Exquisite Environments. Mark Pruce

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      Welcome

      Exquisite Environments: Hip, Smart, and Stylish

       Mark Pruce, Art Director & Designer

       Matt Korostoff, Designer

       Rebecca Day, Writer

       William J. Psolka, Photographer

       ISBN 978-0-615-42948-9

      All rights reserved. No part of this publication may be reproduced, stored in a retrieval system, or transmitted in any form or by any means, electronic, mechanical, photocopying, recording, or otherwise without consent of the publishers. While every precaution has been taken in the preparation of this book, the publisher and authors assume no responsibility for errors or omissions, or for damages resulting from the use of the information contained herein.

      I spent years trying to get Bob Gullo on the cover of CE Pro, the trade magazine for custom electronics firms like Electronic Design Group – although few in the country are anything like EDG.

      Time and again, Bob thanked me for the attention but insisted, “We’re not ready. I want to wait until the business is just right.”

      So one day in 2001, Bob calls and says he’s ready.

      He didn’t mean that his suit was neatly pressed, the floors in the office freshly cleaned and his desk buffed to a glossy finish. Nor did he mean that the big-screen TV in the conference room had been mounted and the numerous company awards dusted and displayed.

      What he meant is that EDG had honed its technical operations and business practices to the point that even a perfectionist like Bob would finally believe what his customers, his peers, the press, and the industry had been saying for years: that EDG is a model integration company.

      Many successful home systems integrators pride themselves on the glamorous projects they complete for their discriminating clients. At EDG, such jobs are simply the by-product of something deeper – a company-wide commitment to quality, efficiency and customer service. True, it’s a “culture” thing, but it is also engrained in the information systems that Bob began to create once EDG grew beyond a two-person shop.

      He leaves nothing to chance, even for the smallest jobs. “The process is all the same,” Bob told me nine years ago.

      EDG codifies everything from how its wiring diagrams are created and stored, to how it partners with cabinet makers and interior designers, to when it’s time to check in on clients.

      As a 16-year editor of Electronic House magazine for consumers and CE Pro for the trade, I’m not supposed to play favorites. But I’ve got a soft spot for Bob and the award-winning company that EDG has become.

      Congratulations on the successes embodied in this beautiful book.

      Julie Jacobson

      Editor/Co-founder, EH Publishing