Grid/3 International, Inc.

Grid/3 International, Inc.

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GRID/3 International, Inc. Interior Design firm specializing in store design. Want great lighting but don't want to spend a lot of money maintaining it?

We plan and design retail interiors effectively, particularly jewelry and fashion stores. We layout and specify lighting that is energy efficient. Want beautiful materials in your space? We choose and specify innovative products from our extensive library. Want furniture and fittings that fit your space? We create custom drawings for competitive pricing and installation by qualified contractors. W

Photos from Grid/3 International, Inc.'s post 06/13/2024

This week I thought I would send you information on 4 of the vendors I find most helpful. I get emails regularly from vendors updating me with their newest products. Lighting, of course, is very important. I got a new email from a company called bluxlighting.com – an interesting chandelier which is light weight, can be customized in layout, is available in the USA and Canada and is LED. When I checked it out online, they noted that it was 2700 Kelvin LED – very warm colour. I didn’t reach out to see if one could get it in a cooler LED – 3500 Kelvin would be fabulous. Then there is Carnegie, probably my favorite wallcovering company – carnegiefabrics.com. This is a new wallcovering – a vinyl with a subtle sheen. For hardware, there is no-one like mocket.com – check it out for store, office or home. Finally, there is polyplasticforms.com. If you want a sign, this is the company. Hope you find 1 or more of these helpful. I’ll see you in 3 weeks – I’m off to Winnipeg for a memorial with my family for Keith, my life partner.

Photos from Grid/3 International, Inc.'s post 06/06/2024

A funny thing happened this past Tuesday. One of the people who wanted to purchase my schoolhouse texted me to say that she was in Sarah’s hometown of Winnipeg and wanted to see and possibly buy a print created by her husband, E.J. Howorth. I found out from Ted where they were available – she had seen those in the school and was interested. This was the young woman and her sister who wanted to buy the school and turn it into a shop – that would have been a wonderful idea and would have made me more money, but I’d already sold it! Just to give you a taste, here are a few that I own now.

Photos from Grid/3 International, Inc.'s post 05/30/2024

I got back from Canada this past Sunday evening. What a trip! One of my sisters and I drove to the Louise School, the first property I ever bought – an old school on one acre of land. Quite frankly, when I bought it, it was in appalling shape. Perhaps some of you will remember those “hole in the ground” toilets? This place had 2, so obviously, plumbing was a priority. We renovated extensively– new roof, new windows, redone floor, new kitchen with stove, dishwasher and sink, 2 closets dividing the back space into 2 semiprivate bedrooms, new bath, new shower, new toilet plus glass block around those areas. Our mission was to sell it. The amazing thing is, a man arrived the 2nd evening we were there, wanting to buy it. We made a deal, called the real estate agent to tell her we wouldn’t need her and went to find a lawyer. 2 evenings later, 2 more people knocked on the door, wanting to buy it! I probably could have got more money with an agent but with fees and so on, perhaps not much. This is a sad ending to a much-loved place – Keith and I and my sister’s family spent 35 Christmases there! That’s life I guess.

Photos from Grid/3 International, Inc.'s post 05/16/2024

Amazing what is possible to be accomplished in a week. I thought you might like to see what we’re considering. To replace those big, old fashioned light fixtures, a beautiful LED light fixture which will save money in operations and, if we can figure out what the Kelvin colour is, add a warm glow to the space. New, lighter weight chairs to replace the heavy armchairs, in a neutral colour. We are going to replace the counter tops on the 2 bars with plastic laminate, in a beautiful deep walnut. Finally, a clock, with a soft green frame, which I personally feel leads the way to a soft green paint colour on the focal area and off-white, that goes with the blinds for 3 walls in the space. See you in 2 weeks – I’m off to Canada next week.

Photos from Grid/3 International, Inc.'s post 04/25/2024

Suddenly this week I had an idea about the colour for the Community room at our Co-op. I thought of the plastic laminate top in the bar area- pink/grey/off-white and thought, how about we play off that? I put together my thoughts in an email to our group leader who was pleased and forwarded it to the president of the Co-op board. We’ll see what he says. My idea was to paint 3 of the walls an off white (which is what he wants) and paint the end wall, where the new TV will be installed, an accent colour burgundy. I called my Sherwin Williams rep Dawn Cenowa and she, lovely lady, came up with an idea to buy the paint from our local Sherwin Williams store for a contractor price. I’m getting a SW fan deck later today. I really don’t like choosing paint colours online because every computer screen makes it look different, although I did choose 2 today. We’ll see what they really look like when I get my fan deck. Also, I reached out to the person who measured and installed our Hunter Douglas cellular shades, which the president said he wanted. She is in! Now we wait again until we hear from the president.

Photos from Grid/3 International, Inc.'s post 04/11/2024

This past Monday I wondered what the Eclipse would be like in Detroit. We weren’t on the main path. It was eerie! At just after 3:00 PM in the afternoon, it started to darken and I turned the lights on. It was eerie because the sky was blue but there was no sun. I took a couple of pictures of my back terrace and although the sky is blue, the terrace is in shadow, as you can see. See the difference in the 3rd shot I took, about an hour later, when I guess the eclipse was over – the sun is shining. We are blessed to have experienced this event. Mother Nature is strong!

Photos from Grid/3 International, Inc.'s post 03/21/2024

I thought you might find it interesting to see how I’m trying to set up my home office. This is in the guest study at my townhouse. Right now, it wouldn’t be very friendly as a guest room! One of the things I find the most upsetting is all the paper! I have shelving, brought from the office, in my basement, as you can see but if I’m working, I really don’t want to run up and down 2 sets of stairs, although that would be good exercise! I brought a big printer home so that I could print 11” x 17” drawings. Now the other printer sits with other stuff in the garage – what a waste. It’s a perfectly decent printer but I’ve tried to give it away with NO luck. Happy Spring everyone!

03/14/2024

I got back from Dallas yesterday, late afternoon. I had a good time, seeing past customers, helping people, making new friends – that’s what IJO is about. I had meant to take more photographs of the winning jewelry designs that were announced at the Monday night dinner – which was a fun event, although the music was too loud. Holly McHone, one of my customers was one of the judges and boy, did she do a great job – beautiful pieces. However, I only have 1 shot but it shows off something that the Hilton, Anatole, where we stayed and had the show was truly a stand-out. They had the most amazing carpets – beautiful designs and thick, high quality. I think guests notice these things, not just designers like me. This is part of the “3 mile” walk from the hotel lobby to the convention section where the show was held. I’m sure it wasn’t really 3 miles but it was a LONG walk! 2 of the 3 days we worked, coffee and donuts were offered in the show. Thank you to all IJO organizers – it was a great show. I hope the vendors did well.

03/07/2024

This will be a short post because I leave for Dallas on Saturday to work at the IJO Show.

I wanted to share how wonderful my landlords have been at my office building. They came to view the office after I closed it last week and said it was good as I’d left it – they will ask around to see if anyone needs the 3-person desk or the file cabinets with top on it and 2 metro-wire shelving units that are up against these 2 pieces of custom furniture. They were so kind and supportive – everybody should have Landlords like them. Thank you, gentlemen!

Photos from Grid/3 International, Inc.'s post 02/29/2024

Today is February 29th, 2024 and I went to the office for the last time. I left the 3-person desk, the file cabinet table and the 2 metro-wire shelving units with mdf backs so that the space is somewhat delineated. I am hoping that the owners agree with me – whoever moves in next has the basic set-up for an office – we’ll see. In the room under the mezzanine, I left 3 replacement LED bulbs for the future tenant. I had GOT JUNK come earlier this week and 2 strong and wonderful men came and packaged up and removed all the last detritus of the office – paper, pens, sculptures, cutting edges and almost our complete materials library. My manicurist came that day with her boyfriend and picked up the 5 metro-wire shelving units on the left-hand side. She has a fashion design / clothing making business as an additional business. It’s the end of an era folks – sad but inevitable. Now I’ll work at home.

Photos from Grid/3 International, Inc.'s post 02/22/2024

Since moving to New York City with Keith Kovar and establishing GRID/3 International, Inc. in 1980, we’ve been honored to design thousands of stores for clients throughout the US, across Canada and in South Africa, South America, Panama and Australia. I was in shock and sadness when Keith died in late 2023, but I wondered what I should do about the office. I reached out to the management, and they said that since Keith had always paid the rent on time, they would let me out of the lease a year early and that our deposit would serve as the February 2024 rent payment – can you believe that?! What wonderful people. I decided to close it at the end of this month and move the business home. What did I do about all the furniture, printers, and computers? I moved 2 computers home and I gave almost everything else away – 1 computer, 1 printer, most of the furniture, not built in, and am leaving the built-in desk and file cabinets. Let’s see where the future takes us.

Photos from Grid/3 International, Inc.'s post 02/15/2024

While the world seems focused on war and other ugly realities, practicing the gentle art of persuasion as outlined in a book by that name by QC Chester Porter is a more equitable and profitable way of doing business. To practice, you need to be very disciplined SO if I am trying to persuade you to paint an accent wall red, rather than purple, I need to step back, analyze my reasons for my own thinking and appeal to you as my listener. Find common ground and use vivid language, making connections emotionally. Red signifies Valentines and love, for instance, universal cravings, whereas purple signifies royal and regal personages, separate from the rest of us. Once stairs were considered an architectural device to connote power and separateness. Today, we design ramps and small elevators, for instance, to enable accessibility for everyone. This could suggest that red is a more contemporary and modern choice.

02/08/2024

I don’t know if any of you read National Geographic magazine but their most recent issue has a fascinating article about glass. I learned that it was developed more than 4,500 years ago in Mesopotamia. One interesting point is that a Japanese company called Chiba Koguka makes a glass called E6 and they make it solely for astronomer Roger Angel who builds glass mirrors for large telescopes that are studying the stars in the universe. The UN recognizes glass as a 100% recyclable material. Corning, in upstate New York, is constantly upgrading their glass formulas. They are famous for working with Thomas Edison to improve his light bulb in 1879. Just think of what we take for granted – eyeglasses, cell phones, computer monitors, light bulbs, television, building glass and now solar panels.

Photos from Grid/3 International, Inc.'s post 02/01/2024

Using a unique light fixture as a focal point in any store creates warmth and dazzle, not to mention the light it exudes. Today’s light fixtures are not merely decorative. They can also act as effective sound baffles. In many stores, the hard surfaces of glass display cases, granite or tile floors and high ceilings bounce sound and make the space noisy. It’s tough on customers, tougher on your staff. Proper lighting draws people into a space; a singular fascinating light fixture makes it memorable. Be bold. Winter demands the extra warmth. The changing light of the seasons demands action: your action.

Photos from Grid/3 International, Inc.'s post 01/25/2024

“Do it because you can” was the mantra of New York businesswoman Sallee Bijou. It’s all about strutting your stuff and using your energy and your personality to imprint your visual merchandising and your store design. Give it all you have and make it yours…bright and breezy; sophisticated and moody; romantic and dreamy. Who are you?

Photos from Grid/3 International, Inc.'s post 01/18/2024

Hello – don’t know if you like ballet but let me tell you, I went to the Royal Winnipeg Ballet’s Nutcracker Suite, and the first act was amazing! There were bears and monkeys dancing on the stage – it was supposed to be a dream a young girl had at Christmas. I’ve never seen anything like it and I’ve been to a lot of ballets. The second act was classic ballet. It always amazes me the point work and the lifts. This is a creative ballet company!

Photos from Grid/3 International, Inc.'s post 01/11/2024

Happy New Year Everyone! While I was in Winnipeg, Manitoba, spending the holidays with one of my sisters and her family, we spent a day at The Leaf, a conservatory in Assiniboine Park. Look at this beautiful building – snow outside, warmth and green inside. The architects are to be complimented because the space is completely disabled accessed. I just loved the greenery, the fish and the colored lights. Hope you had great experiences during your holiday.

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Our Story

GRID/3 is an interior design company with a specialization in retail. We have designed innumerable jewelry stores, many fashion stores plus furniture stores and drugstores. We consider the health of our clients and their customers by specifying environmentally friendly materials, energy efficient lighting, encouraging day light, sound absorbent materials and easy access to sinks. We design stores and shopping centers all over the world. These are the services we offer:


  • Layout of space and fixtures

  • Interior design including specification of materials.

  • Lighting Design and Specifications
  • Telephone

    Address


    1938 Franklin Street, Suite 202
    Detroit, MI
    48207

    Opening Hours

    Monday 10am - 6pm
    Tuesday 10am - 6pm
    Wednesday 10am - 6pm
    Thursday 10am - 6pm
    Friday 10am - 6pm