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2014 Highlights

2014 was a wild ride! From the personal to the professional and back again, or all mixed together, Jeff takes a breather to recap what actually happened in this blur of a year.

Jeff Pelletier

December 31, 2014

I finally have a minute for a bit of a breather to write a recap of this past year.  Looking at my notes, it really hit me just how much has actually happened in 2014. In all honesty, I can’t believe it was just one year as my memories have blurred together and what seems like YEARS ago was actually just 6 months or so ago.  It has been one amazing and wild ride.

The truth is, 2014 was a tipping point and just a banner year all around.  I can’t thank everyone I get to interact with enough for making this such an amazing year.  Board & Vellum has grown into a mature and established company and I’ve personally settled into my role as Dad and community member.

So what the heck happened to make everything so crazy?  I’ll mix a bit of personal in with professional as that seems to be how we roll here.  Here are my top 20 moments of this past year in no particular order:

1. My husband Chris and I welcomed our second son, Zachary, into the world in September.  He’s now 3 months old, full of smiles and lots of personality.  I’d be lying to say that being a parent of 2 young boys was anything but insane (there was a time in October when I would have given a limb for an extra hour of sleep) but it has been pretty incredible and something I know I’ll love even more as the years pile on.  In the meantime, I’ll hope for more sleep in 2015.

   

2. I was fortunate enough to be honored as one of Puget Sound Business Journal’s 40 under 40 (and still with several years to spare I might add).  I had read this list for many years so to be rewarded for my effort in helping this firm grow in the company of such amazing honorees was a huge achievement and one that I am very proud of.

   

3. Our team started off the year with 4 people on the team.  Starting in January of 2015 we’ll be 12.  That’s pretty crazy growth and we’ve been lucky to assemble such a stellar team.  I can’t say enough how brilliant these people are.

   

4. I was featured in a really cool documentary on small businesses, called Small Business Proud.  It is fun to look back at the video and see the hectic energy of the office as we were growing.  It was heartening to see our efforts rewarded.  Check out the video HERE.

   

5. As part of the Small Business Proud effort, I spoke on a panel with Liz Dunn and Matt Dillon how to be a successful small business owner as part of the Small Business Proud documentary.  I don’t think I made a major fool of myself so it stands out as a highlight.

   

6. Ada’s Technical Books and Café was rewarded with an award from the Residential Architect Design Awards in the light commercial category.  It was great to get national recognition for the work we did on that great space.  I’ve read this magazine for a very long time so it was really special to be honored by it.

   

7. Our revenue increased by over 375% from the year prior.  A lot of that was spent in new computers, software, an office expansion, and training for the new staff but it was still a great year thanks to a bevy of great clients and projects.  We work hard and it has paid off.

   

8. Our profile on Houzz.com took off and really helped establish us as a leader in Seattle residential design.  Do a search on Houzz.com for "Seattle architect" and see how near the top we pop up.  It is pretty awesome.  We were rewarded with 2 Best of Houzz Awards in Customer Service and Design, plus The Seattle Box the was featured in a great article.

   

9. My house, The Seattle Box, was featured in the Seattle Times’ Pacific Northwest Magazine.  It has been fun to still run into people who have seen our family in the paper.

   

10. Even while growing the business, I was able to take a trip to Peru and explore that beautiful country (and eat too much food... a common 2014 occurrence).  Travel is a passion of mine and this year was no different.

    

11. My oldest son, Kellen, learned to appreciate building with the LEGO Duplo line.  I like to start ‘em young.

    

12. I became a Certified Passive House Consultant. I’m obsessed with the results-oriented approach to sustainability and couldn’t be more proud to one of the new CPHCs in Washington State. We’re looking forward to hopefully working on our first passive house this coming year.

    

13. Back in the summer, we took the entire staff out for a weekend long retreat up by Lake Wenatchee.  Our approach to running the firm and setting the direction is unique for firms our size and it was really helpful to have everyone at the table setting our goals for the future.  Plus, it was a lot of fun and we established our direction for the rest of the year.

    

14. Our office space, while not 100% complete or quite big enough for our needs, is now far more reflective of us as a team.  There was a period when we were so squeezed in that just moving from one end to the other required careful choreography. Here's a bit of the backstory on our expansion.

    

15. We received a Golden Nugget Award for Ada’s Technical Books and Café, as well as a Green Remodeling Excellence award for the project. Oh yeah, and a great award from Historic Seattle.  In many ways, it was the year of awards for this project.  Plus, the co-working space we designed, “The Office at Ada’s” opened up and it looks spectacular.

    

16. I was honored to present at the 2014 Green Building Slam to talk about the approach to sustainability key to the success of Ada’s Technical Books. Here's a recap.

    

17. My house was featured in Huffington Post twice for a feature on the coolest basement remodels.

    

18. As part of our goals for Board & Vellum, we now pay staff for their time to sit on boards, volunteer for non-profits, or just be better members of their community.  We consistently try to give back to our community as part of our core values.

    

19. I’ve settled into my role as a board member of the Capitol Hill Chamber of Commerce.  I love the Capitol Hill neighborhood (I both live and work here) and cherish the chance to help better this amazing part of an even greater city.

    

20. This one needs more than one line item, but honestly, we have an outstanding group of clients.  We’re fortunate enough to be able to pick and choose who we work with now and I can’t say enough what a spectacular group of people I get to interact with.  We have such a wide variety of projects in design or under construction with even more amazing people behind them.  I’m grateful to get to help them all with their dreams.

    

So that’s a short and dirty recap of some of my highlights from this amazing year.  From parenthood to growth, I know that 2014 will go down as on hell of a year. Here’s to what looks to be a just as successful (but hopefully a bit calmer) 2015!