Meet Adrienne Cassie Colna & Christine Block | Co-Founders Cass & Block

We had the good fortune of connecting with Adrienne Cassie Colna & Christine Block and we’ve shared our conversation below.

Hi Adrienne & Christine, where are your from? We’d love to hear about how your background has played a role in who you are today?
(Adrienne) I’m from a small town in Virginia. My upbringing was simple, inspiring an excitement for the unlimited possibilities of the design world. I was always very innovative and began sketching up ideas at a very young age, including a version of what we now call FaceTime, leaving me wishing I’d taken my inventive mind more seriously! At age 9, my dream of designing costumes for pop stars started growing, and by 12, I’d mastered the sewing machine with an awe for being able to create something from start to finish with close to nothing. I eventually followed my creative calling to LA where I ended up designing for some of the biggest pop stars in the world and put my talents toward a plethora of other artistic outlets, including set design for the entertainment industry. I went on to become a realtor hoping to pave a fresh start in 2019. While it’s fed my love for architecture and design, it quickly became clear I was missing a hands-on creative outlet, so I sparked the conversation about building a home staging business to satisfy that hunger. Serving a creative purpose is woven into my DNA, so I’ll likely never stop exploring what I can create with my hands and my mind.

(Christine) I had the best upbringing with incredible parents in Wisconsin and later Ohio. Growing up, I enjoyed everything art, dance, and music related (in addition to my outdoorsy side, being a lake-life kid). But my first loves were decorating, fashion and style. I adored watching and helping my interior designer mom make up our home in preparation for guests, and my dresser drawers were filled to the brim with my design sketches and manipulated Barbie outfits. So, I was thrilled to discover I could work in fashion merchandising out of college despite studying marketing and finance as a result of believing a business degree would deliver a more satisfying paycheck. In those years, I navigated transitioning from an art loving adolescent to a corporate professional trying to find my place in the world. When I moved to LA 10 years ago, it was the challenges and discomforts that started shaping who I am today. Finding a solid community through church supported my inward journey to shed barriers and build a stronger sense of self. Along that road, I began working for Jodie Dolan’s apparel brand, DOLAN, where I grew so much under leadership’s blazing knack for entrepreneurship and resourcefulness. I was given countless opportunities to mature new design and management skills, and I felt fueled by the interactive creative processes surrounding me every day. Fun fact: Adrienne and I are both adopted, so as an adoptee, I’m especially proud of the work I contributed toward developing DOLAN’s non-profit mobile laundry service for individuals and families in need, The Laundry Truck LA. Over the course of my 6+ years with DOLAN, the roles Jodie and her team allowed me to serve helped restore a confidence in me that without which, I never would have dreamed of co-founding my own business− let alone in interior design like my mom.

Can you give our readers an introduction to your business? Maybe you can share a bit about what you do and what sets you apart from others?
It’s the career backgrounds we each have that sets Cass & Block apart. We’ve both gained a spectrum of experience in the past 15 years that has prepared us to carve a space as designers who also happen to be well versed in real estate, project management, marketing, and sales. Our past jobs have demanded a high level of attention to detail, organization, and problem solving that can be difficult to find in the designer community, so we’re really proud of the quality of work we’re capable of delivering. We once took apart an entire sofa in order to get it to the 3rd floor of a condo building−not because we couldn’t think of another solution but because it was the right solution for that job. It’s in the obstacles that our passion lights up and motivates us to not give up and to do our best work.

We are also just really grateful to get to be doing what we love. Each job is special to us and every detail matters, so we curate each element of a design. We dive in and build a unique vision for each space, whether it’s for staging, interior design, or for an event. We do that by tapping into the heart of a property, the personality of its neighborhood, and the goals of the client. Additionally, we’re really excited about expanding our artist partner program to showcase a variety of new art and artists in our work. There’s something about knowing where your art comes from that adds an extra layer of soul.

Scheduling is something else we aim to be especially mindful of. We appreciate that clients like things to move quickly, so we’re always evaluating in hindsight how we can work more efficiently. One of our favorite processes is to make a list of what we learned at the end of each stage of a job. We are still a young business, so we believe in transparency to set realistic expectations, and we like to leave a little space for revision after assessing our work.

We are incredibly proud of the success stories we’ve gotten to be a part of since creating Cass & Block. Our first staging client sold their home for $86k over asking after just a week back on the market, previously unable to sell, and we’re motivated by that daily. It’s been a heck of a lot of work! In our first month of business, we purchased a bulk of our inventory, moved into our storage facility (and relocated), and worked two new jobs all in the same week. It’s been a whirlwind and we’d love to give ourselves all of the credit, but it’s the people who dedicated their time and resources to help us get started and those who took a chance on us that are the real reason for any success. Without them, our drive would have stayed parked, so creating a business has been one of the strongest examples of witnessing people helping others that we’ve been fortunate enough to experience firsthand.

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.

We both live on the West Side, so most of our spots are in that area. Here’s what we’re thinking:

Grab a morning coffee at LaLa Land in Santa Monica (we love their mission to employ youth aging out of the foster care system!) and head down to the beach, because you have to at least once. For some daytime activities, we’d hike at Paseo Miramar, Temescal Canyon or Point Dume and do brunch at Blueys Santa Monica or Malibu Farm on the pier. It’s always nice to enjoy a sunset ocean view at Élephante – or if we’re feeling extra swanky, a gorgeous city view at The Rooftop by JG. We’d make sure to swing by Calabra at Santa Monica Proper Hotel (You can’t miss taking a tour of the property. It’s a dream!) and do dinner at Milo & Olive in Santa Monica for some quality Italian. For a night out, we’d check out a Sofar Sounds live music event or a comedy show at The Groundlings and would do drinks at Desert 5 Spot in Hollywood or The Polo Lounge at The Beverly Hills Hotel. Touring The Getty Villa or The Huntington Gardens is a great way to spend a Sunday afternoon!

Who else deserves some credit and recognition?
It’s impossible to keep this to just one shoutout. But not even for simplicity’s sake, we owe our biggest thanks to Jesus. He has orchestrated every door opening, every creative bone, and every growth opportunity to get us here. Even through every challenge, he’s given us peace of mind to trust that he has a plan. There have been some tough seasons to push through to get here, but we are so wowed by how he’s answered so many prayers.

Website: www.cassandblock.com

Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/cassandblock/

Yelp: https://www.yelp.com/biz/cass-and-block-los-angeles

Image Credits
Isabelle Ohse (hero image and last image)