Lisa Masteller, Sassafras Studios
Lisa Masteller, owner of Sassafras Studios in Raleigh and purveyor of interior design concepts, has a winning track record in dealing with church clients. Masteller works alongside architects, using her skills to infuse clients’ DNA into their building projects and to answer their questions and concerns along the way.
A key element of Masteller’s services involves a keen listening ear and caring heart. So at the end of a project, church or otherwise, Masteller tends to be called back. And for her this is not so much a business strategy as a desire to seek and do God’s will.
Church.Design sat down to talk with Masteller and asked about her authentic approach to the business of design.
Church.Design: How do you set up a good working relationship with church clients?
Masteller: A lot depends on if there’s chemistry and a likability factor at the beginning. The biggest thing is to show you’re there for them, that it’s not just an opportunity to dream away a design.
Initially, before moving from concept to render, I’m praying for wisdom and insight.
Especially in church projects, a lot of pastor clients say, “I’ve never heard a designer come at a project like you do.” I admit that my first point of reference is to pray before I start. Knowing I can’t get to know these clients quickly enough, meeting with them, by asking the right questions, the handoff of those first conversations are taken into consideration by leading with those nuances that move the project forward.
Initially, before moving from concept to render, I’m praying for wisdom and insight. It’s a dynamic responsibility but in that I try to keep a “hand’s open” mentality. However, my biggest desire is by the time the design is finished, I am saying goodbye to not only a great client relationship but a friend.
Church.Design: Is there a recent church project that encapsulates your business style and the relationships you foster?
Masteller: I went to meet a former client, Pastor Scott Betts of Crossroads Church in small Benson, N.C., a few month’s back. His church, which I believe was a former bank-turned-house of worship was hit by Hurricane Matthew and the whole facility was two feet under water. This was devastating. However, Pastor Betts had reached out to me and a fellow contractor to see how we could help pull together some flooring for them. We were able to install new high-end commercial flooring, that had been graciously donated in labor, and material.
After a few months of being settled, he reached out to me again to show me yet another space. In all honesty, at first glance it was very un-inspiring. Walking me through a former Food Lion location it was apparent that this old, tired and run down space was setting itself up to be a good “before” picture.
Crossroads Church "before"
Pastor Betts is one of those clients that just trusts me. “Whatever you say, we’ll go with” type attitude. I had the opportunity to use a great deal of autonomy in my design, but also asked him (and his staff) to add their voices. One thing I appreciate, by his own initiative, was that he always puts my renders up for various contractors to view and work from.
Masteller's renders
On a daily basis, I would come onsite only to hear from a staff worker that another person either donated their time or building materials for the church’s building renovation project.
On a design note, one of the most exciting things was reinventing a new way to incorporate vinyl. We used large-format graphics and installed customized accents onto the floors, Kids Ministry bathrooms, and hallway doors. It became a great design statement to the space.
New uses for vinyl
Church.Design: Tell about a challenging design aspect of the Crossroads Church project and how you handled it.
Masteller: When I was asked to help design the Kids Ministry area, the initial request was an “At the Movies” theme. However, as a designer, having seen this done in so many churches, I wanted to bring them something new. I decided that instead of presenting the story of Christ with a movie theme, how about a movie lot where you take a kid behind the scenes and show them how a movie is made rather than just presenting them with the story. Let them study the story.
Kid's Ministry movie lot theme
Since this church is located in a small town, I knew I needed to pray about how I presented this idea, which I named “Everlasting Story.” As I put pen to paper I realized the correlation between an actor and a life lived in Christ. Things such as character development, memorization of lines, cast members and set design play a supporting role in enhancing the storyline. By using the movie lot theme, it wasn’t only fun but it tied in with the question, “What’s your part in the story?” -- knowing that God is calling each of us into the greatest story of all time.
All to say, at the end of the day, having a client like Crossroads was quite a gift.
Crossroads "after"
Both the pastor and staff trusted me wholeheartedly in this project, and because of that I was able to put my best foot forward in delivering them a well rounded design. Working shoulder to shoulder with these people, while steeping it in prayer, is an encouragement that great working relationships do exist, and cultivating a relationship is a win for both the client and designer.
[Lisa Masteller, Sassafras Studios, can be reached at lisamasteller@gmail.]
