About our company
Devin Mix
President and Founder
Creative Fireplaces
10740 Lyndale Avenue South
Suite Seventeen East
Minneapolis, MN 55420
Phone: (952) 736-9333
Cell: (651) 338-6385
Email: info@creativefireplaces.com
Creative Fireplaces founder Devin Mix (right) shown with Ty Pennington, design team leader of the popular ABC TV show, Extreme Makeover Home Edition after several successful additions of a fireplace for episodes broadcast during the 2005 season.
Experience
Devin has personally installed over 300 fireplaces in the past five years. His mechanical engineering education is well suited to determine best installation methods as well as determining where manufacturer's specifications may not have been best for the customer. His installations focus on the needs of the customer rather than using short cuts suggested by the manufacturer to increase profit at the cost of quality. The focus on customer's expectations led him to gather a comprehensive list of suppliers who could furnish the specific add-on design aspects of a fireplace leading to his conclusion that fireplace manufacturers were ignoring this critical element of the marketplace.
Skill Levels
Devin's engineering background led to well-honed skills in developing technical reports and research contract reviews. His previous employment by Honeywell and Bell Northern Research included design of mechanical systems, preparing and reviewing detailed drawings of mechanical parts, systems and sub-assemblies and field installation demonstrations. These skills enable Devin to review manufacturer's drawings and installation instructions to immediately find and fix flaws before the fireplace installation begins.
Education
After obtaining a Bachelor’s Degree in Mechanical Engineering, (B.S.M.E.) awarded with distinction from the University of Minnesota, he entered graduate school and earned a Masters of Science Degree (M.S.M.E.) in the same discipline. His academic achievements included being named by the faculty as one of the top graduate M.E. students. This led to acceptance into a University of Minnesota Doctoral program (Ph.D.M.E.). His academic studies involved active research at the University’s heat transfer laboratory. Devin is also lead inventor on three patent applications for specific fireplace innovations and his academic work includes five technical papers published in international professional journals involving thermal studies. He is currently completing his Ph.D. studies and his faculty advisor is a member of the company’s advisory board.