Today we’d like to introduce you to Erin Hanrahan.
Erin, please share your story with us. How did you get to where you are today?
I was fortunate enough to grow up in The Woodlands, in a beautiful home, in a perfectly manicured neighborhood, in a safe planned community. My mother kept an immaculate home that looked as if it were straight out of a catalog and my father had a skill and love for woodworking. When I went to college at Texas State, it took me a few semesters to figure out what I wanted to focus on – but when I decided on Interior Design, I knew I had made the right decision. It felt natural – I had inherited my parent’s passions. Interior Design allows me to be creative, but with structure.
I lived in Austin throughout a lot of my time in school and immediately fell in love with the eclectic feel of the city. While I finished up school and prepared for graduation, I worked different design positions to get a feel for what the industry was like and to figure out where I fit in. I knew I preferred the building process over selecting pillow and drapery fabrics. After graduation, I spent nearly seven years with a local showroom who provided trade professionals and homeowners with interior finish materials. Because we sourced cabinetry, countertops, flooring, and tile, we inevitably were involved with a lot of kitchen and bathroom projects. During my time with the showroom, I learned and appreciated product knowledge. It wasn’t just about how pretty the design was, but how did it actually function and what did it take to maintain?
Also, during my time working at the showroom, I worked with Hello Kitchen’s founder, Cindy Black, on her kitchen designs. It was during the fall of 2018 that I took over as the very proud new owner of the business! We have rebranded but continued to work with the founding platform – providing our clients Recipes for Renovations and connecting them with their needed sources and referrals.
Overall, has it been relatively smooth? If not, what were some of the struggles along the way?
Being a business owner is never a smooth road, but that is to be expected. I have been incredibly lucky and very blessed throughout my career. I have had the privilege of working with a lot of very talented individuals in and out of the design industry and have soaked up every opportunity that has come my way.
The main struggle has been learning how to operate a business when I have a degree in Interior Design. Every day I am learning something new and exciting. Some days are easier than others, but when it comes down to it I am incredibly grateful that I get to do what I love.
Hello Kitchen – what should we know? What do you do best? What sets you apart from the competition?
Hello Kitchen was founded in 2009, addressing the need in the market for a service to homeowners wanting assistance on their kitchen design and renovation projects. Since our founding, we have worked with hundreds of clients, providing them a Recipe for Renovation. We help our clients to develop there design not just based on their wants and needs, but more importantly how they function in the space. Hello Kitchen provides all of their needed plans, drawings, material budget, as well as resources and referrals.
A couple of things that set Hello Kitchen apart from other Interior Designer’s providing kitchen design services is our flat-rate package pricing. We based each package fee on the scope of work and the scale of the space. In addition to flat-rate fees, Hello Kitchen is unique in that we are not a retailer trying to push product. We simply want to provide you with personalized design plans so you’re able to confidently move forward with your remodel project.
What is “success” or “successful” for you?
To me, success is not necessarily defined by how many awards you’ve won or projects you’ve had published. Success is the continued willingness to grow and learn. To set a goal and actually accomplish it – only to challenge yourself a little more with every new goal put in place. Success is accepting that you’re not in control of everything and learning how to deal with the ebbs and flows of owning a business. Success is also knowing that you can distribute the workload, and with the right people in place, build something you could have never accomplished on your own.
Contact Info:
- Website: www.hellokitchen.net
- Phone: 737-222-1143
- Email: erin@hellokitchen.net
- Instagram: @hello__kitchen
- Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/Hello-Kitchen-231127987753282/?modal=admin_todo_tour
Image Credit:
Photography credit to Cate Black Photography and Sarah Natsumi Moore
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