BRYAN WEST
After about forty years in the classroom, a dozen in Los Angeles high schools and twenty-five at Spokane Falls Community College, Lynn and I "retired" and moved to Olympia in January 2005. It just made good sense to head over the Cascades; three of our four "kids" lived here with their husbands, each providing two grandkids to entertain us while we spoiled them. Since moving I've been teaching a few composition classes at Pierce and Tacoma Community Colleges part time, but when Rik and Jen (our second daughter) opened 510 Interiors, I decided I needed a second career.
I often said that if I'm reincarnated, I wanted to come back to sell Boeing Jets. Ok, selling flooring, counter tops, and water-saving toilets is not landing a billion dollar deal on 20 new Dreamliners with Singapore Air, but it's great fun and beats grading English 101 essays.
I'm finding that there's a great deal more than I first thought in helping customers order products as they build their new house or business or redecorate their current home or office. People I've met since working at 510 Interiors are not the typical shoppers. They're looking for quality and class. They are often searching for flooring, counters, or carpets that expresses their own unique personality - a product that is not found at a "big box" store in Lacey.
The words "sustainable," "natural," "environmentally friendly" have almost become cliche in the home sections of newspapers, magazines, and the electronic media. The overuse of these terms cheapens their meaning. At 510 Interiors I've learned that every effort is made to present green alternatives that truly enrich both the customer and our planet.
My goal as part of the 510 Interior staff is to help people who walk through the front door find the information that allows them to select the product they feel fits their home or business while knowing that they have chosen wisely for both themselves and for our world.