Six Years, Six Lessons: A New Chapter for Foxwell

As we prepare to move Foxwell to our new home at the Galleria in Edina at the end of July, I've found myself doing a lot of reflecting. Six years. So much has happened in that time: the highs, the challenges, the unexpected detours, and every single moment has shaped not only our businesses, but our family.

Running a design studio, retail shop, and construction company has taught me more than I ever imagined. Some lessons came easily and others were learned the hard way. But each one has helped shape who we are and where we're headed next.

Retail Is Hard

When we first opened Foxwell, I pictured beautiful displays, meaningful conversations, and helping people create homes they truly love. What I didn't picture was navigating a global pandemic, or years of road construction that completely changed how people accessed and shopped in our neighborhood.

Those experiences taught me something I carry with me every single day: even when you do everything right, there are forces outside your control. Businesses have seasons. Some are easier than others, and sometimes, success is less about perfection and more about resilience.

Design Is Personal

One of the greatest gifts of this work has been learning that there is no one-size-fits-all approach to home. Every client walks through our door with different priorities, memories, budgets, and dreams. Some people crave color. Others want calm, quiet neutrals. Some need spaces built for little kids; others are designing for an empty nest.

Our job has never been to impose our style. It's to listen. Really listen. That reminder, to lead with curiosity instead of assumptions, has shaped everything we do.

Construction Is Hard, Too

If retail taught me resilience, construction taught me patience. Timelines shift. Materials get delayed. Surprises hide behind walls. No project goes exactly according to plan, and honestly, that's okay.

What I've learned is that flexibility matters. Communication matters. Relationships matter most of all. At the end of the day, people aren't just trusting us with a remodel. They're trusting us with the place where their life happens. That's a responsibility we never, ever take lightly.

Real Estate Is Unpredictable (Even After 20+ Years)

If there's one thing two decades in real estate has taught me, it's that no two years, and honestly, no two months, ever look the same. Interest rates change. Markets shift. Inventory comes and goes. Sometimes a home sells in hours and sometimes patience becomes your most important strategy.

So much of real estate is outside our control, but what has never changed is the privilege of being present for some of life's biggest moments. A young family buying their first home. Empty nesters starting a fresh chapter. Someone finally finding the courage to make a change they've been thinking about for years.

Real estate has always been about more than houses. It's about possibility. It's about home. After all this time, handing someone the keys to a place where new memories will be made never, ever gets old.

Take The Risk

Looking back, some of the best things we've done started with uncertainty. Starting a real estate company. Opening Foxwell. Expanding into design and construction. Saying yes to television opportunities (hello, HGTV!), and now, this move to the Galleria.

None of those decisions came with guarantees, but I've learned that growth almost always lives on the other side of discomfort. Taking a risk doesn't mean everything will go perfectly. It simply means being willing to believe that something beautiful could happen and more often than not, it does.

Family Is Everything

Above all else, the greatest lesson of the last six years is the simplest one: family matters most. Businesses grow. Projects end. Stores move. Trends come and go.

But the people sitting around your dinner table are what truly matter. I'm grateful every day to work alongside my husband, to raise our boys while building something we care deeply about, and to create a life that reflects our values. Success looks different to everyone but for me, it has gotten simpler and simpler over the years. A meaningful career is wonderful. Beautiful homes are wonderful. But family is everything.

Overall, as we step into this next chapter, I'm filled with gratitude, for our clients, our community, and everyone who has supported us along the way.

Here's to the next six years. I can't wait to see what surprises they hold!