Today we’d like to introduce you to Hannah Michelle Lambert.
Hi Hannah, thanks for joining us today. We’d love for you to start by introducing yourself.
My name’s Hannah, and I’m a blogger and freelance interior designer. My biggest passion is making interior design accessible in all regards – whether that be in terms of money, space, time, or personal style. There’s a very homogenized representation of interior design that I think dominates the internet and social media, one that’s very aspirational and clean-cut. So my mission is to provide education, inspiration, and services to help make an interior design feel like something that’s for everyone.
My love of interior design has been present since I was a little kid growing up in Michigan. We were low-income and moved around a lot, so home in the traditional sense was always changing and a little uncertain. But my mom showed me the importance of interior design by making sure that wherever we lived, and however temporary, it was important to make an effort to make it your own. And this often took some creativity and a lot of thrifting. So I was brought up on this scrappy yet aesthetically driven mindset. And it’s followed me ever since.
The catalyst for really seriously pursuing this interest was actually when I moved to Atlanta 2.5 years ago. I suddenly had an apartment all to myself for the first time – and a stable income for the first time ever – so I fully immersed myself into the decoration process. And I was naturally sharing my progress on my personal Instagram but decided to launch a dedicated account: homey homies. (This name came to me after a couple of glasses of wine. I wanted it to emphasize the “homey” feeling that I strive for in every project, but the homies gives it a more casual and communal feeling).
So I just got to it and started posting everything I did. Lots of little paint samples from Home Depot were bought and put on almost every surface you could imagine. I was having so much fun not only sharing my own story but also generally giving the best tips that I’ve always leaned on. So naturally, it turned into a blog and blossomed into the homey homies you see today over the past two years. I like to say that it’s equal part educational and inspirational. I try to provide tips to my audience for creating really great, memorable, and personal design, no matter what spatial or financial restrictions they have to work within.
During quarantine, because of boredom and an incessant need to be productive, I decided to pursue getting my certification in interior design, so I found the Interior Design Institute online, which is a 6-month certification course. I didn’t want to fully go back to school since I already had my bachelor’s in Communications from the University of Michigan, but I wanted a more solid grasp on the discipline of design. So I got that and immediately got to finding some clients and taking advantage of freelance sites like Fiverr to build my portfolio.
I am first and foremost a blogger, with my interior design title coming after, but I love the client work I get so that I can continue to challenge myself and learn new things to post on my blog. Not to mention being able to share the process and end results.
Although this is still a “side hustle” for me and I am still working my 9-5 as a digital marketer at a tech startup, it’s been steadily growing. I love the creative release that it gives me, and I love to know that my content could actually be helping people to feel more at home and more inspired in their spaces. That’s really the whole motivation behind it.
Would you say it’s been a smooth road, and if not, what are some of the biggest challenges you’ve faced along the way?
Absolutely not. It’s really hard to be consistent when you’re just starting out and have a full-time job as well. And what I do as a blogger is definitely not for people who need instant gratification. It’s been about two years since I launched my website, and for the first year, I was posting 1-3 blog posts a week, as well as setting up all my processes like SEO stuff, email lists, etc. And even after doing all this work, you’re just not going to see that many views for a while, and I only in the last six months or so started actually seeing some consistent and substantial income from it.
Same with my interior design services. As anyone in the service industry knows, it’s really hard to get clients when you don’t have a portfolio. So it takes a lot of faith in yourself, patience, and self-advocacy to get some movement. But what’s kept me going throughout all of the bumps and exhaustion of working for hours every day after I got home from my other job was my passion. I genuinely enjoy what I do, so even if I’m not making any money from it, the act of creating these things – whether it’s doing a design project or sharing advice and stories on my blog – is fulfilling for me.
That’s one thing I would say to any entrepreneur. You hear it all the time for a reason: don’t go into it just for the money. Your passion needs to be number one, otherwise it’s way too easy to quit.
Thanks for sharing that. So, maybe next you can tell us a bit more about your work?
I grew up with an artist for a grandma and a musician for a dad, so creativity is pretty much in my DNA. I’m also a sucker for learning new things. So growing up, I was always pursuing different creative endeavors – from playing multiple instruments to sewing to pottery to drawing/painting to writing and more. This varied background – as well as the grit I got to just jump in and not be scared of being a beginner – is a huge asset to me today. The hardest part of pursuing a creative career is often getting over the fear of just starting.
My passion and hands-on experience with all of these other creative things definitely manifests itself in my interior design work now. Fashion and music are probably the most apparent examples of this. Both fashion and music give me inspiration when blogging or designing, and I use a lot of the technical skills I learned through those hobbies, directly or indirectly, in my work. Our unique experiences and interests are the ingredients that make our creative projects different from each other, so I’m always looking for ways to draw inspiration from all of these things around me.
What are your plans for the future?
The blog is definitely my biggest priority for the future. I’ve started working with a few brands, but my dream collab from when I first started the blog was Target, and that still stands. I’d love to turn the blog into almost a digital magazine that’s the reference unique, personal, and budget-friendly design. I just made my first hire for an SEO expert, but I am looking forward to when I’m able to bring on other writers that share the same vision as me.
In the long term, I’d love to get into the retail space, both launching my own ethical and sustainable home products as well as including work from independent artists in my shop. I’m really big on not owning any mass-produced art, so these kinds of artists mean a lot to me, and I would love to provide a way to curate their work for my audience.
Contact Info:
- Email: hannah@homeyhomies.com
- Website: homeyhomies.com
- Instagram: homeyhomies
- Facebook: facebook.com/homeyhomiesblog
- Twitter: twitter.com/homeyhomies
- Youtube: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UC7Ia_fEAC5yxMUrkFlStPsA
