Marc Hirshman | Twain Financial
Onyx DCI’s consulting sector is professional, but also personal. Because it’s through deeper relationships with clients that bring fun and connection to any project! Jassen’s collaboration with Marc Hirshman blurred the lines between work and friendship to create something truly unique. This final office space is so in tune with his company’s vision that his employees find it hard to leave! And Marc comes back to work with ONYX, and hang with Jassen, again and again.
PROJECT SUMMARY
The Twain Financial Building was the culmination of a long term friendship and working relationship between ONYX and Marc Hirshman.
Marc and Jassen got to know each other first through their residential projects, getting into nitty gritty details, from defining Marc’s design style to creating his perfect underwear drawer (truly!)
After that partnership went so well, they invested in real estate projects together in Midtown and ultimately, Jassen helped design a space for Marc’s rapidly expanding company, Twain Financial. The goal of that project was to create an office environment the staff would love just as much as Marc and his family loved their ONYX-designed home.
To kick things off, the obvious perfect location for the new Twain headquarters was the neighborhood that Twain had been investing in with Jassen – 2200 Washington Ave.
The final office space included wood, greenery, giant skylights, plaid and pop of leather. The offices and conference room all even have plaid carpet designed by Johnson and shipped in from out of the country so there would be something to remind Marc of Jassen and their partnership. The design was to make corporate more fun and warm! Johnson and ONYX did just that, building their relationship with Marc and his team as they built the space that would bring joy into the workday.
RELATIONSHIP HIGHLIGHT
Marc and his wife Karen first worked with ONYX when they decided to sell their family home in U-City. Karen was directed to Jassen from several sources and ultimately ended up collaborating with him to not only find a new location, but fully design and furnish it specifically to meet their needs. Marc and Jassen become fast friends, constantly joking and having fun even while working together. Thanks to that relationship, Marc and Karen returned to work with ONYX on a condo project in the Central West End that allowed them to really dig into exactly what they were looking for and ended up with a space that was truly theirs. With the trust they had built up with Jassen, they even agreed to stretch to a few design features that wouldn’t normally be part of their vision, but that they now love.
Jassen Johnson has taken Onyx DCI’s consulting sector and made it personal; offering “turn-key” packages that are still distinctive, meticulous and fun, so clients like Marc want to partner with Team ONYX again and again.
MEET MARC HIRSHMAN
As co-founder and president of Twain, Marc focuses on corporate strategy and culture and oversees the Client Services, Business Intelligence and Asset Management divisions.
Prior to co-founding Twain in 2013, Marc was part of the Senior Leadership Team at the US Bancorp Community Development Corporation (USBCDC). In his twelve years at the bank, Marc ran numerous divisions including the Syndications, New Business Development, Asset Management, and the Historic/New Markets/Renewable Energy Tax Credits Production Group.
Marc received a BA in economics and finance from the University of Illinois and his J.D. and LL.M. in taxation with academic honors from Chicago-Kent College of Law. Additionally, Marc has maintained his Missouri real estate broker license since 1999. After finishing his education, Marc and his wife, Karen Handelman, spent a year volunteering full time with Habitat for Humanity in Georgia and North Carolina. That life-changing experience began a 25+ year personal and work commitment to affordable housing and community development. Marc currently serves on the St. Louis Public Radio Board Executive Committee, St. Louis Habitat for Humanity Alumni Board, St. Louis Affordable Housing Trust Fund Commission, Midwest Redevelopment Fund CDE Advisory Board and the Carleton College Parents Advisory Council.
