Today we’d like to introduce you to Giselle Oliveira.
Hi Giselle, thanks for sharing your story with us. To start, maybe you can tell our readers some of your backstory.
I have a degree in Architecture and Urbanism with an MBA in Strategic Management. When I was single yet, I lived in England for a while when I had the opportunity to live my first experience away from family and friends. The big difference is that at that time my father supported me and my only concern was learning a new language and the challenges of adapting to a new culture.
In college, I did an internship at an important office in my city and since then I haven’t been able to disconnect from this profession that I learned to love from a very young age when it boiled down to a lot of stationery, all kinds of colored pencils and drawing supplies. I come from a family of entrepreneurs in the area of Transport and I married an entrepreneur in the industry segment, because of these ties with the administration, I understood right in the first years of the profession that not only creativity and spatial intelligence make a good architect, it was also necessary to understand the client’s needs from the point of view of their financial and investment capacity. My MBA from FGV has become an important tool that currently helps me a lot in the management of purchases and financial control of my projects in the USA.
I worked for 15 years in Brazil as an architect developing work as an interior designer, creating furniture and projects that served the logistics segment with a sustainability bias. It was a wonderful time, full of learning and great achievements. After much reflection, my husband and I decided that moving to another country at that time would be a great opportunity for our children to have better quality education and a great challenge for both of us to develop a common project: to work together in the construction industry. Marcelo has always been passionate about renovations and until then had done it as a hobby.
We chose Orlando for our new home and here we opened our Interior Design, Remodeling, and Decoration Company. Many challenges were overcome along the way, but we can say that so far it has been a beautiful journey. Great partners, clients bringing new clients, and wonderful projects adding to our portfolio day after day. Thank God for that!
Would you say it’s been a smooth road, and if not what are some of the biggest challenges you’ve faced along the way?
Ebenezer is a Hebrew word that takes us back to the text of Samuel where he states “So far the Lord has helped us.”
It applies well to our trajectory. The pandemic is part of human history and was undoubtedly the great challenge we faced as soon as we arrived in Orlando. In fact, we arrived here and the following week the borders closed and all our planning was suspended for almost two years. My husband contracted an aggressive form of Covid and was hospitalized. I confess that the fear and despair of being away from the family was great, but thanks to our good God we didn’t lack good friends who helped us and played a role as significant as brothers in our lives. He recovered and we resumed our plans.
We invest this time to study and better understand the local market. After a lot of research and prospecting, we defined the format of our company and opened Divine Design. We partnered with experienced professionals already radicalized in the US and began to develop work focused on Vacation Homes.
We had to adapt to the local culture, learn from new routines, and understand how the tax accounting part works here in the US and how work and employment relationships are established, all very different from Brazil. The willingness to learn, to adapt, and to understand that this was a new country with new rules and customs was of paramount importance throughout the process.
Thanks for sharing that. So, maybe next you can tell us a bit more about your business?
Divine Design is an Interior Design, Home Decor, and Remodeling Company. Our focus is vacation homes, although we develop many residential projects. We are hired to develop creative and unusual solutions that increase the perception of the value of vacation homes and thus meet the interest of investors.
This market is very competitive, with new releases entering every day. The houses need to be updated, to become more attractive to tourists looking for this type of accommodation. Our great differential is that we develop a work according to the client’s Budget. Customized budgets focused on the needs and expectations of those who hire us.
Another important aspect is that we master the dynamics of the rental houses, we know the profile of the guests and the entry and exit routines, as well as the existing weaknesses in the maintenance of the houses. This allows us to be more accurate in the choice of furniture and utensils that will compose the final houses.
The company is made up of a team of qualified professionals with extensive experience in renovations and interior projects. Our projects are rich in details that surprise and transform simple spaces into memorable experiences; we love what we do and that’s why we do it well.
What were you like growing up?
I am a very active, multitasking, and detail-oriented person (which brings me some exhaustion sometimes). I always look for the best solution for my projects and I don’t rest until I find them. I like tasks completed on time and I abhor waste. I love social events, including birthday parties for my youngest son’s school friends. I go to all!
Currently, my interests are focused on technologies that make the interior designer’s life easier, especially those that allow the client to have an almost real view of the project he is approving. Family trips restore me and give me more strength to follow the journey of mother, wife, professional, and immigrant in this wonderful country.
Contact Info:
- Instagram: @divinedesign.usa
Image Credits
Leonardo Mayrinck and Master Vacation Homes
