Shop Talk Partner Website

WHEN TALENTED PROFESSIONALS TALK, WE LISTEN.

ADMIT IT, YOU HAVE AN INQUIRING MIND, AND YOU WANT TO KNOW ABOUT THE TEAM designing YOUR PARK CITY DREAM HOME. WE UNDERSTAND THE INCLINATION. SO WE DECIDED TO BRING YOU SHOP TALK, CONVERSATIONS WITH THE TALENTED PROS DESIGNING, BUILDING, AND OUTFITTING YOUR HOMES.

Forsey’s Fine Furniture

Jack Forsey, VICE PRESIDENT

Forsey’s Fine Furniture and Interior Design has been Utah’s premier fine furniture and interior design showroom for nearly 70 years. Located on Highland Drive in Salt Lake City, Forsey’s has two showrooms offering nearly 20,000 square feet of home furnishings as well as a brand-new design center. In addition to being a retail showroom, Forsey’s also offers a wide range of interior design services, including a free in-home design consultation. Our veteran design team can accommodate projects of any size, and will bring the showroom “to you” to help turn your vision into reality.

What services do you offer?
We are both a home furnishings retail store and a full-service interior design operation with over 20,000 square feet of beautiful product. Our two showrooms offer access to more than 40 of the industry’s most reputable manufacturers, which we’ve been representing for nearly 70 years. We offer a free in-home design service, where we can not only put together a floor plan for your furnishings, but we can also help with paint, carpet, lighting, and window coverings.

What geographic areas do you serve?
We service the entire state of Utah, but can also ship and coordinate delivery anywhere within the continental United States.

What inspires you?
For me, helping our clients turn vision into reality is what gives me the greatest joy.

What other specialties do you have in-house?
Well, other than innovative interior design and a large selection of home furnishings, one of the things we are known for is the fact that a vast majority of what we carry is manufactured in the United States. This is something that we take great pride in, not only because the quality of the product is generally better than what you would find elsewhere, but also because it is made

by craftsmen right
here in the U.S.

What is the most exciting new product or development in your field?
I’m really excited to see a return to color in the design work we’ve been doing. For a long time all anyone wanted to have in their home was grey or neutral color palettes. We are finally seeing the resurgence of greens and blues and reds, which makes our job that much more fun. Don’t get me wrong, I love greys and off-whites in the right application, but it’s

all for nothing if you can’t throw in a
splash of color!

How did you get your start?
This business has been in our family for just shy of 70 years, so I was lucky enough to grow up here in the showroom. I started working on the trucks at 12 years old, helping with deliveries and installations. At 19 I moved to Scottsdale to run our service department there and then moved back to attend the University of Utah. After graduating I came back into the business as the operations manager and several years later I began working in sales and design and as a buyer for the company.

What’s on the top of your list for a great getaway?
My favorite place to visit anywhere in the world is Rome. Aside from the abundance of amazing architecture, artwork, and culture in Rome, there is nothing I enjoy doing more than enjoying a bottle of wine and a cheese plate with my wife while observing the movement of the city.

What do you listen to while you work?
Frank Sinatra, and Frank Sinatra. There are times when I will also listen to Frank Sinatra! Nothing helps me concentrate on what I’m doing more than the maestro himself.

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Clayton Vance Architecture

clayton vance, principal & owner

Clayton Vance Architecture is a multidimensional firm trained in  traditional architecture, landscape,  and urban design.  The firm also designs modern homes using the same timeless design principles found in classic and traditional homes.  Every project is a joint collaboration with the client, to design a beautiful, functional and enduring home around their needs.

What services do you offer?
We specialize in residential architecture and work on projects of all sizes, from a brand new home, to a small porch addition or kitchen renovation. We’re also capable in the urban design field. We can provide landscape plans when there’s a need too. Our preference is to provide the whole design package that includes architecture, interiors, landscape, and see the project to completion, but in today’s construction culture and typical budgets we recognize we can help more people by providing an a la carte design service selection.

What area do you serve?
We’ll work on projects wherever anyone is willing to hire us to work. Geography is not an issue. Most of our work is in the Mountain West and particularly in the Park City and Salt Lake City areas. We also have a satellite office in Chicago.

When did you know that you wanted to be an architect and what motivated you?
That’s an interesting story. I loved Legos as a kid and would spend hours and days making cities outside with Legos, Hot Wheels, and dirt. As I grew up, I fell in love with perspective drawing and designed my first house in high school. It wasn’t much, but looking back, it taught me that you’re only as good as your experience. So, I traveled the world and lived in every quadrant of the country—small towns and large cities—to experience architecture and the gamut of urban spaces. This led me to question many things about why some cities were amazing and others were left wanting. Why some neighborhoods aged with grace and others were outdated within a decade. I found my answers and I’m starting a blog this year explaining my discoveries: How to build a timeless home and urbanism 101—planning cities for people. In the end, when you ask yourself—what do you think about when you don’t have to think about anything—my answer is architecture. I design and analyze and evaluate wherever I go.

How do you see architecture changing in the next five to ten years?
I’m looking forward to the day when someone invents holograms to review our designs with clients. Not just virtual reality with 3D goggles, but actual holograms that we can spin around and look at the house and property in 3D standing around a table. 3D models are so important to look at and 3D printing is still pretty expensive and old-school methods using mat and foam board are pretty time-consuming; we just need a holographic model we can look at.

how do you work with clients, contractors, and interior designers?
With clients, the most important meeting is the one we do on the site in the very beginning. We investigate the questions of program, needs, and how they will best coincide with the site. I’ll ask questions and as clients answer, the home will begin to reveal itself as we investigate style preferences and general layout. We’ll then do some basic volume studies to make sure we’re going in the right direction stylistically. After that, we dive into the plan. I don’t design from a plan out; that never leads to a timeless home. We design in terms of volumes and what rooms fit within those volumes and what sort of character those volumes possess. Then we keep pushing and refining the design until we get construction docs complete and a permit. Depending on budget and needs, we are available through the building process for meetings with all parties to make sure everything is done to accomplish the design intent.

What project(s) are you the most proud of?
It’s the remodels where we’ve taken something so unfortunate and resurrected its architectural soul and turned it into something great. Those are a challenge and so fun.

What’s the difference between a good and a great house?
The idea of making it an experience, not just a collection of rooms. Each room, each hall, each moment, has just the right vista, repose, and functionality to be an experience.

What is the most exciting new product or development? It hasn’t happened yet.
As soon as we can figure out how to cut custom stone in a more cost-effective way so that we can once again have the details of the past at a price more people can afford, then we will really have accomplished something.

What building best typifies the region?
The vernacular farmhouse. This was the home of the typical pioneer made with local natural materials. The settlers of the West tamed the wilderness, sculpted nature into beautiful architecture, and left an inspiring heritage of architecture.

What are the most rewarding things about designing homes/buildings in this region?
The views. The Mountain West has breathtaking views. We live in a natural art gallery and the windows are the frames. You bought the land and hire me to properly frame that art within the function of the home.

If you weren’t an architect, what would you be doing?
I kept trying my hand at theater in my younger years and if someone would ever cast me, I’d like to perform at the Shakespeare Festival in Cedar City, Utah. But, being too practical, I’m afraid my stage acting career will probably have to wait until another life.

What makes you laugh?
My wife playing tour guide when we travel. She makes up the most random stuff, deliberately using architecture jargon in the most incorrect way. That’s funny.

What’s on the top of your list as a great getaway?
I’ve finally reached a point in life where a beach vacation will completely relax me. I spent a few days in Morea in Tahiti a couple years ago and the snorkeling was amazing. If I could just do a couple weeks a year in a place like that, I think I’d live longer.

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The Wood Man Floors

Karen, Kyle & josh Larson, owners

The Wood Man Floors offers custom stained and hand-scraped wood flooring finished with Woca Oil finish. Their process for finishing wood floors is environmentally friendly. The warehouse is located in Salt Lake City, Utah, where you have the opportunity to pick your own custom stain to make your wood floor unique. The Wood Man Floors has been in the wood flooring business for over 15 years and they pride themselves on the quality of their products and the friendly,  family-owned values of thier company.

What services do you offer?
We offer custom hard wood flooring, made in the USA. Customers can pick the type of wood, the texture, and the color. The flooring is finished with Woca UV oil-cured finish, which means the finish permeates into the wood, instead of sitting on top of it. It allows you to feel like you are walking on the wood and not just on a finish.

What is your professional background?
We have over 20 years of experience in the flooring industry. Kyle and Josh spent 15 years installing floors, and realized pre-finished oil floors with zero VOCs were going to be the floors of the future.

What inspires you?
We are inspired by customers who share how much they love their flooring and how happy they are with this purchase. It motivates us to continue to create new colors, new techniques, and a fantastic product people will be delighted by for years.

What project(s) are you most excited about right now?
We are most excited about working with an Amish mill out of Ohio, called Sheoga. They naturally dry the wood before it is kiln-dried, which makes the flooring more stable and less prone to shrinking, movement, or cracking. Sheoga takes pride in their work and the product they put out, and we know in working with them–it will only make our products better. We want to put out the best product we can, and Sheoga helps us do that.

Describe your process—how do you work with clients, contractors, designers, and architects?
Since we are able to customize every aspect of the floor, designers and home owners are able to get the floor made just for them. We have some popular colors and textures in our showroom, but the possibilities are infinite for what we can do. A customer may like a color, but not the texture –so we have the ability to change the texture. Our textures are created and done by hand in-house.

What project(s) are you the most proud of?
We aren’t proud of just one product; we truly are proud of all of the products we create. Anytime a floor leaves our warehouse, we are happy with the product we have produced.

Do you have favorite products you prefer or are known for?
We are known for the wide variety of colors we can create on hickory wood and our hand- scraped textures. Also, customers come back again and again because they love the friendly, family-owned business.

What tricks of the trade have you learned over the years that you’d be willing to share with us?
Since we use an oil finish to finish the floors, it allows the customer to do the upkeep on their own. The oil penetrates and fortifies the wood and when it is mopped, using the correct cleaner–Woca soap–it will actually refresh the oils in the floor. When done correctly, the floor should never need to be sanded down and refinished–like a traditional urethane- finished floor. Most of the time, we just dust our floor and don’t have to mop it every day! The maintenance of the floor is very easy.

What word(s) do people use to describe your work?
When people talk about our floors they say things like, “Amazing!” “Wonderful!” “I love it!” “I’m so glad I bought this!!” “Now I want wood flooring throughout my entire house!”

What do you enjoy most about your line of work?
We enjoy making beautiful floors for people that transform their houses into homes.

If you weren’t in your field, what would you be doing?
If they weren’t man-ufacturing wood floors, Kyle and Josh would probably be building hot rods and have a custom hot rod shop.

What do you listen to while you work?
We always have our headphones on while we’re working–Kyle listens to country, Josh listens to rock. Karen listens to the phone.

Do you have a favorite recreational activity?
We enjoy going to the sand dunes with our ATVs and UTVs. We have a 1957 GMC bus that has been converted to a motorhome we take camping–and of course it has wood floors.

What’s sure to make you laugh?
Kyle’s two boys playing in the warehouse are sure to make everyone laugh.

Favorite season? Why?
Summer is the best season, because we get to go camping and play outside.

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Modern Design + Build

Aaron Blanco and Curtis Sorenson, OWNERs

Modern Design + Build is a high-end design build firm. They offer a variety of services which begins with assisting clients with finding their dream lot, designing a functional and beautiful home within their budget, and then managing the construction of the home. By bringing everything under one roof, Modern Design + Build can help their clients navigate through and simplify the home building experience. Dream. Design. Build.

What geographic areA do you serve?
We specialize in the Park City market.

Do you have any special certifications or specialties?
CS: (Curtis Sorenson) We feel that our specialty is in the team that we bring together. Architectural design, construction management, and the homeowner. All working in synergy to accomplish the goal of building an amazing home.
AB: (Aaron Blanco) I’m a Licensed B-100 Contractor.

When did you know that you wanted to go into design and what motivated you?
CS: Fifteen years ago, I began building and selling spec homes. I quickly fell in love with the design process. I approached the designer I was using at the time and asked if I could shadow him for one full month to witness his design process and he agreed. At the end of the month he offered me a job. I dove right in. I began with drafting and learned all that I could. I worked closely with other architects and engineers, and slowly worked my way up and began designing my own homes. I caught a big break when I landed a job with a high-end architecture firm in Park City. I now have the privilege of doing what I love every day and I am excited every time I get a chance to share my passion with each new project.
AB: Construction Is one of the few fields where you can look back at the end of the day and receive the instant reward of building something new.

How do you see construction changing in the next five to ten years?
AB: BIM is taking over! 3-D modeling is the future. What we’re able to do beforehand to catch mistakes in the steel or framing before wood or steel is delivered is making us more efficient, faster, and saves the client money in the long run.

What project(s) are you most excited about right now?
CS: We are about to start construction on a new home in Park City. The client recently retired from a career of designing and building luxury homes of his own in the prestigious Yellowstone Club. When we began designing his home, he was determined to keep the size of the home minimal. We were hyper-focused on making each space super functional to fit their lifestyle. I am excited to showcase that we can design and build a minimal yet stunning home for someone who is an expert in our same industry, and stay within budget. It’s going to be challenging, but I am excited to show what we can do.

how do you work with clients, designers, and architects?
CS: This is my favorite part about what we do. We start by initiating a special relationship with our clients by diving into their lives and lifestyles. Figuring out which questions to ask. Studying how they currently live, discovering what areas they love about their current home, what areas they wish were different, suggesting ideas and concepts that can make lasting improvements to their family’s lives. Designing a home in a way that will allow them to more fully connect with the elements around them. A home is such an intimate thing. It protects us, connects us, and can bring so much positive energy into our daily lives. In a way, we are helping our clients stay connected with their true selves and in so doing they allow us to really connect with them.

WhaT’s the difference between good and great construction?
CS: Great design and construction maximizes our connection with the beautiful and unique features that surround us. Great design can seamlessly blend the relationship of inside and outside spaces. It can weave a cohesive and distinct energy with the elements that surround us.
AB: I believe most contractors do good work, but a few pay attention to the details and go above and beyond with the building science of the home. Most of the time this is something behind the scenes that makes it a better home but rarely gets the recognition It needs.

What is the most exciting new devel-opment in your field?
AB: 3-D modeling.

What do you listen to while you work?
CS: I am a giant book-on-tape nerd. I wish I could tell you that I listen to Beethoven, NPR, or even some of the great non-fiction books. However, my playlist is mostly filled with fiction. Brandon Sanderson’s Mist Born series and Kel Kade’s The King Killer Chronicles are among my favorites.
AB: My daughter’s playlist…she has better taste in music than I do!

If you could own any three pieces of fine art, OR if you could own any “toys” what would they be?
CS: I wish I could say that I would choose a Michael Parks or an original Jackson Pollock painting. But if I am being honest, I think that traveling the world with my family and friends on a giant yacht would definitely be my choice. Sailing around the coastal cities of Italy and Greece…sign me up! On a side note, designing a yacht is on my bucket list. No budget with the challenge of getting the most out of every square inch of space gets my creative juices flowing, just thinking about how much fun it would be.

What is sure to make you laugh?
CS: Aaron Blanco. One of the funniest people I’ve ever met.

What do you enjoy most about living here?
CS: I love Utah and especially Park City. You can build a snowman and a few hours later be mountain biking in Moab.
AB: I live, work, and play in most people’s favorite vacation spot…what’s not to love?

Most embarrassing moment?
CS: Second grade. I was very shy. We were doing a music program for our entire school and they stuck me on the front corner of our grade. I passed out 10 seconds into our first song. Everyone panicked. My sister was a 6th grader and screamed out. Long story short, I woke up with what seemed like every teacher, the principal, and of course, my sister, standing around me and yelling for me to wake up.

You get weak in the knees over ____________?
CS: Jon Snow. The true king of the north.
AB: Spicy Skittles.