“I love the Ladner and Tsawassen neighbourhoods and have always felt such an amazing sense of community here.”
Sharing a genuine passion for people and a true love of design, entrepreneurs Krista Kelly and Jennifer Vadik go above and beyond when it comes to client care. Together they make up Transcend Designs, a company that takes an empathetic and tactful approach to getting their client’s homes in tip-top shape to hit the real estate market, all while ensuring their clients feel comfortable throughout the process. When Krista and Jennifer started their business in March 2022, it was a bold and brave step into entrepreneurship. Now they’re living their dream as their own bosses in a career that pushes them to grow and evolve. Home staging and interior design offers the perfect mix of creative and personal fulfilment to this dedicated duo, who take pride in their positive attitude and high professional standards. Friends since high school, Krista and Jennifer have worked in the industry for a combined total of 21 years, and are excited to see what the future holds for their new – and booming – business.
Can you tell us a little about your experience and professional background?
Krista: I worked for many years in grocery retail — pretty much my first job that lasted too long. I think you get to a certain stage in life where you're like, “I can't do this job anymore; I need to have a career.” I’ve always had a creative mind and I needed to do something that was more fulfilling. Jennifer and I go way back; all the way to high school. About 12 years ago, she was doing home staging, and I'm like, “How do I get into this?” And she told me they were hiring! After I interviewed, I got in and started at the bottom, working my way up quickly. I took some courses and soon became an independent contractor/full-time property stylist.
What drives your passion and keeps you committed to your field?
Krista: Our clients, definitely. I just love the clients. I love people, I love helping. It may sound weird, but there's a psychological aspect to what we do, especially with staging and helping people market their largest asset. We’re going into homes and there can be so many different circumstances, like the loss of a family member or a divorce. There are good things and bad things. You just have to really love helping people and helping them get the most value for their property when it sells. That's the main goal of staging houses before they hit the market. I’ve made so many great connections and work with so many realtors and I just love it. Also, I love the before and after, the transformation of the work itself. Going into a home that needs a lot of work and then seeing how it looks after…it's mind-blowing. It's like those makeover shows — the before and after is just the best.
What are you most proud of in terms of your business?
Krista: I'm most proud of the fact that Jen and I started this business on our own. It was scary, but I just said, why not? I was at this point in life where I needed to do what I'm passionate about and what felt best for me. I needed to step away from things that weren't serving me and that kind of fell into my personal life and my work life. The fact that we are running our own business is pretty amazing. I think having the right people in your world and in your corner to support you makes all the difference too.
How would you sum up your business philosophy?
Krista: Well, we have our tagline: Passion for People, Love of Design. It's more about the people than the design work, but working together and loving what we do — we’re passionate about that and helping people.
Can you paint a picture of what your clients can expect when working with Transcend Designs?
Krista: Right off the bat, realtors will hire us to work with their clients, and they need to know their clients are in very good hands. We are empathetic, compassionate, and work well with our clients. I'm very tactful and careful about telling people what needs to go and what needs to stay. The realtor doesn’t want to be the bad guy, so I’ll come in and explain to clients in the best possible way that potential buyers really need to see the space and the home. Buyers need to see and feel the space rather than feel like they're in someone else's home. We have to carefully curate and make the space appealing to everyone, and I think the same goes with design. If we're doing interior design jobs and working with builders and homeowners, they can put their worries aside because we're professional. We're going to work according to your best interest and help you design and choose everything that will work within your budget. We help facilitate people getting their dream home. During a consultation, I’m walking through the home, going space by space, corner to corner; I'm very detail-oriented. My clients can expect me to pay attention to the small details that I believe add up to make a big impact in a space.
What do you love most about South Delta?
Jennifer: When visiting or working in South Delta there’s a certain ‘welcome home’ vibe that I feel every time. As a growing community it still has a small-town charm that keeps me coming back. And on sunny days that smell of the ocean and the unique shops and restaurants definitely make me want to stay longer!
Connect with Transcend Designs via Instagram (Jennifer), Instagram (Krista), or visit their website.Sign up for our e-newsletter to receive customized South Delta real estate reports, community news, and more business + lifestyle features like these.Interested in being featured or know someone we should feature? Please get in touch.
A South Delta business they recommend: South Delta Watersports
Sharing a genuine passion for people and a true love of design, entrepreneurs Krista Kelly and Jennifer Vadik go above and beyond when it comes to client care. Together they make up Transcend Designs, a company that takes an empathetic and tactful approach to getting their client’s homes in tip-top shape to hit the real estate market, all while ensuring their clients feel comfortable throughout the process. When Krista and Jennifer started their business in March 2022, it was a bold and brave step into entrepreneurship. Now they’re living their dream as their own bosses in a career that pushes them to grow and evolve. Home staging and interior design offers the perfect mix of creative and personal fulfilment to this dedicated duo, who take pride in their positive attitude and high professional standards. Friends since high school, Krista and Jennifer have worked in the industry for a combined total of 21 years, and are excited to see what the future holds for their new – and booming – business.
Can you tell us a little about your experience and professional background?
Krista: I worked for many years in grocery retail — pretty much my first job that lasted too long. I think you get to a certain stage in life where you're like, “I can't do this job anymore; I need to have a career.” I’ve always had a creative mind and I needed to do something that was more fulfilling. Jennifer and I go way back; all the way to high school. About 12 years ago, she was doing home staging, and I'm like, “How do I get into this?” And she told me they were hiring! After I interviewed, I got in and started at the bottom, working my way up quickly. I took some courses and soon became an independent contractor/full-time property stylist.
Jennifer: We started Transcend Designs in spring of 2022; however, Krista and I have 21 years combined experience in the field of home staging and interior decorating. With our recent completion of the Interior Design program at the Interior Design Institute of Vancouver, we are excited to further our experience in that field.
Krista: A lot of what we do is home staging for realtors and styling houses before they hit the market, which we love. We also do interior design projects, which are peppered in throughout the year because they're bigger projects. I absolutely love it. We're still a young company, you know — we're new. As female entrepreneurs, we're just doing our thing, which comes with some learning curves.
What drives your passion and keeps you committed to your field?
Krista: Our clients, definitely. I just love the clients. I love people, I love helping. It may sound weird, but there's a psychological aspect to what we do, especially with staging and helping people market their largest asset. We’re going into homes and there can be so many different circumstances, like the loss of a family member or a divorce. There are good things and bad things. You just have to really love helping people and helping them get the most value for their property when it sells. That's the main goal of staging houses before they hit the market. I’ve made so many great connections and work with so many realtors and I just love it. Also, I love the before and after, the transformation of the work itself. Going into a home that needs a lot of work and then seeing how it looks after…it's mind-blowing. It's like those makeover shows — the before and after is just the best.
Jennifer: I couldn’t agree more. Our customers and the relationships we’ve formed mean everything to us. We are a heart-centric team, which starts from our relationship as partners to our relationships with our clients. Every client and job is unique, therefore it’s a constant challenge. Trends are constantly evolving and so we also try to continually evolve and grow to stay relevant in the industry.
What are you most proud of in terms of your business?
Krista: I'm most proud of the fact that Jen and I started this business on our own. It was scary, but I just said, why not? I was at this point in life where I needed to do what I'm passionate about and what felt best for me. I needed to step away from things that weren't serving me and that kind of fell into my personal life and my work life. The fact that we are running our own business is pretty amazing. I think having the right people in your world and in your corner to support you makes all the difference too.
Jennifer: And I’m proud of how we treat our clients. We value them, as we know it’s a competitive industry. What sets us apart is our positive attitude and professional standards — we don’t cut corners. We treat every client as though they are number one!
How would you sum up your business philosophy?
Krista: Well, we have our tagline: Passion for People, Love of Design. It's more about the people than the design work, but working together and loving what we do — we’re passionate about that and helping people.
Jennifer: Our tagline pretty much sums it up. Without our clients, there would be no us, so we’re always willing to meet our clients’ needs.
Can you paint a picture of what your clients can expect when working with Transcend Designs?
Krista: Right off the bat, realtors will hire us to work with their clients, and they need to know their clients are in very good hands. We are empathetic, compassionate, and work well with our clients. I'm very tactful and careful about telling people what needs to go and what needs to stay. The realtor doesn’t want to be the bad guy, so I’ll come in and explain to clients in the best possible way that potential buyers really need to see the space and the home. Buyers need to see and feel the space rather than feel like they're in someone else's home. We have to carefully curate and make the space appealing to everyone, and I think the same goes with design. If we're doing interior design jobs and working with builders and homeowners, they can put their worries aside because we're professional. We're going to work according to your best interest and help you design and choose everything that will work within your budget. We help facilitate people getting their dream home. During a consultation, I’m walking through the home, going space by space, corner to corner; I'm very detail-oriented. My clients can expect me to pay attention to the small details that I believe add up to make a big impact in a space.
Jennifer: We offer a neighbourly approach to business. We don’t believe in hard sales. Rather, we believe in truly helping people achieve their design or marketing goals. Clients will feel at home and comfortable working with us. Our prices are market standard, and we believe you get what you pay for.
What do you love most about South Delta?
Jennifer: When visiting or working in South Delta there’s a certain ‘welcome home’ vibe that I feel every time. As a growing community it still has a small-town charm that keeps me coming back. And on sunny days that smell of the ocean and the unique shops and restaurants definitely make me want to stay longer!
Krista: I love the Ladner and Tsawassen neighbourhoods and have always felt such an amazing sense of community here. I really enjoy working with my South Delta clients and there are so many beautiful properties! I've been working with Jen and Amber at Baird & Dupuis for years and I have close friends in South Delta. I absolutely love it. And the beach; I love the beach!
Connect with Transcend Designs via Instagram (Jennifer), Instagram (Krista), or visit their website.Sign up for our e-newsletter to receive customized South Delta real estate reports, community news, and more business + lifestyle features like these.Interested in being featured or know someone we should feature? Please get in touch.
