SPOTLIGHT ON: CATHERINE MANNS
Mez Joseph
Spotlight On is our tradition of interviewing team members to celebrate them and get to know them better. Our November Spotlight On feature is Catherine Manns. Catherine joined the Liollio team this year as an Interior Designer. She is a graduate of Iowa State University with a BFA in Interior Design. Catherine is a valuable addition to the studio, contributing in pinups, jumping into production, and adding to our firm culture. We sat down for a Q+A session with our October Spotlight On feature:
Where did you grow up?
Whitehall, Michigan. It is a small town on the coast of Lake Michigan that gets full of tourists in the Summer.
What do you like to do for fun?
Play Mario Kart with my boyfriend and go for drives by the water.
Do you have pets? If so, tell us a bit about them.
I just adopted a rescue dog of my own here in Charleston! Her name is Pokey because she is a slow poke. She is a black Labrador mix and is only 30 pounds. Pokey is a quirky dog who is already very comfortable sleeping in our bed and stealing our spot on the couch. My family in Michigan has 3 dogs that I grew up with. Koa is a beagle mix who is 13 years old and the epitome of a grumpy old man. He stays young with the other two dogs named Akela, a pitbull mix, and Hanai, a great dane puppy(ish). Akela will follow you everywhere and will peer pressure you into a car ride. Hanai is 90 pounds, but she still has a favorite stuffed animal that she carries around and is afraid of small children. All 3 dogs have Hawaiian names with their own meaning because my mom was born in Hawaii. It has been a tradition since her and my dad named their first dog together.
Favorite food?
A good burger with lots of mayo.
Favorite television show?
Deep down I am a 90 year-old woman and I love all game shows, but my favorite is Wheel of Fortune. My family has watched it every weeknight at 7pm for as long as I can remember. I now make my boyfriend participate.
Favorite movie or genre?
Monsters Inc. is one of my childhood favorites, and The Lovely Bones is one of my favorite darker movies. I love watching things about murder and kidnapping.
Favorite style of architecture?
I have always loved Victorian style architecture for homes.
If you could be any animal, what would you be and why?
Dog - because they have no responsibilities.
Are you messy or organized?
Organized for the most part.
What’s your pet peeve?
I hate the sound of hands rubbing together, and not really a pet peeve, but I hate that pedestrians have the right of way.
Guilty pleasure?
Coca-Cola
Favorite quote?
”Live your life in such a way that if someone spoke badly of you, no one would believe it.”
If you could interview one person (dead or alive) who would it be?
Old relatives
Tell us a random fact.
Subway bread is classified as cake due to its high sugar content.
If your house was burning down, what is the one nonliving thing you would save?
Family photos
What’s your astrological sign?
Cancer
What is your personal philosophy?
Everything will work out in the end.
What’s one thing you couldn’t live without?
Google Maps
What is your greatest fear?
Being stuck/locked in a small space.
What accomplishment are you most proud of?
Receiving a full ride to Iowa State.
What is your favorite thing about working at Liollio?
That I can contribute my interior design skills and also learn more about architecture and how it all intertwines.
If you could do another job for just one day, what would it be?
I used to want to be a vet when I was a kid, before I found out they work on many animals not just puppies.
What would you most like to tell yourself at age 13?
Stop trying to grow up so fast - enjoy being a kid at home while you can.
How do you define success?
Loving what you do every day, surrounded by people you love.
Tell us something that might surprise us about you.
I love listening to screamo and punk-rock music whenever I do design work. It puts me in the zone.
What is the best advice you’ve ever received?
My mom told me that the juiciest watermelons are the ones that are all beat up on the outside. That is not a metaphor, it is actually a watermelon tip.