OCTOBER 27-NOVEMBER 2, 2006           PHILADELPHIA 100           PHILADELPHIA BUSINESS JOURNAL          

Devine ultimately decided to ditch a logo she'd used for seven years even though it "was really of reflection of me." She went from Devine Designs Inc. in navy script with a yellow tassel on a cream background to DEVINE wrote in a soft slate blue on a white background and under it "Devine Designs Incorporated." To be known simply as "DEVINE" was a branding effort so that eventually a customer might refer to his or her interior décor, furniture, wallpaper or drape as a "Devine" or say that "it's by Devine."

And that has led Devine to her next goal -- custom product development. As part of her work, Devine and her staff regularly design wallpaper patterns, furniture and fabrics for customers. For example, one customer, a musical family, needed a piano bench that was just right in size, height and look. When one couldn't be found, Devine designed one and gave the blueprint to a local craftsman to produce. For another customer, Devine designed a pattern for bone china place settings.

It's the next logical step in her business, she said. It not only personalizes an item for someone but also cuts down on lengthy waits, sometimes more than a year, on order of mass-produced items.

For Devine, all of the steps she has taken so far to build her business have been akin to her work. "The greatest design is the design of our business," she said.

Devine's growth can also be measured through customer satisfaction and word-of-mouth referrals.

Katie Storrer was led to Devine through a Realtor who assisted in her and her husband's purchase of a new house. Storrer was relocating from a 1,300-square-foot Rittenhouse Square apartment to a four-bedroom manse in Newtown Square.

"I called it the white house," Storrer said. "The house we purchased had been painted completely white inside. You really had to be creative when you walked into the space to visualize something different."

Devine was on the case, but not without doing her homework, said Storrer, who had never before used an interior designer. Devine met with the couple, got to know their tastes, how they wanted to use the space, what was important to them and what rooms to focus on right away. Devine stressed that she wanted the couple to be honest with her and not feel pressured.