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HEFELE MAKOWKA DESIGN ASSOCIATES INC. TAKES A UNIQUE APPROACH THAT KEEPS CLIENTS COMING BACK FOR MORE E by Angela Altass eticulous attention to detail, a keen sense of style and a lasting friendship have guided interior designers Margit Hefele and Marlene Makowka through a successful 27 years of business together. Today Hefele Makowka Design Associates Inc. is an awardwinning interior design firm that has a strong presence in the residential development market, which includes highrise condominiums, sales and marketing centres, apartment buildings, seniors and assisted-living communities, and corporate environments. "Our company has built its reputation on trust, on an ability to establish long-term plans and on being committed to meeting the individual need of each and every client," says Hefele, who is a graduate of the School of Design and Architectural Technology in Germany. Hefele Makowka Design Associates Inc. has grown from a small partnership into a well-known Toronto-based company renowned for its creativity and panache for upscale design in both residential and commercial sectors. "We pride ourselves on our versatility and ability to tackle any project. Whether it's a traditional building or a ultramodern high-rise, we love the challenge of coming up with a design concept to suit the project and the client's requirements," says Makowka, who holds a Bachelor of Interior Design degree from the University of Manitoba. Hefele and Makowka met and became friends in 1985 while working as freelance designers in Toronto. A year later they had formed a partnership that continues to thrive to this day. The two designers moved into a small warehouse space armed with their drafting boards and a great deal of enthusiasm. "We started with very little," says Hefele. "A friend and supplier provided a room for us in the back of his factory and another friend lent us an old desk and a filing cabinet." What they had in abundance, however, was talent, and it didn't take long for the business to start to take off. "Within six months of being there [at the friend's factory] M and acquiring various new projects we decided that it was time to look for a 'real' office and we moved to the Mowat and King Street West area," says Hefele. "After two years in business we were busting at the seams, so we relocated to an old, converted factory loft in the Adelaide and Bathurst area." For the past 12 years, the firm has been operating out of the Toronto studio at 146 Laird Drive in Leaside. The office location may have changed several times over the years but Hefele and Makowka's special bond and their enthusiasm for what they do has remained constant and is something that their clients, many of whom affectionately refer to them as M & M, have come to count on. "We are still the best of friends," says Hefele. "We are very fortunate to have found each other and, after all this time, we continue to make a good team and great business partners." Hefele and Makowka work closely with their design team, a group of six to 10 people, many of whom have been with the company for over ten years. They believe in taking a hands-on approach with each and every project; overseeing all design projects from inception to completion. "Our longstanding clients are appreciative of how we give every project our personal attention, no matter how large or small the assignment," says Makowka. Their talent to think outside the box has resulted in the company winning a number of design awards and gaining industry recognition. In 1992 Hefele Makowka Design Associates was recognized for its ingenuity after completely gutting an old two-storey warehouse and transforming it into art gallery-style retail showroom for an Italian importer of stone and tile. "The client had a facility in Concord, Ontario, and wished to establish a permanent presence in the downtown core of Toronto," notes Makowka. "A recent visit to New York's art district inspired us to create the design concept for this showroom by transforming the space into a retail gallery." Using the tiles as further inspiration, the team created easel-style displays for the client's products that were All photos this spread: James Cooper Mansion, Toronto, ON. Photography by Richard Johnson (richardjohnson.ca) Hefele Makowka Design Associates p08-11CoverStory.indd 9 OctOber 2013 /9 13-09-16 10:03 AM

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