October 4, 2024

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Creative meets living

Henry Home Interiors wins award for best single location furniture store | News

A Norman interior design and furniture store brought home a special designation from a national awards ceremony for the industry earlier this month.

Henry Home Interiors was given the award for best single location furniture store at the Dallas Market Center and Accessories Resource Team’s 32nd ARTS Awards. Winning companies are selected in up to 28 categories including product design, interior design and regional selections for lighting and home accents, according to Dallas Market Center.

The business was selected as the winner in the single location furniture store category by a panel of national industry experts. Winners were announced at a gala ceremony hosted by Thom Filicia and Carson Kressley, from TV’s Queer Eye for the Straight Guy, at the Hilton Anatole Hotel on Jan. 7.

Katelynn Calonkey Henry, owner and head interior designer of Henry Home Interiors, said when they were selected as one of four finalists in their category, she was thrilled.

“I’d never expected that we would even be nominated for an ARTS Award, much less win one,” Henry said. “I just thought it was wonderful we were nominated and got to go, but I had no speech prepared and was pretty shocked that we did win.”

Henry said the panel assessed everything from their sales statistics, social media marketing and brands to their culture. She said their community-oriented culture is just one of the qualities that makes them unique.

“Our whole store took off to volunteer at IMMY when they were doing the vaccinations, and one of our employees was volunteering there every day she was off work,” Henry said.

Another distinguishing element to the business is their internship program, Henry said. HHI interns get industry experience going to various manufacturers showrooms and receive training on technical and presentation skills, she added.

The store just celebrated their third anniversary in November. Henry said opening just before and continuing to operate during a pandemic has presented difficult challenges, and the recent designation assures they are on the right track.

“Just to be honored for that is wonderful,” Henry said. “It’s recognition that we never expected to get, for sure.”

Steve Calonkey, interior designer for HHI, said the ARTS Awards is the equivalent of the Academy Awards for design. He said they were flattered to receive a national award among the leading designers in the industry.

“It’s a testimonial to Katelynn, who started the store on her own, and has created something that has grown to receive national attention,” Calonkey said.

Jeff Elkins covers business, living and community stories for The Transcript. Reach him at [email protected] or at @JeffElkins12 on Twitter.