No Wall to Success

By Jennifer McGuiggan, Communications Coordinator

When Eve Picker discovered real estate development in the early 1990s, she says, "It felt like home." Five years ago, capitalizing on her training as an architect and urban designer, she founded no wall productions, inc. (www.nowall.com). Now she transforms abandoned buildings into lofts, combining fun and function to create hip living and working spaces. As President of no wall productions, Picker is playing a part in transforming Pittsburgh's industrial past into a vibrant urban setting where people pay top dollar to live and work in old buildings.

A native of Australia, Picker has worked in cities around the world, including Vienna, Austria, Sydney, New York, Princeton, and finally, Pittsburgh. She originally came to the United States to complete a Masters Degree in Urban Design at Columbia University in New York City. When her husband (whom she describes as a "conservative academic" who has always pushed her to be who she is and to "do it better") was offered a one-year academic position here, they decided to relocate permanently. "I love Pittsburgh!" she says. "I love the grittiness of the city."

Her international experience has served her well, giving her the vision and skills necessary to succeed as an entrepreneur. Such ingenuity seems to run in her family. "My parents were entrepreneurs," she says, "although I don't think I knew that word growing up." Refugees from World War II who met in a Russian labor camp, they moved to Australia and made curtains, starting their own interior design and decorating business. For them, she says, "It really was do or die."

Picker has also inherited her parents' determination and strength. "I have a hard time giving up. I'm a driven person… I just tend to keep going. Tenacity is definitely one of my biggest assets," she says. "It's not genius, it's the willingness to mess your way through every stupid detail."

It may not be genius, but it's definitely something special. While she says that "a lot of what I do isn't exciting — there's a lot of paperwork," Picker emphasizes that she has fun with her job. Her previous experiences in architecture, art, urban design consulting, and non-profit development have served as the perfect background to prepare her for no wall productions. But "for the longest time," she confesses, "I had no idea what I was doing!"

Since she's admittedly not one for long-term planning, that's okay. She just does what she loves and doesn't know where it will lead her. So while she doesn't know exactly what she'll be doing in ten years, she knows she'll "still be working," perhaps creating more businesses in first floor spaces and building more partnerships.

As a woman business owner, Picker finds that there are still "huge obstacles" for women in business. She notes that the statistics on pay and job positions for women versus men are "just dismal." One of the largest obstacles she's had to overcome is the attitude that "insists that the status quo is what will always be." When people are set in their ways, they are not used to dealing with people who are "different," she says. Still, she does what she can to break down barriers and shake things up, and she advises other women to get into business to help bring about positive change.

This combination of tenacity, entrepreneurial skills, and extensive background training, along with a commitment to excellence, has landed Picker several prestigious awards. Most recently, Pittsburgh'sSBN Magazine chose her as one of a dozen 2003 Pittsburgh Pacesetters. In 2002, she was named one of the Top 50 Business Leaders by the Pittsburgh Post Gazette and one of the Best 50 Women in Business in Pennsylvania by the Governor. This past fall she was one of ten international semi-finalists in Microsoft's Ms. M.o.X.i.e. contest. She's also been awarded several Preservation Awards from the City of Pittsburgh and the Historic Review Commission and several Historic Preservation Awards from the Pittsburgh History and Landmarks Foundation.

"Excellence is very important to me. I think I'm very compulsive about details," Picker says. And while she suspects she drives others crazy with her exacting standards and attention to detail, she wants everything to be just right for her clients living and working in her posh lofts.

no wall productions has seven buildings and over 45 individual units to its credit, including what Picker tags as her proudest business accomplishment: 947 Liberty Ave. Scheduled to open this month (January 2003), Picker calls it "the project that wasn't supposed to happen." Taking four and a half years just to break ground and $1 million, this 18-foot wide building in Pittsburgh's cultural district will have three lofts, one retail space, a deli and courtyard on the first floor, and three huge sculptures commissioned from a local artist.

When asked if she lives in a loft, she laughs and answers, "No." She claims that her family has one too many cars and people for a loft. Instead, she makes her home in a Victorian house in Friendship, PA with her husband, John Norton, and their two children. It's "pretty different from a loft" she jokes. Still, she takes comfort in her office loft space and her planned move after the kids are out of the house. She hopes to then realize her dream of living in a loft "in a real downtown" where she can walk out the front door and take public transportation to anything she needs. Since she plans to live there one day, she's committed to continually improving downtown Pittsburgh. "Otherwise," she says with a chuckle, "it's Italy."

January 2003