Firm Culture
B&V’ers Toast to What They Love About Working at Board & Vellum
Hey, wondering what’s it like working at Board & Vellum? Well, you’re in luck: in honor of the Thanksgiving holiday, B&V’ers took a moment to write down (or draw) what they are thankful for about being part of the team.
November 21, 2017
Thanksgiving Cheer!
We take our holidays very seriously here at Board & Vellum (just ask us about our epic costume contest this past Halloween). For the upcoming holiday of Thanksgiving, many of our staff will be traveling to visit with family, so while we may not be enjoying a turkey and stuffing together, we are celebrating the spirit of Thanksgiving here at the office by giving thanks to this wonderful company!
Board & Vellum is an amazing place, and I’m not just saying that because I work here. Even before I became a part of the B&V crew, I could sense how special of a firm Board & Vellum was based on the presence and positive feedback it had in the community. We’ve been voted for Best of Houzz status for numerous years, were honored with a citation in the 2014 Residential Architect Design Awards, and have many more praises from multiple clients and organizations. We also thrilled to be noted as one of the best places to work in Washington, offering our employees health, vision, and dental insurance, four weeks paid vacation, plus a week of discretionary time and 10 paid holidays, education stipends, and many more wonderful benefits that keep us happy and healthy!
There are so many reasons why we are grateful for this amazing company, but don’t take my word, here is what each one of our employees is thankful for about working at Board & Vellum.
What’s great about B&V?
The people!
I am thankful for my quirky co-workers and their unique perspectives and eccentricities that make every day more interesting.
– Breanna McBride
I'm thankful to work with people who encourage me to apply my strengths, regardless of the discipline. Working alongside such multi-talented people creates a stimulating and challenging work environment, and it enables us to become experts at all aspects of design, regardless of the discipline. I'm grateful to work with kind and creative people who are passionate about what they do.
– Ciera Shaver
I’m thankful every morning I walk in our office doors and don’t dread coming to work. I’m thankful for working with a fun group of people that doesn’t take themselves too seriously. I’m thankful for having a leader that doesn’t put himself above others.
– Derek Reeves
I’m thankful that I get to work with a group that has taken my vision for this company to even greater heights. I genuinely come to work each day with a smile, excited to be here, and I’m thankful that I work in a place that doesn’t encourage a separation between the professional or personal versions of ourselves. Each person that works here adds something exciting to the mix and I can’t wait to see where it takes us.
– Jeff Pelletier
I am thankful for my amazing co-workers and the creative fun environment I get to work in every day.
– Katie Mallory
I am thankful for our Operations Coordinator, Michelle. She is awesome! I am especially grateful for her ability to organize the chaos that was our supply room, as well as our kitchen cabinets. She is a wizard and deserves an office-paid trip to Fiji for compensation.
– Matthew Hagen
I’m thankful for the community we have at B&V. That everyone is so open and kind and willing to help each other, that we can joke around and we laugh every day, that no one has an attitude that they are better than anyone else. I’m thankful for Jeff’s trust in me and the ability to get to do what I love to do. It’s truly a joy to be around everyone in this office and I’m thankful to be a part of it every day.*
– Michelle Wolfe
*also thankful for Tina, boxed wine, costume competitions, and our super cool office space.
I'm thankful for our inspirational and fearless boss Jeffrey Pelletier!
– Renée Roman
I’m thankful to have a job that I love coming to every day. I’m thankful to work with smart people who (mostly) don’t take themselves too seriously. I’m thankful that we value our firm culture and actively work to keep it awesome.
– Zack Thomas
The work!
I’m thankful to work in a design office that does not have an orthodox, top-down attitude toward style or aesthetics. I appreciate being able to work on projects with a wide-ranging approach that yields design solutions appropriate to the client, the site and our own aesthetic goals for the project. I think this results in a diverse portfolio of projects that keeps things interesting and also attracts a wide range of new clients so we can all keep doing this work we love.
– Brian Baker
I am thankful for our creativity. Working with small budgets is challenging and we rise to the occasion and get creative with design and budget in every possible way.
– Hayley Buckbee
I’m thankful for the variety of work that comes in the door at Board & Vellum. I’ve gotten to work on everything from a cat café to a second-story addition to a boutique apartment building. The range is what keeps it interesting and gets me excited to come to work every day.
– Sandy Wolf
The great work/life balance!
Thankful to be working with rock stars 8 hours a day, 5 days a week!
– Chris Parker
Well, since we’re talking Thanksgiving… my family teams up and cooks a ton of time-consuming, tasty things, so I really appreciate that at Board & Vellum, not only do we have Thanksgiving Day off, but the Friday after is a B&V paid holiday (so we can all recover). That makes it a no-brainer for me to take a vacation on the day before Thanksgiving to score some extra time to prep all those goodies!
Thanksgiving itself aside, the real translation of all that, is that I'm thankful we make a point of cultivating a great work/life balance at Board & Vellum, and that our benefits actually make it possible. We work hard and have fun together at work, then we go home. Wash, rinse, repeat!
– Rachel Simrell Scott
I am thankful for the paternity leave I get to take so I can spend time with my newborn boy, Rowan.
– Ryan Champagne
I’m thankful for so many reasons. But most relevant this year is working for a company that allows me the flexibility to care for my puppy whether that means working from home or bringing my puppy to the office!
– Tina Witherspoon
Lots of things!
I’m thankful to work at B&V because, quite frankly, I’m happy to have a job after an unexpected period of unemployment. But I’m also thankful that B&V has such a friendly and welcoming staff that are now my colleagues!
– Abby Spadaro
I’m thankful for the awesome, hilarious group of people I work with who have me excited to go into the office every day. Everyone is so damn kind and supportive and fun to be around that I forget how rare it is to be laughing this much at work! I’m thankful to work with awesome clients who share our enthusiasm for what we do, and our passion for their projects. I’m thankful for the art-nights, the game nights, the parties, and more than that, I’m thankful for whatever the next thing is here at B&V. I can’t wait!
– Charles Fadem
I’m grateful for the support we receive for our work in the community and professional development opportunities. I’m also grateful for the non-stuffiness of our firm, and for all of our creative minds and constant activities that people put together that help us all get to know each other outside of our design roles.
– Fabiola Vargas
A few things I’m thankful for at Board & Vellum are that we have really fun, nice, and engaged clients. Same with everyone in the office. It’s a great group of people. We’re also at a cool spot in Seattle, having an office in the Capitol Hill neighborhood.
– Lance Hayes
I’m thankful for positive, enthusiastic co-workers who are excited to help each other and make projects fun, interesting and creative. I’m thankful for smart contractors who value the client and the design team. I’m thankful for all the fun events B&V hosts that keep things hopping around here. Special thanks to Team Hustle for making all our lives oh so much better. I’m thankful for my stand up desk. I’m thankful for so much!
– Leslie Batten
I’m thankful for the people that make Board & Vellum what it is. Everyone here respects and supports each other, but can banter and laugh with one another, as well. It is an amazing community to be a part of. I’m also thankful for the work that we do. Each project is as unique as our clients, and there is a strong appreciation for creativity here.
– Marissa Lada
I’m thankful for our awesome work culture, and for all of the amazing, talented, fun people I get to work with every day! Also super thankful for all of the different types and sizes of projects we get exposed to here.
– Monika Shreves
I am thankful for the awesome team I work with and how collaborative we are with each of our projects.
– Patrick McCoy
Actually, it continues to be the people I work with that keep me thankful every day… well, besides our wonderful clients — without whom I wouldn’t have any work to do at my job. Truly, the teams and collaboration we’ve knit together here have made all the difference in how we deal with the daily challenges in our profession and adversity when coming at the same problems from different angles. We treat each other with immense respect and though we understand that everyone has their strengths and weaknesses, we ultimately know we can learn something from anyone and use all of that knowledge and input to make our built environment a better place. Great employees + positive solutions = happy clients!
– Robert Mech
I am thankful for Board & Vellum creating such a fun place to work. I am also thankful for having the best clients and awesome projects. I seriously get to work with the most fun people. Also, I am thankful for all of our consultants and reps I get to work with, you guys make my job easy!
– Ryan Adanalian
It's a Thankful Tophat Turkey. And I have marker all over my hand now. It's super festive.
– Sara Emhoff
Besides being thankful for weekends (hehe I kid)… I’m thankful for the bountiful opportunities we are given to keep learning inside and out of the world of architecture.
– Todd Martell
One last thing.
There is so much I’m thankful for, but besides my quote in the collection above, there is one more important one to mention: the vision that Board & Vellum has to change the face of architecture and design, to make it fun and accessible for everyone, and to strive to be an advocate in ways that help shape our industry for the better!
