Today we’d like to introduce you to Caroline Chojnacki.
Caroline, let’s start with your story. We’d love to hear how you got started and how the journey has been so far.
Fashion was definitely my gateway to interiors. As a teenager, I was always following the big designers, tracking runway seasons, and making my own clothes! I ended up getting into my dream school, Parsons The New School for Design in New York. College played a pivotal role in me honing in on my creative interests and skills to figure out what I wanted to do with my life career-wise. While in school, I landed some awesome creative internships with Tory Burch, Anthropologie, and Burberry. After graduating with a BBA in Design & Management, I headed to LA to start a career in interiors. I worked with the industry’s best designers for a few years, being a total sponge, learning as much as I could, then decide to take the huge leap of faith and start my own interior design company. I moved back to my hometown of Houston, where I knew I had way more personal connections and support. I’ve had my own company for just over two years now and it has been crazy to watch this baby of mine grow! I’ve got active clients not only in Houston, but in Dallas, Nashville, and through my E-Design services, all over the US.
We’re always bombarded by how great it is to pursue your passion, etc – but we’ve spoken with enough people to know that it’s not always easy. Overall, would you say things have been easy for you?
Starting your own business is never a smooth road. I strategically moved back to Houston to start my business, but I made this move without any prospective clients lined up! I put so much time and effort into creating my business model, working on my marketing tactics, and setting up shop, the biggest initial struggle was landing that first client! Once I landed my first job, it was a bit of a domino effect! Houston has been such a great market for me. I’ve had the opportunity to work on small scale remodels to new home builds. Many of my Houston based clients have referred me to friends and family located out of state, which forced me to further expand my business model to include a range of online interior design services.
We’d love to hear more about your business.
My mission is to create fresh and modern spaces that reflect the personality and lifestyle of my clients. Creating a beautiful space is one thing, but creating a space where a client can feel their truest and best self in is the ultimate goal! I will always ask my clients to bring me inspiration pictures of spaces that they love. From there, it’s my job to get to know my clients on a personal level so I can create a look they really love and feel comfortable in.
I offer a full range of interior design services that include furniture, fixture, and material specification, as well as full home spacial planning. My specialty lies in kitchen design and detailed millwork plans and I now offer a wide range of “E-Design” services that do not require any in-person meetings.
I feel like when it comes to interiors, every company is so unique and different! I’d like to think what sets me apart from others is my ability to connect with my clients. I try to treat each client like I would a close family member.. and family is everything to me!! Over the course of a project, you get to know your clients pretty well and in most cases, get to know their families, too. It’s always a little sad when a job wraps up and I haven’t heard from a client in a while. I’ll start to think things like, “Hey. I wonder how their trip to Italy went? Or if their daughter got that internship, she wanted,” Sometimes I have to remind myself that they hired me to complete a task and not just to be friends! As my business grows and my online business expands, I hope I can keep connecting to people in the same way.
Pricing:
- My E-Design rates vary per project. I typically charge $5.00-$10.00 per square foot for a single room.
- Or if you need a more, hands on, detailed E-Design approach, I charge $125.00 per hour of design time.
Contact Info:
- Website: www.chojnackiinteriors.com
- Phone: 281-658-9680
- Email: Caroline@Chojnackiinteriors.com
- Instagram: www.instagram.com/CarolineChojnacki
- Facebook: www.facebook.com/CarolineChojnackiInteriors
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