Meet Shontay Butler | Interior stylist and woodworker

We had the good fortune of connecting with Shontay Butler and we’ve shared our conversation below.

Hi Shontay, we’d love to hear more about how you thought about starting your own business?
I was at a crossroads in my life. I stepped away from my decade long career as a fashion designer to stay home with my kids and now that they were starting school and gaining more independence, I was itching to get back to work. The fashion industry changed so much since the early 2000’s when I first started my career so I knew that coming back within the same capacity as I left was no longer an option for me personally, so I was determined to carve out a creative space for me and find my niche. The only way I knew how to achieve that was by starting my own business. They say if you can’t find a seat at the table bring your own. I may have taken that saying too literal because not only did I do just that, I decided to build my very own table! Through my love of woodworking and design I started to create wood art and custom built pieces including tables and that is how Butler Holmes Design was born.

Can you open up a bit about your work and career? We’re big fans and we’d love for our community to learn more about your work.
I started out as an interior stylist renovating my very first commercial space for a new restaurant in a suburb right outside of Phoenix. As with many design projects, it ended up being a much bigger project than anticipated. So much so that I ended up enlisting my husband for extra help and while we tackled a lot of the construction ourselves. Luckily, we were avid DIYers and so we know our way around a workshop and power tools but doing it on a commercial scale was a first for us. It was in the height of the pandemic when prices for materials nearly doubled with limited resources so we had to roll up our sleeves to get things done in a timely matter. Ironically, it was through the constructions phase of the redesign that I discovered my passion for woodworking and building. My husband and I created custom built in benches for the waiting area and lounge along with framing and finishing the bar with custom shelving and a wine rack for liquor. In the end we transformed an old sports bar into a modern restaurant. It looked fantastic but there was still something missing. Artwork! The renovation left little to no budget for artwork but the freshly painted, naked walls needed something. I had a lot of left over wood from our building projects so I took what I had and experimented on what I could come up with. That is when I started doing my wood art and I never looked back. Once the restaurant opened there was a ton of interest in my artwork and inquiries on how to purchase. That is how my interior design business took a turn into custom wood art and furniture. Together with my husband, we created Butler Holmes Design. It’s cleaver play on my maiden name, Holmes, and my married name.

I like to share our companies origin story because it’s the perfect example of how often in entrepreneurship you have to pivot. You’re not always going to have all your ducks in a row. In fact, if you wait for that to happen you’ll never get started. I started this journey with something completely different in mind but if I hadn’t taken the first step I would’ve never discovered this passion and unleashed a hidden talent I never knew I had. You have to be willing to take risk and bet on yourself.

Because we are a small family owned business, you get a personal touch with all of our pieces. Each piece is made to order and can be customized to fit perfectly in your space. Once you order from us, you become family. We LOVE all of our clients and adding personal touches like installations and customizing is the extra love we put into our work that you wouldn’t get from mass market retail. My favorite moment so far was when we had an elderly client who recently became a widow that happened to live driving distance from us. We hand delivered her artwork and hung it up for her in her living room. It’s moments like that that make the challenges of running a business all worth it.

If you had a friend visiting you, what are some of the local spots you’d want to take them around to?
I’m not originally from LA so my hangout spots are the stereotypical tourist destinations. I love to people watch and having lived in NYC for most of my adult life, I love going to the beach. Santa Monica and Venice beach has the best people watching. In terms of neighborhoods I love West Hollywood. I love the vibe and energy. I’m not a fancy nightclub person. All I need is good food and nice environments. My favorite place to eat was LaLa’s Argentinian restaurant on Melrose until they had to close do to a kitchen fire.

Who else deserves some credit and recognition?
Tori Nichel, the founder of Madison Black and co-founder of the Emerge in Color luxury pop-up boutique experience. Both Tori and Frenchie Harris curated a shopping experience at the Beverly Center in Los Angeles, CA exclusively selling merchandise by Black Designers and Black-owned brands. When I first started my business, Tori reached out to me personally to ask if I wanted to be apart of this project and I jumped at the chance! I am and will always be grateful for the opportunity to share that platform with so many other amazing and talented black artist and designers. It gave me the kickstart to my business that I needed at the time and I was so honored.

Website: https://www.butlerholmesdesign.com/home

Instagram: Butler_Holmesdesign