Jaymie Mistry
What do you do in your current job?
Lead and mentor a team of designers through all aspects of the design process from preliminary programming and analysis, schematic design development, interior design conceptualization and presentation, procurement of materials and finishes, production of construction documents, detailing and construction administration. As VP I lead our Canadian studio in Toronto, Ontario, am developing new company standards for both offices, and create initial project proposals for our clients.
What are you doing right now that you are most excited about?
Currently, I am the lead on our first Autograph Collection hotel in Madeira Beach, FL. This higher-level soft brand brings a new degree of sophistication, design possibility, and challenges that encourage us to push the boundaries of design. I look forward to working with the team each day to make this new construction hotel come to life through rendering, material selection and documentation.
What is your proudest achievement since graduation?
In 2020, I was published in SPACE, an international hotel design magazine, as one of “20 Rising Stars: To Look Out for in 2020”.
What drew you to interior design? What do you love most about it?
Creativity and the ability to create or transform a space. As a teenager, I was constantly rearranging the furniture in our house and commenting on the design and finishes of everywhere we went. I love visiting projects after completion and watching how guests interact with the space or the reactions they have upon entering (especially in themed spaces like Universal Hotels). It is the most rewarding experience.
If you could turn back time to your MID years, what would you have done differently/ have taken advantage of as a student?
Teach yourself every aspect of the programs you will utilize in a real office environment. Classes, at least when I was in school, teach a great introduction to each program but the capabilities of each are endless! Especially the tips and tricks that help you to be the most efficient. There are many great tutorials on LinkedIn that can help you to start at any office with the confidence to jump right in.
How did your MID degree at the UM help to prepare you for your career?
Theory and critical thinking. The MID program provides students with advanced skills to think critically through every aspect of a project from the conceptual phase through construction. Although our firm specializes in hospitality, with the skills learned from the UM, I feel I could jump into any type of project and be able to think critically through the required programming. I was also fortunate enough to be in one of the first classes to start using Revit for projects. This prepared me with a great base of knowledge to help initiate the program at DPI and train others over the past several years.
What was the most valuable lesson you learned at the UM?
The importance of travel ondesign. We had a few class trips (New York & Istanbul) for our MID studios, both of which, fueled my existing passion for travel. I had always traveled to tropical destinations with family but experiencing the liveliness of NYC or the beauty and culture of Istanbul opened up my view of how vastly different materiality and design is around the world. I am thrilled to have visited many countries since graduation and look forward to visiting India in a few months.