Meet Lisa Henderson | Architect, Artist, Mentor, Philanthropist

We had the good fortune of connecting with Lisa Henderson and we’ve shared our conversation below.

Hi Lisa, we’d love to hear about how you approach risk and risk-taking.
I don’t think of myself as an especially risky person but there have been pivotal moments in my life and career that are definitely categorized as such.

In 1991 I sold everything I owned and moved to Los Angeles to try something new. I came from Canada wanting to get a job in design and literally only had a bag of clothes, my design portfolio and a plane ticket home if it didn’t work out. It was not easy and I had a handful of really horrible jobs and I thought about leaving many times – but I didn’t. I eventually ended up doing my Masters at SCI-Arc (Southern California Institute of Architecture) and continued forward with so much more wisdom.

The initial jobs I took after graduating were low risk, as I was steered by how broke I was so I took a job at a corporate firm but I was focusing on the money instead of my heart. I learned a lot but it wasn’t where I felt happy and so I decided to take another huge risk.

I was pregnant with my first child and while on maternity leave I decided I wanted to try and start my own Architecture Firm. Looking back it was possibly the craziest time to try and do that and it was definitely not easy. During that time I had a recurring dream that I went back to that firm asking for my job back – but I would always wake up in a cold sweat, never wanting to hear the “bing” of the elevator doors when I arrived at the firm ready to numb myself for another day.

Harvest is almost 23 years old now and the highs and lows have been there with various risks that panned out and some that were questionable, whether it be leasing a new space that is twice as large and then the pandemic hit and everyone worked from home, or hiring a high salary employee that I wasn’t certain I could afford to pay and it ended up expanding our invoicing and our business. Ultimately I wouldn’t be where I’m at without taking some of those risks – and always having a backup plan is what’s gives me the courage to make those leaps with confidence.

Alright, so for those in our community who might not be familiar with your business, can you tell us more?

Harvest is a woman owned, organic growth company that I started in 2002. I have degrees in Interiors as well as Architecture and I believe what sets us apart is our attention to detail with our drawings and the knowledge of what is really getting built as well as great collaborative work with our clients.

For the first several years Harvest was in the back house on my property and I would hire student interns and prided myself on it being a teaching office. I had two small children and at 4pm every day I would leave work to be with them while the team continued their day – finishing up what we were working on and coming outside to ask me questions as needed. I would go back into my office each night after my kids’ bedtime and work until midnight or 1am doing the invoices and managing the books on top of my Architecture design work. I look back and wonder how I was able to keep doing that – but there didn’t seem to be another way.

I got clients by word of mouth and didn’t really do much marketing or business development because I only had time to dedicate towards the clients we were working with at the time, not even think about going bigger. The office grew to a team of 6 at one point in that little back house and it was utter chaos in my brain – I wasn’t ready to handle that many people and have a balanced home life so I intentionally downsized and kept a smaller studio until my kids were a little bit older and I felt more ready to grow the office.

In 2016 we moved into our first official office in a mid century modern building and it was then that I realized what was possible. The office grew organically in size and our increased exposure in the community allowed us to slowly and intentionally expand our client and project base. I was able to start seeing what could be done if I was courageous enough to hire the right people for the job and I then hired a book-keeper an Operations Manager and a Senior Project Manager so that I could focus on the Design and Business Development for the studio as well as mentoring the more Junior Designers on the team.

In 2020 we needed a larger office and we moved nearby to a space that is over twice the size. Five years later through the pandemic, we are still here – now with a team of nine people ranging in experience levels and we are actively looking to grow the team. I continue to mentor everyone in the office and make sure every single designer is ready for the next set of challenges and they have a lot of site experience and client exposure to grow their own skillsets as they each get closer to becoming licensed architects themselves. We also have a large group of “Ex-Harvesters” many who have moved out of state and some who were ready for the next challenge of working in a larger office and have done just that. I am extremely proud of the mentoring I have done with each person and love that many come back and visit and hang out when they are able to connect.

Historically an Architect was thought to have to be an expert on all things. Ultimately I don’t believe that is true. I believe that you surround yourself with people that know more than you do in their area of expertise and you utilize those sets of skills in the other people to do great work. We have a really amazing team and we pride ourselves on doing great design with amazing clients and great builders who teach me something new every single time I go to the job-site.

Know your strengths, understand what you can handle and build from there, increasing your challenges along the way when you feel you’re ready for the next step. That and surround your self with people that believe in you and the overall mission of what you’re trying to accomplish.

Let’s say your best friend was visiting the area and you wanted to show them the best time ever. Where would you take them? Give us a little itinerary – say it was a week long trip, where would you eat, drink, visit, hang out, etc.
When people come and visit me in LA, I actually don’t take them to any tourist spot at all.

I love taking people on a “taco tour” when they come to LA. By spending an entire afternoon or evening driving from one location to another, we are seeing LA and the various neighborhoods and types of tacos. From the Red Truck on Fair Oaks in Pasadena to La Estrella taco truck in Highland Park to Guerrilla Tacos in the Arts District (which I’m so sad it just closed down), to “Tire Shop Tacos” in south central the tacos go from simple carnitas with no frills to sweet potato tacos with crispy rice to beef tongue for the brave, ending the evening with Home State Breakfast Tacos and a GREAT Margarita, guac and chips – it shows so many aspects of LA.

We would go on hikes in the hills, maybe get lucky and get to see an outdoor movie at Hollywood Forever Cemetery, go and hang out at the beach at Crystal Cove, The Last Bookstore in DTLA followed by shopping at the Row DTLA or the Rosebowl Swap Meet.

Shoutout is all about shouting out others who you feel deserve additional recognition and exposure. Who would you like to shoutout?
I would love to dedicate my Shoutout to my kids – Sam & Aubry.

They have always been the most supportive of everything I do and the most encouraging. I now have both of them in the design world as well and they inspire me daily with their passion for their own art which keeps me looking at the world from multiple vantage points and always with a sense of wonder.

Website: https://www.harvestarchitecture.com/

Instagram: harvest_architecture

Linkedin: https://www.linkedin.com/in/lisa-henderson-b89516a

Image Credits
Robin Foley
Eric Staudenmaier