Meet Ilana Spindel of Tilt Architecture & Design

Today we’d like to introduce you to Ilana Spindel.

Hi Ilana, we’d love for you to start by introducing yourself.
Growing up I always wanted to be an artist, I still love to paint when I find the time, but in school my favorite subject was always math. I thought maybe I’d make a good engineer or something, and then a week before I started college I had an epiphany, that no, I should be an architect! It’s been perfect. Even before I knew I wanted to be an architect, I knew I wanted to own my own business. That’s really the family business, is owning businesses, whatever it is. So as soon as I became a licensed architect, I started doing work for myself. I’m very lucky to have an amazing business partner, my best friend from college, Ashley Shaw. When we were freshman I would tease her that we were going to own a firm together, and she would roll her eyes, and now here we are a decade later.

Would you say it’s been a smooth road, and if not what are some of the biggest challenges you’ve faced along the way?
You know being a young woman in a traditionally male-dominated field is always a challenge. The amount of times I roll up to a job site and people ask me if I’m the interior designer or an admin assistant always makes me laugh. I honestly fantasize about being middle aged about once a week, and just the respect that comes from having decades of experience. But there’s also a lot of power in being young, and having a fresh perspective and a lot of energy. Maybe you should check back in with me in 30 years and see if I’ve changed my mind.

Great, so let’s talk business. Can you tell our readers more about what you do and what you think sets you apart from others?
The name Tilt came from the idea of the tilt of a roof on a house, but also when you’re looking at something and you tilt your head to get a better look. We want to design homes that make people tilt their heads, but also help home-owners through the really confusing process of designing and building a house, so un-tilt their heads a little. Recently we’ve been really involved in the rebuild effort after the Palisades and Altadena Wildfires. A lot of these home-owners would never have built a ground up home ever if it wasn’t for this disaster, and being able to help them through the process, while they are dealing with all the trauma that goes along with being displaced, has been really rewarding. Getting these families back into their homes, when they are finally built, will be an amazing relief to them, and an amazing accomplishment for us.

Can you talk to us a bit about the role of luck?
I feel very lucky, all of the time. But actually when I reflect, so much of what I’ve accomplished has been just the audacity to be fearless when it comes to taking a chance and hard work. When I first left college, I moved out to California on a whim. No job, no place to live, no friends in town. I just drove my car cross-country from my small town in NC and figured it out. I always think it was so lucky that I found a job, good friends, a place to live, but in reality I wanted something and I made it happen. The same thing with Tilt, I feel so lucky to have been able to start my business, but also I did sit and study for those damn licensing exams night after night, I did reach out to so many people until I found someone willing to first hire us. What feels like 90% luck, was actually 10% luck and 90% will.

Contact Info:

• Website: https://www.tiltarch.com
• Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/tiltarch
• LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/company/tiltarch/