Inspiring Conversations with Lisa Masteller of SASS+CO

Today we’d like to introduce you to Lisa Masteller.

Hi Lisa, thanks for joining us today. We’d love for you to start by introducing yourself.
As a little Hawaiian girl adopted into a family of boys, I would quickly find my voice and creativity through singing.

What I thought would be the main component in which I would engage my place in the world would soon find a road that would capitulate me into the world of Design.

Who would have thunk.

Never being one to make much sense of scholastics, I resented the thought as a dyslexic that the potential of a minimum wage existence would be my given normal.

But life has a way of growing and challenging you through unforeseen opportunities.

From working as a window display artist straight out of school to game design for the likes of Hasbro, these unique opportunities would help shape my “yes’s” to owning and running my own Hospitality and Commercial design firm SASS + CO.

Why Sass? Beyond our design having what I like to call a “wink” or “sass” to the room, Sass is my nickname. Sass represents the shared love of homemade root beer between my late father and I. And the main ingredient in root beer is made from the sassafras root. Having a father and family that focused on the process of how things were created, I honor my father who gave me my name.

Why Co? This represents the incredible Trade team and clientele that continue to make up a vital and successful part of our conceptual designs.

Together we forge ahead to make the design honest and authentically inspired for those boutique spaces we design.

And with Covid, shaking us all to the core, what we thought might shut us down, actually propelled our growth.

HOW WE GOT TO TODAY

While homeschooling my three kids, I also worked as a set designer at a local church.

My “big break” had come to me through the generosity of a designer from Nevada.

He had been hired to design a Starbucks Cafe and bookstore for the church. However, I was approached by the client in allowing me to offer my two cents” of the initial design direction.

To say I was incredibly hesitant was an understatement. I didn’t have a degree and I hadn’t even one design build to my name.

However, when I sheepishly decided to join the conversation, this particular man, who had the confidence of a giant and heart of a saint, saw that I had an eye for this type of thing and did the “unheard of”.

He generously offered to “shadow me” and walk me through the project as my first design-build. He gave me both the freedom to lead as well as help guide me through the whole install. Not only was this my first paid gig, but THIS was my schooling.

Come grand opening, there were several important, high profile people who showed up for the Cafe and Bookstore ribbon cutting.

As I silently took in the whole evening, I was approached by several people who congratulated me. One man in particular leaned in to shake my hand while verifying if I had indeed designed the cafe. And with a palpitating heart, I shyly said yes.

He quickly smiled and said, “well it looks like you need to be doing this from now on, it’s beautiful”!

This man was none other than the CEO of Chik-Fila, Dan Cathy.

From this very first step into the design build world, it only made me dream bigger.

Not only would this align me to my first multimillion dollar design build project several months later, but was also given the opportunity to begin writing a blog for an industry magazine.

I had found a place in this world by the “word of mouth” method and a lot of grit and determination.

Alright, 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?
Having come in through the “back door to Design”, my narrow understanding of a designer was the Hollywood version. You know, the one where every hair is in place and was incredibly beautiful/handsome, stylish, confident, and a well-made professional. They knew how to walk into a room with just the right eloquence and hutzpah. They magically created the most beautiful spaces yet seemed detached from people.

And because I had some knowledge of the music industry, I knew there were artists in whom the temperature rose and fell depending on the mood they were in.

If this was what I was going to represent, I knew I wanted to be different. To be a designer who embraced the process just as much as the vision while embracing the total team effort.

Once I began to meet other designers, I found the majority of the industry-leading with the same conviction without having to sacrifice their voice or pay grade.

If there is one take away in Designing, it is this.

We will always be a student. I can’t stress enough the amount of hats a designer has to wear in accruing the right knowledge in finding solutions for a variety of problems.

Random things such as: Egress to ADA to Agritourism & Land development, there is certainly more to design than just fabric swatches and flooring samples.

Though the very nature of Design is paved with obstacles, one of my biggest challenges came knocking on my door just six short years ago.

In 2015, I was diagnosed with breast cancer. The journey was a whirlwind of decisions while trying to breathe. Like drinking water from a firehose, my husband and I decided in order to stay afloat, to design only when I had the energy and to take what I needed or wait on what I couldn’t.

Upon completing my year of fighting for my health with family and friends by my side, I began to slowly walk out of the “tunnel” and fogginess of what is known as “chemo brain’, into a new normal.

But I was weak. I looked different and I had to emotionally cheerlead my way through many a breaking point. One of my loneliest moments and my last round of chemo found me not knowing how to get out of bed. I remember praying to God to help me, as I felt so incredibly lost.

I didn’t have much confidence, let alone if the opportunity to design was even a thing. It seemed so far away.

And just like that, my prayer was answered.

Within 24 hours, I had an email from a client asking if I was up to being the onsite designer for their new 20+ million design build project. The funny thing is, I had been asked a year prior from this client but hadn’t heard back thinking they surely had found their designer.

I was stunned. Staring at the email, I started to cry knowing I would have to face them with how I now looked. Bald and so different than the last time they had seen me. What were they going to think? And was I strong enough to do it?

The day of the meeting, I remember walking into the conference room trying to quietly grab my seat at the table.

I was warmly introduced to several architects and engineers who had not only done so much work leading up to this point, but most of them had worked for a little company called Disney.

I knew that as I laid eyes on one of the largest blueprints set I had ever seen, it was now time for me to “roll up my sleeves.”

As I pulled away from the meeting, tears began to stream down my face.

Driving home, I knew right then that the day I was adopted had also led to the day I was diagnosed, that led to this day, in which no one knew, that the meeting I just walked out of was also my birthday.

My prayer was heard. I knew I just received the greatest test and (birthday) gift of getting back on my own two feet by allowing me the gift of designing once again.

Alright, so let’s switch gears a bit and talk business. What should we know?
We are a Boutique Design firm that funnels our creativity and expertise within the Hospitality, F&B and Commercial markets.

We acknowledge that Dreaming is apart of humanity, but executing a dream takes a certain vision and skill of execution.

Simply put, “We are the creators of spaces that connect people with each other by using unexpected elements, both organic and epic, to inspire discovery within a story.”

We are proud to offer a turnkey design solution and present our realistic 3D renderings to our clients in which helps to get the client behind their true potential.

We take the total concept from exterior to interior, with intention of brand consistency throughout the overall experience. We are able to appoint specific products as well as custom pieces that are fabricated to spec.

We are excited that our last ten years has organically grown from word of mouth.

Our Designs range from Farm and Wedding Venues to bakeries, taprooms to YMCA design build.

At the end of the day, we are honored to create the destination people long and love be in.

How can people work with you, collaborate with you or support you?
Our passion is steeped not just in the design but how each visual story takes root.

By partnering with local artisans and creatives, we naturally become a support system to a collaborative within a given community.

With the likes of: Hoteliers, Restaurateurs, City Developers, and one of a kind boutique business owners, we begin the conversation of how to move forward in making a memorable experience within their establishment.

Come say hello!

Contact Info:

• Email: [email protected]
• Website: www.sassco.co
• Instagram: sassafras_studios_

Image Credits
Tawny Elise Photography @tawnyelisephoto on Instagram. Sass+Co. Renders + Photography