Today we’d like to introduce you to Meg Joannides.
Thanks for sharing your story with us Meg. So, let’s start at the beginning and we can move on from there.
I started MLK Studio 18 years ago when I moved from NYC to LA. It was time to move on from the corporate world and do my own thing. I was lucky enough to have a great network here in LA, and one of my good friends connected me with an architect in Malibu that was looking for a modern interior designer to refer to his clients.
We began working together and one job led to another with various architects and builders. I moved into my very first office right in the heart of Venice, on Abbot Kinney Blvd. The business took off. My work started to get published in reputable shelter magazines which led to more work, here in LA and also across the country and even some international work.
Great, so let’s dig a little deeper into the story – has it been an easy path overall and if not, what were the challenges you’ve had to overcome?
The road has not always been smooth! In this line of work, you are very involved in your clients’ personal lives, which sometimes gets complicated. Luckily, I tend to get along with a lot of varying personalities so it works for me most of the time. But there have been times when personalities really don’t mix. That makes the road a little bit difficult to navigate and tough decisions have to be made.
Of course, there was also 2008, when the housing market crashed. That was not an easy time for our industry. Although I had a few clients put large projects on hold, I had enough work to get me through it and come out the other side.
Please tell us about MLK Studio.
We specialize in high-end residential interior design, mostly ground up construction. We do everything from kitchen and bath design, to millwork/cabinet design, to specifying all interior details, materials, and hardware. We are known for creating modern in spirit, stylish, elegant but livable spaces. I custom design furniture for every project, and we are usually responsible for finishing out the entire house, including procuring artwork and all of the other details that make a house a home.
I am really proud that most of our work gets published, usually in high-end shelter/trade magazines, and/or on design blogs. It is the recognition that our work is worthy of publication that makes us proud, as we pour our hearts into each and every project detail. Every project is different, yet recognizable as an MLK Studio project.
I think I have a very distinct style, but as mentioned above, we love details. Our work is not cookie cutter, rather tailored to the architectural style of the house as well as to the lifestyle of each individual client.
Do you look back particularly fondly on any memories from childhood?
My father is from Germany, and all of our relatives on his side still live in Munich and in the Bavarian Alps. We spent 5 weeks every other summer when I was a kid in Germany and traveling in Europe and my favorite childhood memories are of those summers. We were 11 cousins altogether and we had such a good time growing up together. I have so many fantastic individual memories of these summers, it would be hard to pinpoint just one favorite.
Probably just being a kid, not needing adult supervision since some of the cousins were old enough to do that, and doing silly things.
Contact Info:
- Address: 8748 Melrose Avenue
West Hollywood, CA. 90069 - Website: www.mlkstudio.com
- Phone: 310-652-5255
- Email: [email protected]
- Instagram: @mlkstudio
- Facebook: MLK Studio
Image Credit:
Paul Rusconi; Roger Davies
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