b"LISA DANBROT & CARLA LABIANCACOMPASSShort Hills | danbrotlabiancapartnership.comLisa: 917.674.4109 | Carla: 917.854.7686 L isa worked in the arts. She grew up in a creative family in Park Slope and trained in dance, singing and painting. She was fas-cinated with the architecture surrounding her: Brooklyn brown-stones and NYC pre-war apartment buildings. In 2011, she moved to Maplewood. Carla, meanwhile, expressed her love of architecture by touring grand homes and building replicas out of oak tags, rocks, and twigs. She also loved to perform. Careerwise she landed in the digital space in TV and moved to SOMA. Their mutual love of architecture, design, and the concept of home brought them to real estate. They met and shared a cubicle and a similar approach to the business. They merged in 2018 and have since built a reputation for leading with trans-parency, rigor, finesse, and expert guidance.AMY STRAUBAMY STRAUB DESIGNMaplewood973.665.4811 | astraubdesign.comA s a child, I rearranged my room when I couldnt sleep to make my space better. Although my initial career path took me into corporate sales, I shifted gears when, by chance, I met a designer for California Closets and saw her drafting residential closet plans. I was immediately sold on connecting my sales background with my love of design and organization and ended up working for California Closets for many years. Over time, friends and family asked me to redo their spaces to design and install built-ins, offices, and home enter-tainment spaces. That motivated me to start my own design business several years ago to bring purposeful organization to clients spaces. My greatest satisfaction is seeing a project from conception through installation, and my clients' excitement when the work is complete.NICOLE HAWKINSNICOLE HAWKINS PHOTOGRAPHY1851 Springfield Avenue, Maplewood516.244.9184 | nicolehawkinsphotography.comIup in a family of lawyers, which made me want to do any-grew thing but practice law. After considering careers as a veterinar-ian and psychologist, I found myself in law school after all. When my son was born I stepped away from law to reevaluate my direc-tionandquicklyrealizedIwantedtoartfullydocumentchildhood. Online courses and in-person mentorships helped me hone my craft and specialize in newborns and authentic family portraits. After mov-ing from the city to Maplewood I opened my studio to provide a full- serviceportraitexperienceforbusyparents.Iloveworkingwith families from initial portrait concept and planning all the way through to designing custom albums and installing fine-art prints in their homes.32/ matters magazine / fall 2022"