After a busy summer spent in South Africa, and the madness of getting back into office mode, I realised yesterday that it’s House of Hawkes’ birthday month! I mark the month rather than an exact day because, frankly, I don’t recall the exact date I ‘went live’, at that point, the blog was a loose commitment at best, but it was in the midst of September 2013. In some respects, it feels like a lifetime ago.
It’s been an amazing journey so far with lots of notable milestones, and so many new friends and colleagues along the way. As cliche as it sounds, following my passion, really has been the best thing I ever did. When you do what you love, things somehow fall into place is a cosmic kind of way. What started as just me, my computer and some grand ideas has evolved into a team of four with three brilliant colleagues (and adorable offspring) and so many projects under our collective belt.
Looking back on the past six years, I’m so proud of the variety of projects that House of Hawkes has delivered – we’ve dabbled with everything from makeovers and installations (from serene adults spaces to kids rooms, nurseries and playrooms), entire villas and even office spaces. We really enjoyed featuring small businesses and artisans that we discover whilst sourcing for designs and continue to stay on the lookout for these special businesses. We’ve collaborated with recognizable brands such IKEA, Bosch, Crate & Barrel, Hansgrohe, to name a few and continue to align ourselves with brands we believe in and recommend to clients and followers alike. And then there was that surprise I received this time last year – when House of Hawkes won the Amara International Blog Award. It’s been a wild ride to say the least and we’re gearing up for more exciting projects in the coming season.
This year has brought about a fairly spontaneous new venture, as you may already know. In March, I launched Fronteriors in partnership with my dear friend and fellow designer/stylist Linda Dekkers of LiveLoudGirl. Together, after many years of hacking IKEA furniture pieces for ourselves and our clients, we have designed a collection of doors, tops, sides and hardware to enhance IKEA frames.
This new start-up is demanding a lot of my attention and focus so I’ll be relying more heavily than usual on my House of Hawkes team to take us through the coming season. I’m so lucky to have these girls in my corner and I’m excited for them to enter this period of growth and development. They share my passion for this industry and each bring their own unique skill and flavor to our small studio.
In the meantime, we are running full steam ahead with a few projects that were lined up before the summer and we look forward to more brand collaborations and developing creative content for our loyal followers throughout the remainder of the year. We can feel an organic change happening in the areas we focus on, and there is a sense of change in the air. We look forward to taking you all along on the journey. But for now it just feels like we’ll be talking Christmas next!
My deepest thanks to everyone who’s read this blog over the years – I know there are so many of you who have been around since the beginning and I love that many new followers are still signing up. I hope it continues to grow and flourish alongside our growing creative studio.
Happy Birthday House of Hawkes! Here’s a little walk down memory lane, in no particular order.
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