Meghan Kardow

Lead Designer + Project Manager

Meghan is a native Texan, growing up in Houston, who earned her Bachelor’s degree in Studio Art from the University of Texas and her Master’s of Interior Architecture from Cal Poly Pomona.

Her love of design was born through her passion for art from a very young age. This interest in art history took her to study fine arts in college, concentrating on drawing and painting. Interior Design was always a passion on the side, and after college, she relocated to Los Angeles to study Interior Architecture. She lived in Los Angeles for 5 years where she immersed herself in the design community, joining ASID and working for several LA residential designers. To Meghan, design should have a personality that goes beyond functionality. Your home should truly reflect both who you are and how you will live in the space.

• Favorite part of being backstage at BANDD: Working with this team is the best part of my day. This group of smart, funny, creative, strong, badass women make work more fun everyday.
• Favorite part of the design process: The installation. Seeing something we have drawn or mocked up for a client come to life is the best, and having a client excited to see their finished space makes it worth it.
• Design principle you swear by: It all comes back to proportion and scale. Making sure your pieces are well proportioned in the space and with each other.
• Best meal you’ve ever eaten: The traditional Cuban dinner my family has every year for Noche Buena. I look forward to it all year!
• Favorite Movie quote: “If you can’t say something nice about someone, come sit next to me.” – Steel Magnolias.
• Karaoke go-to song: Truth Hurts by: Lizzo (could almost do it without the prompter)
• If you weren’t working in design, you’d be: Own a winery in Napa. You get to drink the wine you make right?

• Favorite part of being backstage at BANDD: Collaboration! Everyone comes at a project with a different approach and sometimes even a different outcome in mind.
• Favorite part of the design process: Design Development! After we have solidified the design direction, structural features and overall layout, when we get to start refining details like fabric selections and accent pieces.
• Design principle you swear by: Scale and proportion are so important. It doesn’t matter how perfect the pattern, shape or color – if it isn’t proportional to its surroundings, it doesn’t work.
• Best meal you’ve ever eaten: My dad’s BBQ ribs and potato salad.
• Favorite Movie quote: If you wear a dress and have an animal sidekick, you’re a princess – Moana
• Karaoke go-to song: I will avoid Karaoke at all costs. In a life or death situation I might go with This Is How We Do It – Montell Jordan.
• If you weren’t working in design, you’d be: Some form of social work like a parole or probation officer.

Zoie Young

Design Assistant

Zoie was born and raised in Paris, Texas and earned her Bachelor’s degree in Interior Design from the University of Texas (Hook ‘em!).

As a young girl, Zoie declared that she would be an Interior Designer, which led to her drawing countless floor plans of her future home and flipping through many design magazines. In school, Zoie fell in love with the technical side of design, learning to enjoy figuring out the nitty-gritty details in drawings and designing unique spaces. Zoie strives to create spaces that are sustainable, functional, and distinct to the persons living within.

• Favorite part of being backstage at BANDD: The team! Everyone in the office is so unique and that pushes me to learn and grow.
• Favorite part of the design process: Anything in CAD! I love designing the technical details that happen in plans, elevations, and RCPs.
• Design principle you swear by: Using color and texture! Those two elements can make all the difference in the world.
• Best meal you’ve ever eaten: Ramen from Fuunji in Shinjuku, Tokyo
• Favorite Movie quote: “Nobody puts Baby in a corner.” – Dirty Dancing
• Karaoke go-to song: Jackson – Johnny Cash + June Carter Cash
• If you weren’t working in design, you’d be: A travel photographer

Audra Schatte

Design Assistant

Audra hails from a small town in Southern Illinois and earned her Bachelor’s Degree in Interior Design from The Art Institute of Austin.

Growing up, Art was always Audra’s best subject. The only time she ever got a B in Art was because she would talk too much and distract others from their work. She loved that her projects could spark something inside others. When she realized she could do that on something bigger than a canvas, the game changed. For Audra that’s what Interior Design is, walking into a space and truly feeling something. An extra large canvas if you will!

• Favorite part of being backstage at BANDD: Everything! The excitement, complaining, laughter, shared frustration, and passion. We all love what we do, and it’s great to be surrounded by such strong women!
• Favorite part of the design process: Installs and style outs. Seeing the vision come to life!
• Design principle you swear by: Emphasis. Determine the star piece(s). Build around that making sure to not overshadow the focal point.
• Best meal you’ve ever eaten: My roommate’s Thanksgiving dinner! Slaps!
• Favorite Movie quote: “That’s a very nice sweater you’re wearing.”
  “Thanks, it was my mom’s. I took the shoulder pads out.” – Step Brothers
• Karaoke go-to song: Mama’s Broken Heart – Miranda Lambert
• If you weren’t working in design, you’d be: An art therapist.

Natalie Lira

Design Assistant

Natalie is originally from the San Francisco Bay Area. She graduated from Baylor University with a degree in Interior Design and a minor in Studio Art.

Her love for interior design began with her love for art, which she always wanted to incorporate into her future career. In her teens, Natalie was constantly redecorating her room and other areas of her family home and decided that she wanted to pursue a career in interior design. Natalie aspires to elevate spaces to reflect the human design of their users and believes that every home deserves to be unique to those that gather within it.

• Favorite part of being backstage at BANDD: How much fun we have together. There’s a lot of work, but there’s a lot of play too.
• Favorite part of the design process: Collaborating with the other designers to come up with new and unique ideas, especially during the conceptual and material selection phases.
• Design principle you swear by: You can find inspiration in unexpected places if you look for it and keep an open mind.
• Best meal you’ve ever eaten: Pesto Gnocchi from Florence, Italy.
• Favorite Movie quote: They call it a ‘Royale with cheese’ – Vincent Vega, Pulp Fiction
• Karaoke go-to song: I Don’t Wanna Be In Love – Good Charlotte
• If you weren’t working in design, you’d be: A literary editor.

Dana Barney

Director of Operations

Dana is a perfect blend of imagination and control. He started his career in the entertainment industry with a focus on screenwriting and production development before he transitioned to a position running marketing operations for a Fortune 100 company. The role, which required him to hone his organizational skills, left him with a need for a new creative outlet. From there, Dana tapped into his deep love of writing and published his first two novels, Flatline and Half Life.

Dana has a degree in Writing and Directing from Bennington College in Vermont and has worked in Operations for nearly a decade.

• Favorite part of being backstage at BANDD: The amazing team spirit and energy.
• Favorite part of the design process: Seeing the final result and big reveal after the teams work tirelessly on a project.
• Design principle you swear by: Don't be afraid to mix it up and try new things.
• Best meal you’ve ever eaten: Oyster burger at The Old Ebbitt Grill in Washington D.C.
• Favorite Movie quote: "Looks like I picked the wrong week to quit sniffing glue." from Airplane!
• Karaoke go-to song: "Oops ... I did it again" by Britney Spears
• If you weren't working in design, you’d be: writing crime fiction.

Ashley Willis

Office + Executive Admin

Ashley is a small-town girl from Godley, Texas with a degree in Communication Studies from Texas State University.

Her love for interior design began as a young girl rearranging furniture, making her childhood room prettier, and experimenting with new looks in her parents’ house. She realized she had a knack for design when she began refinishing old worn-out furniture in college. Working with her VERY small budget, she found a way to make spaces feel luxurious, without breaking the bank. In her home, you will find a large collection of design books, a mix of vintage and contemporary, patterns and accents of bright colors, alongside her French Bulldog, Fitzgerald lounging in his favorite spot. She enjoys creating clean, stylish, and sophisticated spaces, and finds her creative inspiration while outdoors, traveling, or nose deep in design books and magazines. Before moving to Austin, Ashley was a High School teacher and coach in Fort Worth.

• Favorite part of being backstage at BANDD: I really enjoy getting to work alongside such talented, strong women. We have all truly encompassed a family style work environment, and it’s my FAV!
• Favorite part of the design process: My favorite part of the design process is the final install and seeing everything come to life. This is obviously the most exciting for cients as well, and there is nothing more rewarding then seeing your hard work and vision come full circle. I love laying out the road map for clients and creating a space that is personal to each of them individually.
• Design principle you swear by: I believe 1000% in a space being balanced. I find myself obsessing over this principal the most, as a symmetrical space is EXTREMELY aesthetically pleasing.
• Best meal you’ve ever eaten: Hardest question ever, but because we’re in Austin, one of my FAV places to eat is Soto, and I love the Omakase, which means “ill leave it up to you”.
• Favorite Movie quote: “Maybe the best any of us can do is not to quit, play the hand we’ve been given, and accessorize the outfit we got.” – The Carrie Bradshaw
• Karaoke go-to song: Tequila Does by Miranda Lambert
• If you weren’t working in design, you’d be: A Dallas Cowboys Cheerleader