A6 November 5, 2020
The Chronicle
*
BUSTA’S PERSON OF THE WEEK
I want to give back to the City
of Winston-Salem, as they have
given to me
BY BUSTA BROWN
FOR THE CHRONICLE
Cassandra Brunson is
the president of Design+
by Cassandra Michelle.
Brunson’s company gen
tly guides their customers
through the interior design
process, which includes
space planning, selection
of building materials, tex
tiles, finishes and furni
ture, for their home proj
ects. “We have partnered
with the leading contrac
tors and service providers
to provide an HGTV expe
rience unlike any other de
sign center in the region,”
she said.
The word is out about
the amazing work Design+
by Cassandra Michelle
provides for her clients,
but what’s most inspir
ing is her gratitude to the
Winston-Salem com
munity. “The city lead
ers, organizations and the
community have really
been extremely support
ive. They’re the reason
people like me, with no
generational wealth, can
live their dream. I didn’t
receive any SBA grants;
everything that I received
has been from the city and
organizations in the city.
The Bible says, ‘To whom
much is given, much is
required,’ so I want to
give back to the City of
Winston-Salem, as they
have given to me,” said
Cassandra, as she smiled,
beaming with a spirit of
gratitude.
But her journey in be
coming a business owner
and president of her com
pany came with a lot of
disappointments. It all
began during a visit from
a family member who
admired Cassandra’s per
sonal home decor. She
suggested that Cassan
dra become an interior
designer. Inspired by the
suggestion, Brunson took
advantage of her previous
employer’s tuition reim
bursement program and
enrolled in night classes
in interior design at High
Point University, where
she received a good foun
dation in the field. After
graduating in 2008, she en
rolled in architectural de
sign at UNCG. “I wanted
to learn more of the techni
cal side, so I could master
my craft and become more
valuable in the interior de
sign industry.” After grad
uating from UNCG, she
found work in her field and
her career was thriving. It
took her from Los Angeles
to Italy. Life was looking
good for the Sumter, S.C.
native. But her dreams of
success and retirement
in interior design came
Fraternity
From page A2
a bunch of organizations
that care about what’s
best for others in society,”
Younger continued.
“Our organization,
since the ‘30s, has been
focused on voting and
people having opportuni
ties to vote. And although
people were trying to keep
them from voting, we tried
to encourage them to vote,
but also keep them protect
ed. Throughout this coun
ty, we have been setting
up shop and making sure
people know that people
are looking out for them.”
Younger said the peo
ple they interacted with at
the Forsyth Tech location
have been in “pretty good
spirits” and some have
even stayed to converse
with them about their vot
ing experience.
Younger stated he will
be watching the results of
the election and is hopeful
the nation stays peaceful,
no matter the winner.
“I am definitely going
to stay tuned in to see what
the results are, and I want
to see what the reactions
to the results are,” said
Submitted photo
Cassandra Brunson, president of Design + by Cassan
dra Michelle.
crashing down. “I was laid
off from the last job and
as I looked for work, I re
ceived one rejection letter
after another. At one point
I was working out of my
car. It was a struggle,” said
Brunson.
Brunson was the first
college graduate in her
family, so the expectations
were high and failure was
not an option. While work
ing for an insurance com
pany to make ends meet,
her vision of owning an in
terior design company be
came even brighter. Rather
than focus on what was
lost, Cassandra focused on
what she had gained. “All
of those jobs and experi
ences were stairsteps to
help me understand how
to manage, own and op
erate the business I now
own. In 2018 I applied for
a revitalization loan with
the City of Winston-Sa
lem for $100,000 dollars.
I stayed up day and night
and worked vigorously on
a business plan that was a
200-page book. My hard
work paid off and I was
granted that loan. I credit
the city and the commu
nity of Winston-Salem as
well, and I’m truly grate
ful.”
Design+ By Cassandra
Michelle’s mission is to
give back to the communi
ty and be Winston-Salem’s
one stop shop for all of
their interior design needs.
“We know custom home
marketing is a burden
with visiting numerous
locations to select home
products, so we made that
simple and easy, with cu
rating a holistic interior
design experience with
three major segments of
design in one location. We
have a design studio with
hi-tech digital capabilities
to create 2D space plans
and present 3D models
and renderings, a material
library and furniture show-
Younger. “There are some
people that are going to be
very happy and some peo
ple that are not going to be
happy, but I hope everyone
chooses to say, the person I
voted for didn’t win, but I
still love America and I am
going to make sure that it’s
the best it can be. That’s
what I hope people are go
ing to do.
“Unfortunately, I won’t
be surprised if people act
out their frustrations in
various ways, so my hope
is that no one gets hurt, no
body feels threatened, no
body feels like they can’t
do what they need to do
next because of the out
come of the elections.”
Another point of em
phasis for the chapter was
the importance of the local
elections and how they im
pact those in the communi
ty firsthand. Younger says
it’s a great thing to have
access to the local elected
officials about any issue or
concern he has.
“One of the things I
think is really cool about
Winston-Salem/Forsyth
County is, if you want to,
you have the opportunity
to meet and interact with
any local official, because
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336-768-7687
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MAKING SENSE OF INVESTING
GOT HEALTH
room,” said Brunson.
Due to COVID-19,
they have pivoted Design+
By Cassandra Michelle,
“We offer online services
on a more advanced level
than what we were do
ing before we had just the
store front. We’ve taken
E-designed packages to
another level, offering our
customers design services
without any contact. They
will send images of their
space and floor plans and
we will do a virtual tour
in their homes. But we do
have customers that still
want to come to the stu
dio, so we have sanitizer
dispensers, wipes, face
masks, and everything to
keep our customers safe.
And they do feel safe com
ing to the store, so we have
50% virtual and 50% in-
store customers.”
Cassandra is an educa
tor for the Habitat for Hu
manity first home buyer’s
program. She’s also a part
ner with the Vocational
Rehabilitation Center.
“They had a young lady
that was interested in in
terior design, so I took her
under my wing and she
works as an intern. I’ll be
come an adjunct professor
at Forsyth Tech in January,
teaching interior design,
and I was appointed by
Mayor Allen Joines to sit
on the Minority Owned
Women Enterprise Board
(MWEB). I love my com
munity, Busta!” said Cas
sandra.
For more information
or to contact our Business
of the Month, call 336-
546-7134 or visit design-
plusbyCassandraMichelle,
on Facebook @ design-
plusbyCassandraMichelle
and LinkedIn @ cbrunson.
Design+ By Cassandr-
aMichelle is located in the
Liberty Plaza Building,
102 W. Third Street, Suite
UP200, in Winston-Salem.
they make themselves
available,” he continued.
“They want to know what
people think and what are
the challenges that aren’t
being addressed, or how
we can address them dif
ferently, so I pay just as
much, if not more, atten
tion to the local elections
than the federal elections.”
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