Monday, August 5, 2013

Some people look for a beautiful place, others make a place beautiful.


Those wise words were once spoken by Hazrat Inayat Khan. Those wise words have really stuck with me over the course of my summer.

As you know, I've been working at an internship for Quicken Loans in downtown Detroit. I was working for a team within Quicken that deals with design and creates all of the amazing workspaces that Quicken Loans is famous for. Our team never builds brand new buildings. In fact, we prefer going into older buildings that could use some refreshing and giving them our splashes of color and unique feel. The contrast of the old, beautiful architecture on the outside, and amazing, colorful spaces on the inside creates a feel that is unparalleled by anything else.

But in taking this thought one step further... making a place beautiful, rather than looking for a beautiful place... our spaces are in the heart of Detroit.  Recently, the light shed on Detroit has been dim and dark, but the people of Detroit refuse to let the light go out. There is so much passion in the long-time residents of the city and many newcomers bring new hope, new perspectives and new dreams to the drawing board. In the last 10 years Detroit has come a long, long way. Quicken's spaces, team members, programs and events bring so much to the city, and that's exactly how we like it.  No event was held outside of the city, but rather many were held all over the city, to help promote all parts of Detroit, and really highlight what is special about each neighborhood. Quicken Loans didn't look for a brand new city, but rather found a city they saw potential in and decided to dive in head-first.

I was fortunate enough to be able to go into these spaces, Quicken spaces and the city itself, and capture thousands of photos of what is beautiful and has been made beautiful all over the Motorcity and I would like to share some with you.













These are just a small sampeling of all of the amazing things I was able to photograph this summer.
To see more check out my Flickr at Cailee_Anne on Flickr!



Detroit truly is a beautiful city with amazing potential. I have utmost faith in this city pulling through and becoming more than it ever was before it it's "glory days." We will rise again, Detroit.
xoxox Cailee