Today we’d like to introduce you to Hannah Olague.
Hi Hannah, can you start by introducing yourself? We’d love to learn more about how you got to where you are today?
I was raised in Salt Lake City by a modern dancer and a lawyer– that can tell you a lot about me! After high school, I moved to NYC to go to design school at the Fashion Institute of Technology. While at FIT I studied textile and surface design and worked my way through school at Ralph Lauren. All of my experiences in New York have had a huge impact on my perspective of design and the world. After graduating I came back to Utah and got married to my high school crush. Together we started our first design company, HI Co-operative. We were a design and fabrication studio in which I would design custom pieces of furniture and he would fabricate them in our shop. We were young and ambitious and had a lot of fun learning the design and manufacturing business in a “trial by fire” kind of way.
This is where I will fast forward to today. After moving across the country for jobs and other opportunities, my life has brought me back to Salt Lake City (with two kids in tow) and back to starting another small business. I am putting my over ten years of design industry experience to use in my new design company, Principal Design. Principal Design Co. is a home products and lifestyle company specializing in custom-made decorative pillows and soft goods. All of our pillows are made in our studio in Salt Lake with a team of expert tailors. My vision for Principal is to be an incubator for creativity in Salt Lake City that ignites the design enthusiast inside us all through the experience of customizing products we surround ourselves with. By opening the design process to our customers, they can feel the satisfaction of having their style authentically represented. One way we include the customer in the design process is our 3D customization studio on our site. Here you can design your own pillow exactly how you want it and see it in a full 3D rendering to take any second-guessing away. We started our custom product journey with pillows as they are the best way to explore interior style. Never underestimate what a can of paint and a bundle of pillows can do to transform a space. As Principal grows we hope to add different categories of customization and to be there for our customers at any stage of their design journey.
We all face challenges, but looking back would you describe it as a relatively smooth road?
It has not been a smooth road but I guess I didn’t and still don’t expect it to be smooth. I learn best through experiences and I rarely make the same mistake twice. When we first launched Principal in the fall of 2021, we had a different look and tone. We were very education-driven and were trying to connect with our customers through the learning process of design. Through feedback and conversations, we found our customer was already well-versed in design and was ready to move beyond that conversation. When we realized this, we pivoted. We decided to meet our customers where they are–in their lifestyle and experiences. We rebranded and relaunched this last April. We have had an amazing response to our new platform and direction which is really exciting.
Thanks for sharing that. So, maybe next you can tell us a bit more about your work?
Professionally I am an interior designer. I transferred my textile design skills into the application of textiles in homes. That is to say, I am a self-taught interior designer and have worked my way through the design industry to get to where I am today. My design style has always been modern with a twist. Early in my career I worked on a lot of mid-century homes and loved that aesthetic. Now, I have a more modern/traditional style. I have a weakness for vintage furniture and beautiful textiles (surprise, surprise!). One skill I have developed over the years is to set aside any preconceived notions of what I want a project to look like or what style will be trending and really dive into my client’s way of life. I listen to their stories and wants before I put my opinion in the mix. I have found by being this open with my clients, our projects are more personal and therefore more beautiful because they are uniquely theirs!
Being an interior designer in Salt Lake is a different experience from designing in a bigger city like New York City or LA due to a lack of resources and exposure. This is one reason why I started Principal Design Co. I want to bring a more design forward way of thinking to Salt Lake. We have a very talented design community in Salt Lake but we don’t have many local options to go to for inspiration and resources. I hope to solve this problem with Principal.
What do you like and dislike about the city?
I have had the opportunity to live outside Salt Lake, and it is always easier to see what you love about something from a distance. I love Salt Lake for many reasons. First, it is a beautiful place to live! The blue skies, soaring mountains and desert dirt roads are what songs are written about. I would crave long car rides in the mountains while I was living in NYC. The second thing I will mention is our food. The food culture in Salt Lake is growing and becoming really exciting. My close friends just opened a restaurant in the marmalade area of the city and are raising the bar for creative cuisine. I can’t wait to see what comes next!
Most of the things that I struggle with about Salt Lake relate back to the lack of exposure to broader conversations happening in the world–in design and beyond. It’s easy to get stuck in a feedback loop of our own opinions that limit our opportunities for growth and inclusion.
Pricing:
- Pillows range from $75-210- Pillows are sewn to order. Expect a 1-2 week lead time.
- Interior Design Services are priced per project- please contact us!
Contact Info:
- Website: www.shopprincipal.com
- Instagram: @principal.co
- Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/Principal-Design-Company-106739235101645/
- TikTok: @principaldesignco
Image Credits
Malissa Maybe (pillow images)
Moy Bogarin (images with people)
