and why? Anything I sign up for, I give it my all. An example of this is the first time I came to the US, I had decided to go to school here despite studying in French language all my life. Some people had said not to bother with the studies because it was their opinion that a lot of immigrants that started school here did not finish. This made it a competition for me.
Also, another example that is more recent, was during Aria’s summer wellness challenge (which I am on top of the leaderboard). The challenge consists of daily tasks that we have to complete in order to build some healthy habits. I’ll let you in on a secret (don’t tell my competitors), I go to the gym at 6:00 am for an hour just to get half of my 10,000 steps in daily.
Fatou worked on an award winning community center designed and built in Chile while she attended IIT.
Best travel story? I have a few, but I’ll go with my Chile trip. Summer 2016 while at IIT we traveled to Chile for our Design Build Studio. Even though it was hectic, it was a great experience. We designed a Pavilion in the Spring semester and built it that summer in Chile. The project won the AIA Chicago Small Project Honor Awards in 2018, and received an Honorable Mention for the Roberta Feldman Architecture for Social Justice Awards. You can read more on the project here & here.
What would be the one thing you would bring on a deserted island and why? A book, I love to read and won’t mind being alone.
Speaking of books, What’s the last book you read? The Harry Potter Collection (I bought them for my daughter but finished them before her).
Books aside, what’s the last TV show you binged/watched? Current favorite Movie? Criminal Minds & The Negotiator with Samuel L. Jackson
A rendering of a Dave & Buster’s in Cary North Carolina – a project that Fatou enjoyed working on.
Most memorable project? Dave & Buster’s in Cary North Carolina. This is because it was a new prototype design which also was challenged with a complex building structure making for a unique design opportunity.
Would you rather be poor with great style/taste or rich with horrible style/taste? Rich with horrible style/taste. I don’t really care what people think about my style as long as I’m comfortable.
Meet the Team: Nathan Kiecker
Welcome to another edition of Meet the Team! This month, we would like you to meet Nathan Kiecker. Nathan is an Architectural Designer and has been a part of the Aria Group team since 2019. Recently, Nathan’s focus has been on several Shake Shack projects around the U.S. and his technical talents have been instrumental to several other sports entertainment venues like Topgolf and the Henrico Sports Complex. Rounding out his hospitality experience, Nathan is also on the team that designed three new food & beverage spaces within Chicago’s Museum of Science and Industry. Continue reading to learn more about Nathan!
What project are you most proud of since being at Aria Group? That would be my first project ever: Shake Shack San Francisco Centre. It was a small interior buildout in the Westfield Mall but it taught me the detailed intricacies that smaller projects require when designing in an existing space. I would liken it to mastering a game of Tetris. Being a part of the process was definitely very rewarding specifically in detailing and coordinating an angular design.
Where did you grow up? I grew up, and still live, in Berwyn, Illinois. Berwyn is 10 minutes south of Oak Park where Aria is located so I have been familiar with the area and surroundings all my life. It is really nice being close by our office.
What did you want to be when you grew up and why? Since childhood, I have always wanted to be an architect. It may sound cliché, but being introduced and experiencing Frank Lloyd Wright’s residential work along with his home and studio—just minutes from my own home—was very influential. I took that direction and passion and have built my career toward that goal.
How many siblings do you have and are they anything like you? I have two older sisters Nicole (the oldest) and Nora (Middle) which makes me the baby. A fun fact is our names start with the letter N, and I would say all three of us have design-orientated minds as do our parents, who are both graphic designers. We all followed in their footsteps.
Nathan and his two older sisters all followed in their parents footsteps with design oriented careers.
What is something you get overly competitive about and why? Anything sports-related, definitely golf. If I wanted to be completely honest though, I’m competitive when it comes to anything that involves two individuals and an end goal of winning. Being competitive is a personal driver for me but when I’m working with my team – I want my team to be successful first and foremost.
Nathan is always ready for a competitive game of golf!
If you could only eat one meal for the rest of your life, what would it be and why? Pasta! I have eaten it so much that now I can make my own sauce from scratch. It’s just one of those easy quick meals that can be made anytime.
What’s the last TV show you binge-watched? Ozark. Season 4, Part 1.
What’s your current favorite TV show? Peacemaker! If you have not seen, or heard of this, do yourself a huge favor and have a blast. Thank me later.
What is in the trunk of your car right now? My golf clubs. I’m always prepared for a round with the boys, weather permitting of course. But then again, that is what Topgolf is for!
What is something most people don’t know about you? I collect sneakers. #Sneakerhead. I have really stepped up my game in the last 5 years. I usually wear beaters during the winter, but when the weather warms up be on the lookout for the heat!
Do you have a favorite travel story? So this is not one of my best stories, but it’s definitely one I’ll always remember. When I was in college I decided to wait in line for the new iPhone (at the time it was the iPhone 6). In-store purchasing started at 6am on a Saturday morning at this particular mall which was roughly 15 miles away from college. I had the bright idea of biking there to be one of the first to purchase. So I left and headed out around 8pm the evening before. Since this part of Michigan did not have many sidewalks or street lights, I had to bike up and down hilly roads overnight holding a flashlight in one hand and cars racing past me. After 2 hours of biking I arrived. Following several cups of coffee at a nearby Denny’s, I headed over to the mall to jump in line. It was incredible how many people rushed in all at once—many of them serial early adopters who always flood Apple stores for the next upgrade. The experience was chaos! Pushing, shoving— pure CHAOS! Even an ambulance arrived to help with injuries. When I finally made it to the front of the line, I learned that I needed my parent to verify the account information. The crazy adventure was all for nothing. Ever since, I happily just order online!
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Meet the Team: Kyle Miller
Welcome to another edition of Meet the Team! Kyle Miller began at Aria Group in February 2015 as an Architectural Technician and was recently promoted to Project Coordinator. He brings an attention to detail and a positive outlook to every project he works on – we’re lucky to have him as a part of our team! A short list of clients Kyle has worked with include Buddy’s Pizza, Topgolf, Del Frisco’s Double Eagle Steakhouse, Perry’s Steakhouse & Grille, Copa Kitchen & Bar, and Dos Toros Taqueria in Chicago. Kyle is proud to have had the opportunity to help establish Topgolf’s latest single-level concept and his detailing work on the Del Frisco’s Double Eagle Steakhouse in San Diego California. That project helped Aria Group secure the NEWH Top ID award.
Where and what did you study in undergrad and grad school? I studied at Southern Illinois University in Carbondale where I received my undergrad and graduate degree in Architecture. I was also a graduate assistant in the digital fabrication lab and worked at the Campus Architecture Office.
Where did I grow up? I grew up in Warrenville, Illinois.
Do you have a child? My wife Colleen and I had our first child, McKenzie Harper, last November. She is the joy of our lives and such a happy little girl.
Do you have any pets? One dog – she’s spunky and sweet and looks like a teddy bear. Her name is Sadie Mae and has her own Instagram and at one time had more followers than Aria Group. Sadie is 5 years old and is a Havanese.
Best travel story? For our honeymoon we went to Italy. We immersed ourselves into the culture and traveled only by foot or public transit. We stayed only at local bed and breakfasts. We traveled to the Vatican in Rome, did a cooking class with a chef in Florence, explored St. Mark’s Square in Venice, and enjoyed the views in Positano.
Favorite Restaurant in Chicago? Lou Malnati’s. What is more Chicago than deep dish pizza?
What is your favorite ice cream flavor? Vanilla but that’s because it needs to be paired with brownies or blueberry pie.
What is your drink of choice? Blue Moon Belgian White with an orange slice and a splash of orange juice.
What is something most people don’t know about you? I am a black belt in two styles of martial arts Tang Soo Do and Hapkido. I practiced for 10 years and was an instructor for all ages but loved teaching the little ones.
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Meet the Team: Brian Zielinski
Welcome to another edition of Meet the Team! Brian Zielinski is a Project Manager at Aria Group who just celebrated 15 years with our firm. He joined our team in 2006 as an Architectural Technician and has been practicing architecture for 17 years. Brian has managed a variety of projects in our office, including Perry’s Steakhouse & Grille, Buddy’s Pizza, Topgolf, and Nando’s. He is currently working on an exciting sports complex that we are designing on the east coast! He says he has a hard time choosing a favorite project as there are so many that standout, but mentions the Topgolf Nashville music venue and Perry’s Steakhouse in Schaumburg. Another that brings back memories is a California Pizza Kitchen in Tempe, AZ, which is where it all started for him at Aria. Fun Fact: Brian almost didn’t study architecture. He credits staying close to his hometown as a main reason that he eventually landed at Aria Group. Lucky for us that Brian made the right decision and our team and our clients have all benefited. To learn about more fun facts about Brian, read on!
Do you have children? How many and what are their names and ages? My wife and I have two beautiful, smart, and wonderful girls: Elizabeth (12) and Katelyn (8). Elizabeth is an old soul, very creative, and artistic. Katelyn is a little spit fire, always looking for fun, and is very competitive. We are so lucky to have them in our lives.
Do you volunteer any of your time with your kids’ activities? I volunteer my time and coach any sport my daughters want to play – soccer, volleyball, softball, golf and now probably basketball this winter. I grew up playing sports of all kinds and have played travel soccer and club volleyball for many years and played volleyball in college. In the past, I’ve coached volleyball at the collegiate level and at an elite volleyball club in the Chicagoland area, so naturally I figured I’d get back into coaching with my girls when they were ready. I’ve always felt playing sports is such a crucial thing for kids to be a part of to learn about hard work, team work, responsibility, facing adversity, success, struggles, the highs, the lows – it all helps them in anything they decide to do in life. It’s also such a joy to teach kids and develop their skills. The transition from the beginning of a season to the end is amazing to watch the progress the kids make in a short amount of time.
What did you want to be when you grew up and why? From the earliest I can remember, I wanted to be an engineer or architect. I was always building or tinkering with something when I was a kid. My uncles were engineers, my Grandpa loved to draw and paint, and my Dad can fix just about anything. They all had a tremendous influence on me and the profession I chose.
If you had a boat, what would you name it and why? (stupid names only) Comfortably Numb. Yes, Pink Floyd fan guilty as charged if you get the reference. This was a good bar name I came up with when I designed a bar in college, but I’m more likely to own a boat than a bar in my lifetime. The name definitely fits the boating lifestyle.
What is your ideal “I think I’ll call in sick today” day? Really not my cup of tea to call in a PTO day if I’m busy, but 75 degrees, light breeze, not a cloud in the sky is ideal – I’d be teeing it up on the golf course. Afterwards I’d spend time with family or friends. Those that know me well know I’d be back online taking care of business in the evening.
Since we are all foodies, share your favorite restaurant in Chicago: Vie which is Chef Paul Virant’s fine dining restaurant in the suburb of Western Springs. It had a Michelin star for a couple of years about a decade ago which is the reason why we tried it out originally. My wife and I had a wonderful experience their the first time we went. Our waiter that night happened to also be the sommelier, and he took us on a tour of the wine cellar and the kitchen after we were done with dinner. I highly recommend as the food is incredible, the presentation magnificent, and the staff is so personable.
What’s the last book you read? The Splendid and the Vile: A Saga of Churchill, Family, and Defiance During the Blitz. I’m a history geek and love how Erik Larson books intertwine non-fiction historic events into a story.
Words you live by and why? Work hard, tell the truth, and do the right thing. Growing up my family always stressed these things, but it wasn’t until recent years that I combined all of these as it was a motto I’ve heard from my wife’s late uncle who was an outstanding guy and inspiration to many.
You have to wear a t-shirt with one word on it every day for one year. What word do you choose and why? “Relax.” Why? Because everyone needs to relax a little bit and take a deep breath every once in a while. We all need to chill out and recharge to get ready for the next task, the next adventure. (“Booya!” is a close second and maybe the word on the back of the t-shirt.)
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Meet the Team: Catie Crutchfield
Welcome to another edition of Meet the Team! Catie joined Aria Group in August 2018 and has been a force to reckon with as she dabbles in various project types and clients. From Protein Bar, to Palmer House, and now working on a new casino project – Catie really has stretched her wings in her short tenure here. Outside of daily work, she also won an internal competition designing the entry feature wall at the our office and participated in the winning Stitch design team last year. Grabbed your attention? Read more about Catie below!
Catie presenting her winning design for the feature wall in our office & snuggling with her kitten Penny
What did you want to be when you grew up and why? I remember wanting to be a veterinarian for a while because I loved animals – I’m especially obsessed with cats. Then in high school I realized that math and sciences are really not my strong suit, but I had always loved the arts and been good at them. Since my junior year, I planned on pursuing interior design.
Do you have any pets? I have my beloved kitten Penny who is a domestic tortoiseshell shorthair cat – she is dark brown with a beautiful marbled coat of cream, black, and copper flecks (hence ‘Penny’). She’ll be a year old on May 31st. Something about her is a bit off – she walks a little wobbly, can’t jump or land on her paws very well, and tends to fall right over if you accidentally knock her. But I think this just adds to her charm.
Catie and her best friend’s matching tattoos
Do you have any tattoos? If so, of what? Ah, I was hoping you’d ask. If you’ve seen me in short sleeves lately you’ll know I have quite a few. It’s important to know that not all of my tattoos have a meaning behind them. I get tattoos for the artistic aspect – to be my own walking art display. However, I do have some that are more than just a picture. One I have is a counterpart with my best friend whom I grew up next door to – we each got the outlines of our houses on our arm. I have a portrait of my childhood cat Jack on my thigh, and a penny as a symbol for my more recently adopted kitten Penny. And I’ll share as a warning to all – I have a queen’s crown which was a matching tattoo with, yes, an ex-boyfriend. After we split I tattooed a snake slithering right through it!
What’s a talent that you wish you had, but don’t? I really wish I was able to sing at least somewhat decently. I am absolutely awful. I can’t even hum a tune well. Music and rhythm is not my strong suit. I dance very off-beat as well (but it doesn’t stop me from still dancing).
Catie and her childhood best friends still remain close and take in a Ben Gibbard concert early 2020.
Who is your favorite musician/musical group? Without a doubt, Death Cab for Cutie. While I am often poked fun at in the office for being a Jonas Brothers fan girl, I would forgo them for DCFC. I have seen them live 6 or 7 times. The last live show I attended right before Covid was Ben Gibbard solo at Thalia Hall. I went with my two best friends I’ve known since age 5 – we stood in the second row and it was absolutely amazing.
Catie and her older brother not only look alike, they also both love science fiction and gaming!
How many siblings do you have and are they anything like you? I have an older brother, Joe (I call him Joey), by 5 years. To my dismay, I am told I look a lot like him (especially when I don’t wear makeup). It’s a little worse now considering I have a “boy” haircut. I think we are alike in some of our interests and mannerisms. We both have creative brains (he is in the music and sound industry), but I like to think that I’m less stubborn!
What is something most people don’t know about you? It comes as a surprise to a lot of people that I’ve got a video game and sci-fi lover side to me. My older brother is a huge sci-fi and video game fanatic, so I grew up playing Game Boy, N64, GameCube – every Mario series game, to Kirby, to James Bond Goldeneye. Last year I bought a Nintendo Switch (it’s pink) and I nerd out on games like Animal Crossing and Super Mario Sunshine. I also love movies like Star Wars and Back to the Future – I’m always down for a good science fiction or time travel story.
Who is your dream dinner guest (past, present, or future) and why? It sounds cliché, but I genuinely would choose my maternal grandmother, affectionately called Nana – and Papa if I can get them as a package deal. I was pretty young when they passed, 13 and 7 respectively. While I do have so many fond memories of them both even being as young as I was, I always wish I could sit down and talk with them as an adult. As a child you don’t have the capacity to understand your grandparents lived a whole life before you knew them. I’d love to ask them so much that I never was mature enough to ask.
Meet the Team: Will Olds
Welcome to another addition of Meet the Team! Will Olds joined our team in August 2019, fresh off completing his master’s degree at Kansas State University. In Will’s time at Aria, he has worked on a wide variety of projects including True Food Kitchen, Cooper’s Hawk and most recently Shake Shack. Will has aided our team with his strong Revit skills including developing a new BIM prototype for one of our clients. He isn’t just a technician, though. He has presented design solutions for True Food Kitchen as well as our exploratory suburban mall case study project. He always has great ideas and is an overall great team player with his very approachable and fun personality. Read more about Will below!
Will experiencing European culture at a Copenhagen Football Game
As a child, what did you want to be when you grew up? Astronaut/Astronomer…until I took a physics course!
What would you have been if you weren’t an architect? Graphic Designer or Travel Agent. I identify with a small subset of people who actively enjoy zooming around Google Maps and Google Earth. I think it would be a job that doesn’t feel like a job based on how much I enjoy researching different cultures, cities, restaurants, points of interest, etc. I also think it plays into the exact same skillsets we use in architecture: solving large, complex problems with lots of ‘moving parts’ and coordination between 30 different possible solutions. Plus, I just love to travel—I’ve been to 41 states and 10 countries in my 25 short years.
A younger Will (left) with his two brothers at the Seattle Space Needle.
How many siblings do you have? I have 2 younger brothers, and we’re each about 3 years apart. Fun fact: we all have different hair colors, eye colors, and personalities. I have brown hair and eyes and would describe myself as a thinker, observer, solver. The middle brother has blonde hair and blue eyes and is a super social, people-person. And the youngest has bright red hair and hazel eyes and is a know-it-all and musician.
What is your favorite book? Happy City by Charles Montgomery. It’s a great look into the connection between urban design and the science of happiness. I was reading parts of it for my urban planning minor in grad school and loved it so much I ended up reading the rest. The author not only goes in depth on what our built environment can do for happiness (or fails to do), but he provides a lot of urban design strategies that can improve our cities from a social and emotional aspect (beyond pure functionality).
What is your favorite type of cuisine? My mom’s side of the family is Italian, so I’d have to say Italian. It reminds me of home, and my body may or may not run on pasta, tomato sauce, garlic bread, and parmesan cheese.
What is something you get overly competitive about? Board games with friends that shouldn’t be that serious. I may have an ongoing scoreboard of various games I play with my friends and siblings knowing that I have always been a jack-of-all-trades and even if I was beat at one thing, I’d win the long game and beat them at stuff they weren’t good at.
Will testing his Survivor skills at Mt Rainier.
If you had to be on a reality TV show, which one would you choose? Survivor. I love the competitive and survival aspects of the show. I’d like to think I could fly under the radar during the team/tribe part of the game, but I would definitely have to work on my poker face and social game before going.
Words you live by: “Less is More” –Ludwig Mies van der Rohe
Quarantine 2020 Wrapped
It is crazy to think it’s been over a year since the pandemic began and almost a year since our office started working remote. So much has happened. It has been the longest year, but also feels like it has flown by. As we dive into this new year and look forward to getting back to normal thanks to the vaccine, we asked our team to take a look back. They shared what they discovered about themselves while working remote, what they cooked, and, most important, what they watched on TV while stuck indoors! We all learned so much about ourselves and spent quality time with our families and close friends (if in our quarantine bubble) — many of us really slowed down and spent our time very differently than in years past. We are very much looking forward to what 2021 brings and finally getting to enjoy dinner indoors at a restaurant — with our coworkers and clients. Hope to see you soon and give you a big hug rather than just a mental hug! Check out more of what our team said here.
Our team is the soul of Aria Group and key to our success and growth as a company. Martika is a great example of one of our team members that has grown within Aria through her great work ethic and dedication to her projects and clients. Martika began at Aria in 2013 as a design librarian, where she was able to become familiar with the products and reps we work with and get her feet wet on interior design projects. She was a natural fit at Aria and joined full time upon completing her interior design degree at Columbia College. Now, fast forward 7 years – Martika is an experienced designer and finding herself taking on a significant design role on many projects.
Martika can be counted on to volunteer for the office outside of her daily work. She works with our wellness committee and dominated the runway as the model for our entry to the IIDA Stitch Competition, where our team took home Best of Show honors in 2020. “We partnered with Mapei and Ceramic Technics,” Martika recalls by saying, “we were all so proud of our accomplishment and that’s why it stands out so much!”
But there is more to this Fierce competitor and dedicated team member. To learn more about Martika and her personal interests, read on below!
What is something you get overly competitive about? Everything. Just kidding, I am very competitive in my health and fitness goals. When I am not signed up for a race, I am often joining a fitness/wellness challenge organized by influencers that inspire me. I feel if you have a passion, surround yourself with likeminded people and follow likeminded content. It’s amazing how a little bit of shared passion fuels you further.
What was your first job? dELiA*s “fashion representative” – we had to answer the phone with a bubbly line “We’re having a great day at dELiA*s!” and offer up a compliment to everyone that walked through those doors. The walls were bursting of graphic tees and quirky patterns. I can safely say I worked there for the discount and can thank them for my bubbly demeanor.
What’s a secret talent that you have? During the holiday season and occasionally in the year, I sell beer bottle/can candles that I craft myself! The upcycled beer bottles are hand cut and sanded by me, tops of cans are opened by me as well. All candles are soy based with a cotton wick and scents are all essential oil based. I treat the candles like a choose your own adventure – pick your bottle/can & pick your scent. I’d say I am a beer connoisseur – one of my favorite podcasts is Good Beer Hunting. Every bottle & brewery has their own story – it makes me happy when I can share my passion with other people that appreciate it. I love beer so much – my husband and I got married at our first craft brew love – Revolution!
Do you have any pets? One dog – he’s a handful but we love him so much! His name is Ernie – Ernest or Ernnifer when he’s in trouble and Ern-bern when he’s a good boy. Ern is about to turn 6. He is a Staffordshire/Beagle/Pit-bull mix.
If you weren’t a designer, you would have been a? If I wasn’t a designer, I would like to picture myself as a successful entrepreneur! Maybe a mix of yoga instructor, craft brewer, local baker, and Etsy vibes? Oh! Maybe it’s a yoga studio connected to a bakery/brewery with my own little shop in front – One can only dream!
Who is your favorite artist? Kozmo – She’s Chicago’s Burger-Flower artist! You can spot her work throughout the city now, most commonly in Pilsen. Her work is so uplifting with her bright color selections and spunky content. What I love most about her is her toon inspiration! I love local artists and scoping out murals throughout the city!
What is your favorite ice cream flavor? Homemade ice cream is where it’s at! I love making the Cereal Milk ice cream recipe from the Momofuku Milk Bar book. I’ll often make it with cornflakes and occasionally with Lucky Charms. The Cheesecake ice cream is a dangerous one as well! Also, anything from Salt & Straw is amazing! Recently had their Thanksgiving Turkey flavor that was to drool for. Can you tell I love ice cream?!
