2021 Women in Construction: Molly Robertson, Project Designer, Office Gallery International

What steps have you taken to ensure the continued success of your firm? I’ve been working to keep and nurture client relationships – some of which started before my tenure at Office Gallery. I’ve taken on some of Mike and Hilary’s clients and I work hard to make a connection with them the way Mike and Hilary have done so that they know they can continue to rely on us and trust us. And it is the best feeling when a previous client of mine reaches out to me later and wants to work together on another project.

Why should women consider a career in construction? Before I entered this career, I was in law enforcement, another profession that doesn’t traditionally attract women. What I learned in that decision to leave and pursue interior design is that it doesn’t matter how great the job sounds – if you’re not passionate about it, you’ll always be left with less. Following a career path you love is definitely worth any challenges that get in your way, and there are great jobs out there that allow a person to have a family life and a rewarding career at the same time – it doesn’t have to be one or the other.

What are you most looking forward to post-pandemic? Seeing people again for in person meetings! It’s been challenging doing some of the more involved projects remotely through email, sending presentations that way instead of in-person presenting where you can have that interaction. Also projects that hopefully allow people to work together – instead of designing partitions and dividers and separation. I can’t wait to design more community or collaborative spaces again – if that’s even in the cards.

How have you adapted and changed in the last 12 months? Being forced to roll with the changes COVID brought us and work more small-scale projects, like home offices. Not surprisingly, we have seen high demand for home office designs. I’ve been relying much more on my previous experience as a design associate with a regional residential furniture store and combining that with my knowledge gained from earning a certificate in residential interiors from Boston Architectural College to achieve the perfect balance between professional and residential. We’ve also been thinking outside the box to redesign some previous projects to ensure they’re now COVID-compliant.