Wendy Barnes who received her Master’s in Real Estate Development from NYU’s Schack Institute of Real Estate in 2007 explains to current students, “If you are not sure where you are headed, hold on and stay positive- building a career can be a wildly rewarding ride!” A passion in wildlife conservation sparked by her Master’s thesis at NYU, Barnes dives into her creative career path that led her to start a business with sustainability at its core. 

* contributed by Wendy Barnes from Wendy Barnes Design*

At a very young age, growing up in southeastern, Connecticut, I fell in love with architecture. Brady Bunch re-runs helped fuel that one. This matured to include art and design and led me to a career blending it all. My undergraduate degree was in architecture, I knew that my path included reaching a more mainstream audience through design and a Master’s in Real Estate Development from NYU. My Master’s thesis was for a boutique hotel project that included wildlife conservation as it was perched on a swatch of beach in Watch Hill, Rhode Island – highly respectful of its avian residents: the first clue of my future connecting design and wildlife.

My world was color, materials and pattern which led me to become Design Director for a high end residential architecture firm in Manhattan. Working with fabrics and color daily alongside top decorators including the late and incredible Mr. Albert Hadley, I narrowed my passion to a niche level. After having a child, I started on my own as a pen & ink artist (with architectural training in precise, clean lines), drawing animals for her nursery and exhibiting at local art shows as it was the rawest and most basic form of what I wanted to do. In 2014, I was a Martha Stewart American Made finalist. 

An entirely wildlife theme called to me and I began going to local Audobon meetings and learned about a new world of wildlife conservation fueled by my newfound motherly love. My family and I moved to Florida in 2015 and I took a position running a local women’s group focused on conservation, Women of the Wild. I started making my own designs, coordinating color and creating my own fabrics. Circling back to my thesis project, I decided my business would make a difference for wildlife as we live hand in hand with them and must respect their place and all of the many causes working to protect our world. 

Having a conservation-based corporate philosophy and responsibility, I was naturally led to developing sustainable lifestyle products, like pillows, that donate 10% to selected wildlife conservation partners! Cocktail and dinner napkins are also part of my line along with favor bags and my best-selling product, Reusable Straw Cases.

Conscious of wildlife and our anthropogenic mistakes, a result of our disposable lifestyles, I began advocating in 2016 to carry your own straw as one of the simple steps one can take to help the plastic crisis. Needing a way to do it myself instead of throwing a straw loose in my purse, I put my skills to the test and developed a straw case I love to use. Lightweight, machine-washable and cotton made with eco-friendly inks from an American textile mill, these designs lend themselves perfectly to a product that supports both a sustainable lifestyle and conservation projects. 

All of my products are intended to not only assist conservation partners through donations but also are vehicles to spark a conversation while demonstrating the sheer volume of wildlife projects currently fighting to protect habitats and species.

My goal is to connect a mainstream audience, reminiscent of what attracted me to real estate development, with these choices and to do it in a fun, trendy way. Why not carry your straw in a bright red snow leopard bag?

I choose animals based both on personal preference (I mean c’mon, who doesn’t love sawfish?!) and by the partners I support. Running a conservation group enabled me to learn from experts to follow strict guidelines in choosing mission matching projects to fund.

My favorite (anonymous) quote is “when coincidences happen, you are on your right path.”  Yes, I could have stuck with real estate development but in order to fulfill your life’s passion, it is crucial to listen to intuition and not be afraid to just do what feels right. I love what I am doing now and could not have done it without every single (sometimes blind) education and career step. Thank you, NYU, for instilling in me drive, persistence and confidence! 

Wendy is currently the Women of the Wild Program coordinator for the Brevard Zoo in Melbourne, FL. In addition, Wendy is the designer, artist, and founder of Wendy Barnes Design. Before moving to Florida and starting her own company, Wendy was the Design Director at David McMahon Architect in NYC. She also was a Development Coordinator for Developer’s Group in Brooklyn, NY. 

Wendy Barnes was a 2007 graduate from NYU’s Shack Institute of Real Estate with a Master’s in development. Prior to her Master’s degree, she received a B.S. in architecture from Northeastern University.