Susan and I enthusiastically write this letter of reference for Shir Dowek and recommend her without reservation to anyone considering retaining her to provide interior design services.

In early 2023, we retained Shir to provide a wide array of design services in connection with an apartment in Jerusalem that we purchased in a building under construction.  At the time of purchase, the apartment was a concrete shell with no interior walls.  Shir worked closely with us, and the project developer and contractor, to design the apartment’s layout and finishes, including wood and stone floors; electrical, HVAC, and plumbing plans; wall colors; kitchen layout; kitchen, living area, and bathroom cabinetry; closets; lighting and bathroom fixtures and accessories; etc.  Shir also prepared detailed design and architectural plans for the project.

In addition to providing comprehensive design services, Shir was our on-site representative during construction, working closely and effectively with the contractor and multiple sub-contractors, inspecting the quality of all work and ensuring compliance with the construction/design plans and the project timeline.

Shir also designed the furniture, accessory, and appliance layout, identified potential vendors, showed us an appropriate selection of options, accompanied us on visits to showrooms during our periodic trips to Israel, helped us make decisions, and oversaw the process of ordering, receiving, and delivery of all furniture as well as other furnishings such as curtains, shades, rugs, and appliances.

During the entire process – – including architectural design, construction, purchase of furniture, accessories, and appliances, and delivery to us of a fully furnished and habitable apartment, we were living in the United States.  We made occasional visits to Israel to meet with Shir and visit showrooms, but most of the process was done while we were in the United States.  Shir remained in close communication with us, and made effective use of virtual meetings, photographs of videos taken during site visits, design software and other technologies, and communications platforms including email, Zoom, and WhatsApp to keep us fully informed and connected to the process.

At all times, we found Shir to be easy to work with, always a professional, an effective project manager, detail oriented, knowledgeable about all aspects of the design process, a good listener who was always responsive to our suggestions and requests, and able to drive the process.  Shir has great tastes in terms of design, finishes, and furniture and accessory selections, and was always able to meet our particular requests and needs.  And she maintained great relationships with the project’s developer, our contractor, and all vendors, and was instrumental in causing an on-time delivery to us of the finished apartment and managing the completion of the final punch list.

In short, we could not have been happier working with, and relying on Shir, and we enthusiastically, and without reservation recommend her and will serve as references for prospective clients.  Perhaps the strongest way of summarizing our experience working with Shir is to say that we started out having a designer-client relationship and ended up with a friendship and wonderful apartment that exceeded our expectations.

Sincerely,

Kurt and Susan Schwartz

We are very pleased to write a letter of recommendation for our interior designer, Shir Dowek. We were extremely pleased with her work on all levels and highly recommend her.

Shir worked with us on our new apartment in Jerusalem, beginning remotely with the planning while we were still in Toronto and continuing until the apartment was complete and we were living in it.

Shir is a very talented young woman who excels in both the creative and interpersonal aspects of her role. She has a very warm manner and is highly respectful and in tune with her customers needs and desires. She is a great trouble shooter with suppliers and knows how to get what she and her customers need to get the job done properly and to everyone’s satisfaction. She knows when to be direct and when to back off all for the good of the client. She is highly accessible and available at all times of the day and week. She does not stop until the job is perfect.

She has a keen eye for design, spatial layouts, and colors. That said, she listens to her customers and tries to incorporate their taste with her design ideas. She is patient and eager to please.

We loved working with Shir and recommend her very highly.

Linda and Joe Kislowicz