The Tree of Kovel: A Dedication to the People of Kovel, Ukraine

By: Stephanie Andrews

Hello friends,

Tuesday, the 24th of February, marked the 4th anniversary of the invasion of Ukraine by Russia.  It is hard to imagine, yet the people of Ukraine have been living and dying with this destruction for four years.  This is one of the many conflicts in which we feel helpless, merely left to wonder how we can help.  This is a story about how we helped in a small way, and yet we had no idea at the time.

It started for us at Balance Design in 2023, when Chamblee City Hall reached out to ask if we did commercial work.  I responded that we have created a few commercial office spaces, but we mainly focus on residential projects.  That did not deter them. They liked our website and portfolio, and they gave us the opportunity to understand what they were looking for –  creating comfortable workspaces in their new building and welcoming the citizens of Chamblee.  We were among 5 firms they were interviewing.

This opportunity excited us as we walked through this incredible municipal building, built to the highest sustainability standards and designed to resemble a grand train station, with fluid indoor and outdoor spaces.  Soaring ceilings and black wrought iron-it was such an impressive building designed by gmcnetwork.com.  A little-known fact is that Chamblee was originally a collection of railroads and housed a military station during World War II, called Camp Gordon.

Yet, as elegant as the building was, it was also cold and echoey.  It had no color inside and no place to sit.  I knew that Jennifer Carter, our most seasoned designer, would be able to create the warmth and comfort that the space needed.  I also knew this project was bigger than one designer, so I asked Melody Richardson to support Jennifer.  In the coming weeks, we worked on a colorful, modern, and sustainable pitch for the city manager, the assistant city manager, and our contact, Natalie, who was the Executive Assistant to the City Manager.  It went very well, and we made it to the final 2!  We were very excited.  They asked for more examples of our commercial work that we have not photographed.  We did our best.  We put together a working budget, and we presented those items.  We waited.

We landed the project!  Now the real work began.   Jennifer took on the indoor spaces, with the help of our former design assistant, Kalah, while Melody designed the outdoor spaces.  During this research and design phase, we attended a City Hall meeting and learned more about how the city government operates.  I was impressed by the mayor, Brian Mock’s, sense of humor and his easy-going, humble style.  We also learned that Chamblee had a sister city in Kovel, Ukraine.  The mayor of Chamblee even went to Kovel to meet the mayor.  (I bet you were wondering if this was getting to that-please read on….)

Jennifer and Melody designed colorful, modern yet intimate spaces throughout the building.  Jennifer found colorful murals for each conference room, and each team (Human Resources, Parks and Recreation, Accounting, etc.) chose their favorite mural for their space.  Jennifer also created a 10’ modular sofa in the shape of a circle under the entry light fixture.  Her idea was that we would eventually have a large live tree in the middle of this sofa.  Jennifer is known for her greenery in her designs, and this was a very important design element that she and Melody scoured the city to find just the right tree.  (I know you are beginning to see a thread here.) They found a large, suitable tree that fit the budget and presented it to Natalie, who then shared it with the rest of the team.  After a week or so, she let us know that they did not want a live tree, for care reasons.

Back to the drawing board.  We did not want to use a faux silk tree, even though they can be quite beautiful and realistic.  We had an idea.  We were featuring an artist in our studio in Candler Park who creates flowers and branches from branches, seed pods, leather, and fabric.  She built her business on sustainable florals, so she may be able to help us with a large-scale tree.  Her name is Katie Vigilante, and her company is Fiore Vigilante.

 Katie was very excited about the opportunity.  She brought her assistant to help measure the space and take a video of it.  Her assistant, Liza (also her son’s girlfriend), is from Ukraine.  When they arrived, they saw the sister city was Kovel, Ukraine.  This was the small town that Liza was from!  What are the chances?  Katie knew at that moment that something much bigger than herself was forming.  She shared the remarkable coincidence with us.  Katie was on fire with possibility; she started her work.

I would like to say that I embraced her vision wholeheartedly when I first saw the original”tree”.  I am afraid that I did not.  I was still very entrenched in this art, looking like a real tree, with a trunk that grew into branches.  She had a different idea.  For her, it was more of a “Giving Tree” vision.  If you know the story by Shel Silverstein, The Giving Tree gives everything she has to the little boy she loves, and the tree eventually becomes a disfigured version of her original glory.  Katie continues to work on it, and Jennifer and Melody tell me to have faith in her vision.   The tree continues to grow across several iterations, and Katie shares her journey while Liza vlogs about it.

The tree was finally ready in October, but she had to wait until December for various reasons.  Katie created brass leaves for the base that represent the fallen soldiers of Ukraine.  She also covered the base in hand-painted river rocks and had a brass plate made for the pedestal.  The plaque shares the Tree of Kovel story, some of which I have shared with you.  In November, Liza had to return to Kovel.  Liza reached out to the mayor of Kovel to tell him the story of the tree and brought a brass leaf as a gift.  He was touched.  Together, they planned a dedication ceremony in February with the mayors of both cities, their translators, the Ukrainian American foundations, the Ukrainian Congress Committee of America,  and citizens of Chamblee.  The date that they chose happened to be the 4th anniversary of the invasion of Ukraine by Russia.  Coincidence?  I am not sure.  Our team went to the dedication.  Most of us were moved to tears.

I am not sure about many things.  Why were we selected as the designers for this project?   Why did the live tree not get accepted by the groundskeeper of Chamblee City Hall?  Why did we ask Katie?   Why was her videographer from Kovel?   Why is Chamblee, GA, a sister city with Kovel, Ukraine?  Why was this particular date in February selected?  What now?

Beginning with the dedication, Katie is now working to support disabled veterans from Ukraine. There is more that we can do to help.  It may not end the war, but it can help some of the people.   Here is where you can learn more about what Katie is doing.

For me, this story is also a lesson.  A lesson in trusting the process and not expecting everything to go as planned.  Sometimes the plans are only a fraction of the possibilities, and sometimes a small stone can create a giant ripple.  I do not wish to preach, but this experience felt divinely guided, and I am grateful that we were a part of it.

Thank you for reading,

Stephanie