Spotlight on Pivot Designer Anica Lompre
Meet Anica, one of Pivot's talented designers and an instrumental part of Pivot's soon-to-open Los Angeles Showroom.
What is your professional background?
For starters, I’ve been designing in the furniture industry for approximately 8 years. I learned the ropes at my first dealership in South Florida. Although I studied architecture in college, I immediately fell in love with interior design after my first internship, assisting with exploration of materials and design for the Brickell City Center in Miami, FL. Before joining Pivot, I was a designer on a Netflix account at another dealership, supporting the team with capturing workspace adaptations based on real estate procurement, managing updates to their national and international offices. I am passionate about exploring the outlets of design through collaboration of creating spaces that support an effective workplace environment and enhancing the customer service experience.
Tell us about your experience with Pivot so far.
What makes Pivot special, in my perception, is the focus on the collaborative processes and continuous improvement of finding solutions to challenges and the positive reception of effective ideas. Essentially, I’ve gained a better comprehension to supporting a great team, resulting in my favorite thing about Pivot: THE PEOPLE. As a personal saying: “A job is a job, but the people are what make the biggest impact.” Pivot does a great job of focusing on the people and overall experiences, making a real effort to understand and support their employees and clients. This is signified in the team’s longevity and the ongoing growth of client relationships.
What inspires you?
So many things!
When it comes to interior design: I’m inspired by spaces that foster collaboration and interaction to create a well-balanced synergy between its inhabitants and their experiences. In the same breath, I tend to explore many ideas of improvements and curiosity on workplace design as I engage in design challenges of the workspace.
In my personal experience, I am inspired by the need to create something that empowers expression. I am a huge fan of fashion design and music. In fashion design, I like exploring the details of construction and materiality of garments, and I find inspiration the way people use clothing as a mode of expression above their practical foundations. Similarly, I believe music can transform and translate how people feel and sometimes take us to different places in time, whether through subtle melodies, beat patterns, or the lyrics expressing one’s exact feelings.
Working on the LA Design Center
You have been very involved in bringing the LA Design Center to life. What was it like working on this project?
I am very grateful to have been invited to work with the LA Design Center team. I have learned so much through this project alone, it has never felt like just “work.” In my view, this project has become the embodiment of why decided to study design in the first place: from learning about the conceptualization of the initial design to the ability to physically see the construction take place – while fully collaborating cross-functionally with our internal and external team. It has been so valuable to see the full cycle of design and feel empowered to input ideas and take initiative on tasks. Edward (Pivot’s Creative Director) has been amazing mentor and leader through this process which has propelled a lot of inspiration for myself as a designer. And working with Rachelle has been extremely rewarding, as we have developed a strong collaborative support.
If you could do any other job, what would it be?
Fashion designer, all the way - no brainer.
Do you have a favorite furniture item?
My favorite piece is the Noguchi table from MillerKnoll. I find the legs very architecturally interesting and so unique. You can tell that a lot of attention to structural detail went into the initial design of this piece.
Do you have a favorite project that you’ve worked on at Pivot?So far I have two: The first is Poly Telecommunications, mostly because it was the first project at Pivot where I was able to creatively guide the client with product specification, especially with finish selection in relation to their branding and technical functionalities. The second project is a current account, the Honda Center in Anaheim for which I’ve enjoyed working on due to building relationships within Pivot’s sales and project management, as well as the client. This project allows for a good level of problem-solving, which I enjoy.What do you do for fun?I have an artistic and curious personality, which means I am immediately drawn to anything that allows me to emphasize artistic exploration. My favorite hobbies are absolutely dance and fashion design.
