Our Story

Our Story

Houston Homewares began in November 2017 as a small independent retail shop built on a big leap of faith.

After years of talking about working for ourselves, endlessly weighing up the risks, and wondering whether we were brave enough to leave the security of our day jobs behind, we finally decided to take the plunge. John left his retail management career to run the business full time, while Michael stayed in full-time employment, helping with the admin side of things in the evenings after work.

That first Christmas exceeded every expectation we had, but January quickly brought us back down to earth. We were still building a customer base, trying to grow a social media presence, and learning the realities of running a business from scratch. Looking back now, Michael staying in his day job during those early days probably kept the business afloat. Supporting one wage felt hard enough, never mind two.

For the first few years, John ran the shop largely alone. Six days a week quickly became seven, alongside evening consultations, deliveries, styling projects, and eventually the beginnings of the interior design side of the business. It was exhausting at times, but it also gave us something invaluable the chance to really connect with customers, build trust, and slowly establish a reputation for beautiful products, inspiring displays, and genuine service.

As the months passed, the business began to grow steadily. What started as a small shop on Market Street slowly became something people travelled for. Still, those memories of the difficult early months made us cautious, perhaps more cautious than we needed to be.

Then came March 2020.

Like so many small businesses, we suddenly found ourselves facing huge uncertainty overnight. But once again, we counted our blessings that Michael hadn’t yet left his full-time job. Instead of standing still, we adapted quickly. The shop moved online almost entirely through social media, with John becoming content creator in the mornings and delivery driver by afternoon.

Ironically, during a time when the world slowed down, the business accelerated. People were spending more time at home and wanting their spaces to feel comforting, uplifting, and personal. Orders surged, and it was during this period that the idea for the Houston Homewares Interior Fragrance Collection came to life.

Creating our own fragrance range had been sitting in the back of our minds for quite some time, but lockdown finally gave us the opportunity to dedicate ourselves to it fully, developing scent profiles, designing packaging, refining branding, and finding the right manufacturing partners. When the collection launched later that year, the response was beyond anything we could have imagined. To this day, seeing customers connect with products we created ourselves still feels incredibly special.

By 2021, it finally felt like the right time for Michael to join the business full time. While it meant stepping into a completely different world with no retail experience, he quickly became an essential part of the day-to-day running of the business. Balancing customer service, operations, accounts, logistics, and the ever-growing list of responsibilities that come with expansion.

As the interior design projects became larger and more ambitious, we reached another crossroads; either remain where we were or take the next step forward.

In 2023, we purchased both our existing premises and the adjoining property with the vision of expanding the shop and creating a dedicated interior design studio. What followed was a year of planning, saving, designing, and preparing for the biggest transformation the business had ever undertaken.

Closing a busy, thriving shop for renovation was daunting, but we knew growth required taking another leap of faith.

In January 2025, after one final Christmas season and a huge renovation clearance, we closed the doors on the first chapter of Houston Homewares and began building the next one. Although absent from Market Street for a time, the business itself never slowed down. Interior projects continued, plans evolved, and a whole new identity for the brand began to emerge.

The renovation brought not only a completely transformed space, but a fresh new direction for the business — including the creation of our now trademarked HH logo and an elevated new aesthetic that truly reflected who we had become.

Like most renovations, the timeline stretched far beyond expectations, but on 4th July 2025, we finally reopened our doors.

Despite the weather not quite cooperating, the people of Strabane certainly did. The support we received during the relaunch was overwhelming and deeply emotional for both of us.

What began as a small independent shop built on uncertainty, long hours, and determination has grown into something we could never have fully imagined back in 2017.

In April 2026, we welcomed our first full-time member of staff, Megan, to the Houston Homewares team — a milestone moment for the business and something that felt incredibly rewarding after years of building everything ourselves. Megan joined us having a wealth of customer service and management experience and is quickly becoming an important part of the day-to-day atmosphere of the shop and the brand as a whole. Her role focuses on enhancing the customer experience both in store and online, while also helping us continue to grow and evolve our digital presence in a way that feels authentic to who we are. Having someone who genuinely understands the heart of the business has made her feel less like an employee and more like part of the next chapter of the Houston Homewares story.

As we continue to evolve, grow, and push the business forward, we remain endlessly grateful to every customer who has supported us along the way. Whether through the retail shop, our fragrance collection, or the interior design studio, every person who walks through our doors has played a part in our story.

And for that, we’ll never take it for granted.