Today we’d like to introduce you to Reisha Bernard and Septra Shiner.
Reisha and Septra, can you briefly walk us through your story – how you started and how you got to where you are today.
As the “R” in R&S, I was born in Brooklyn, NY, with family roots in Trinidad & Tobago and am a proud mother and wife. From early childhood, I always had a fascination with artistic form, architectural structures and how materials in any space could transform the environment. I spent a lot of free time freelance drawing and even took the initiative to take elective drafting classes in my high school years. In tandem, I also gained a deep interest in psychology and how environmental structure can affect the wellbeing of an individual. This is due to people in my life that personally suffered from depression and other psychological challenges. My first pursuit in increasing my knowledge was to obtain a degree in architecture at Prairie View A&M University. My drive to enhance the positivity of the human spirit led me to enhance my skills set in interior design with a focus on the psychological impacts of environmental structure with the New York Institute of Art & Design.
As the “S” of R&S I am a native Houstonian, Mother, and Wife. I truly believe designing beautiful spaces evokes positive emotions in the human spirit. At an early age, I noticed how impactful it was to clean, organize, decorate and simply refresh your space. As I became older and held a demanding work schedule I failed to ensure my living spaces were upheld. At that time, I began to suffer with stress and health related anxiety. I researched non-traditional holistic approaches to handle stress and quickly was reminded that taking the time to consider your space is an important step in seeing how living interiors impact your overall wellbeing. I began to implement certain aspects of Feng Shui and Konmari Method or “the life changing magic of tidying up” and color theory for mental well being in my home. These practices and others helped me to drastically improve my overall health. My new lifestyle change led me on a path to pursue a career in Interior Design in hopes to heal spaces and heal minds. In my career pursuit I was eager to immerse myself into the field and applied at a retail design store where I intern met Reisha. It was from here that my design career quickly elevated allowing me to work in multiple aspects of the design and in return, polishing my skill set.
Meeting in 2011, we immediately bonded over our passion for design, customer service, and future visions of entrepreneurship. We always knew our company would launch at just the right time. When COVID-19 rocked our nation and forced everyone to stay in place, we knew without a shadow of a doubt this was our time as of September 2020, we are thriving well and very eager to see the future of our company!
Overall, has it been relatively smooth? If not, what were some of the struggles along the way?
There have been challenges along the way; however, we have stayed resilient. Our vision to form our own design studio originally began in 2015. Moreover, we felt it necessary to take more time to fully develop the professional details of our company. To highlight, the groundbreaking process of our company started at the peak of COVID-19. We viewed COVID-19 as an opportunity to take the time to collaborate, research, and implement every detail of our design process.
R&S Holistic Interiors – what should we know? What do you guys do best? What sets you apart from the competition?
R&S Holistic Interiors is an interior design studio specializing in transforming spaces, utilizing a holistic healing approach. We view ourselves as empathetic designers and strive to deeply connect with clients wholeheartedly in order to achieve their individual design aesthetic. We are known as a dynamic duo. We have been best friends for over nine years and collectively share a passion for interior design and genuinely helping people. We are most proud of the feedback we have received from our clients, expressing our professionalism and attention to detail. Working in multi-facets of the design field such as retail design, luxury retail design and professional design firm setting, we believe sets us apart from others. The work versatility that we have acquired in the field has allowed us to have a unique skill set and in-depth insight from a client’s perspective.
Any shoutouts? Who else deserves credit in this story – who has played a meaningful role?
We give credit to the support of our husbands, family members, and loved ones. We are thankful for the experiences and feedback we have received along our path from company leaders and fellow designers in the business. Our dream team which helped us to create our brand image {Videographer Qasim Barnes “@Q-Shot you} {Web developer Amy C. “Digital Mounts} {Photography Trisha Napoleon” Images of Me} {Logo Creator Greg Gales} {Makeup Chelle “@Chelle.Glams}. Also, highlighting our clients who have entrusted us with their homes.
Contact Info:
- Address: 134 Vintage Park Blvd. Suite a/558
(This is not a physical address, mailing only) - Website: https://rsholisticinteriors.com/
- Phone: 832-234-2632
- Email: rs@rsholisticinteriors.com
- Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/rsholisticinteriors/
- Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/rshinteriors/
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