Thi Makup Studio "In the Making"

Since Thi Cosmetic’s Launch in 2006, Taylor and I have been dreaming of someday owning our own retail space. We’ve had our heart set on this sweet little boutique located in downtown Palo Alto, CA for the past couple of years; however the timing was never quite right. Almost 3 years from our launch date, it seemed the stars had all aligned. In late August 2008, we discovered that the lease was up for the space next to the boutique we’ve been wanting and was identical in size, except it had a larger bathroom – score!

In early Sept. 2008, it was official – we signed our lease. It was exciting, nerve wrecking, and surreal all at the same time! After we got over it, the hard part began. We had to figure out how we were going to get the new space ready for business.

Thank goodness for wonderful husbands! We enlisted my husband, Tom (who happens to be a General Contractor in the commercial construction business – score again!), to help lead the build-out project while Taylor and I worked closely with him on design and layout. Tom’s team did a great job of demoing, replacing all the electrical, drywall, flooring, and painting. Props to Technical Builders for a fast-track design-build project (http://www.technicalbuilders.com/).

We also enlisted Taylor’s husband, Frank, and cousin, Phu, to help us do the finishing touches of crown molding. Phu, an independent carpenter also built the bench for our lounge space (it helps to have a handyman in the family! LOL! )

During all the construction, Taylor was busy researching the furniture and décor for the space and planning the next products to carry at the store, while I had my nose buried in contracts, counter designs, window signage, POS systems, and anything else business related. We worked collaboratively on the final décor of the space and made several trips to furniture stores to find the right pieces. We've never seen so much of each other - we were joined at the hips! LOL! By early November, we pulled it all together – it was so much fun to work along side a great friend!

The Studio before construcion.

The Studio stripped down.

Our wonderful husbands and cousin, Phu, hard at work.

Taylor (right) and me (left) watching our sign go up. It was quite exciting!

Photo: Geoff White
From the start of the build-out, it took approximately 2 months till completion date (which would’ve been done sooner if it hadn’t been for the headaches of permits). After hearing so many horror stories about the process of build-outs, we were grateful to have made the time we did on the storefront. And we couldn’t have done it without all the help of our family and friends! After all the blood, sweat, and tears, we finally opened the doors to Thi Makeup Studio on November 29, 2008.

~Mimi