June marks one year in business for Nicki Ayers Interiors, and as I pay my yearly licensing fees I find myself reflecting on the road that led me here. Starting a business is a big risk unless you decide the risks are outweighed by the reward. So as I look back I would like to share the story of NAI, and more specifically, me.
Born in and raised in the North East, my exposure to design started when my family moved to the small rural town of Groton, New York. My mother was VERY pregnant with my youngest brother and not-too-pleased with their decision to move into a 1825 Greek Revival “fixer-upper” home in the country.
With orange shag carpet in the bathroom.
The one and ONLY bathroom.
The living room, which she lovingly named the “ugly room,” was a 17 foot ceiling wood-clad vacuum of space which was heated only by a cast iron wood burning stove.
Being the DIY couple that they are, my parents spent the next 7 years turning this home into the mansion it was meant to be. Adding bathrooms, removing carpets, and restoring the by-gone-era details that made it the special place that it is. As a child you are in the passenger seat of your parent’s lives, and mine gave me a seat to watch in awe as an unloved space became the pride of our childhood.
After studying Interior Design and Communications at university, I knew design was in my future, but just how I couldn’t quite figure out. At 23 I was newly engaged and wanted nothing more than to make as much money as I could to buy a house and all the things that a freshly graduated student thinks are the logical next steps. So thinking “responsibly”, I put aside my passion for design and decided to work in software sales.
Life moves on (as it does) and 10 years later I found myself raising my three girls full time, but feeling the pull to create something outside of the family. Something that was just for me to be proud of. Being available for my girls was priority number one, so whatever it was I would create would need to be flexible. Thus, the birth of my first “business child,” Duo Assistant. Duo Assistant started as a virtual assistant online business and quickly focused solely on interior designers, which re-lit my love for the design world. With clients in the midwest and up and down the east coast I was given a view into the inner workings of the business of design and the many beautiful styles each designer produced. I was hooked again, and weathered the pandemic dreaming of the spaces I was working on.
As our comfort levels returned and business in-person resumed, my children were ready to leave the nest as well. My baby years were done and I now had three beautiful girls who no longer needed me at home the full day long. It was time to join the world again.
A local boutique real estate brokerage put out an ad for hire, and what started as an assistant position quickly turned into running their oh-so-stylish home staging business. For the next 7 months I honed my skills at “speed decorating.” If you are unfamiliar with the staging industry, it combines months of work into a few days. It’s exhausting and very satisfying when it’s done! As my time with them came to a close, I knew I had danced around design long enough and the only thing left to do was finally step into the position I had dreamed of since I was young; starting my own studio.
I am living in the dream that many years have built, and I am so grateful for each of my clients who have chosen to work with me this first year of business!
The support of friends and family as they “talk me up” to anyone who will listen is the best kind of marketing a business can have.
Here’s to year two of Nicki Ayers Interiors, may it build on the past and create for the future!
XOXO, Nicki
