We caught up with the brilliant and insightful Christy Taylor a few weeks ago and have shared our conversation below.

Christy, thanks for taking the time to share your stories with us today So let’s jump to your mission – what’s the backstory behind how you developed the mission that drives your brand?

Chioco Design has always been about hospitality, about creating spaces where people want to be. We came up in restaurant and bar design, and it has informed every type of project that we do. Whether we are designing office space for a tech startup, designing a custom home, or a ground-up mixed use development, we strive to create activated spaces that emphasize comfort, style, and engagement.

I love collaborating with restauranteurs. These ingenious entrepreneurs have cracked the code on how to make people happy, with good food, drink, and service. And as designers, we have the opportunity to collaborate with them and shepherd them through a hugely transitional part of their dream: translating their vision into architectural identity and experience.

It is so rewarding to see a clever food & bev concept paired with outstanding architectural design. It is indicative of many disparate professionals operating at their peak abilities, and the resulting restaurant experiences really shine.

Before becoming an architect, I spent many (many!) years in the service industry. I’ve been a server, a bartender, an assistant bar manager, a catering event planner, you name it. The friends I made and the experiences I had during those years are some of the hardest and most rewarding of my life so far. When I approach a restaurant or hospitality project, I try to maintain that service-minded strategy that keeps you going in restaurant work: maintain a strong work ethic, set aside egos, and look out for one another.

Great, appreciate you sharing that with us. Before we ask you to share more of your insights, can you take a moment to introduce yourself and how you got to where you are today to our readers.

I’m an architect and partner at Chioco Design, an architecture and interiors studio in Austin, TX. We take on all kinds of projects, everything from custom single-family homes, to restaurants and bars, to office buildings, and more. Our only qualifier for taking on a new project type: it must propose a distinct design challenge, and therefor an opportunity for creativity and innovation.

Can you share a story from your journey that illustrates your resilience?

I graduated from architecture school just in time for the 2008 recession. Almost every one of my colleagues was laid off, and so was I.

In the years that followed, I was in hustle mode: bartending and tutoring to pay the bills, moving to Austin to get another master’s degree; my husband and I even lived in India for a while, joining the architecture faculty at a university in Punjab.

After the birth of our daughter, and with the establishment of my husband’s now-thriving architectural fabrication company, we finally began to feel settled back in Austin. And I was nervous to reenter the architectural profession. Years had passed, and I felt completely left behind. What kind of practitioner would I be? What could I possibly bring to the table, with so little experience in the field?

My husband Christian would push me past these doubts. He told me, “Everything that you have done has value. One day, you will look back and realize: all those things you did when you weren’t architect-ing, those are the experiences that will make you a great architect.”

How’d you meet your business partner?

The first time I learned about Chioco Design, my husband and I were riding bikes around East Austin and came across their amazing custom steel blade sign. Bent steel rods, spelling out the firm’s name, extended out from the white concrete block wall of their office. The afternoon sun projected the logo on the solid wall beautifully. It was such a simple and profound gesture.

In the years that followed, I would sometimes run into Founding Principal Jamie Chioco, but we only knew each other socially and had no real connections. It wasn’t until 2018, when we sat down together to discuss an open Project Manager position at his studio, that we began to see the real potential in each other.

Over the last 5+ years, I have been so lucky to work alongside and learn from Jamie and the entire Chioco Design team. Together, we are growing and shaping the firm and the city around us.

Contact Info:

• Website: https://www.chiocodesign.com/
• Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/chioco_design/
• Linkedin: https://www.linkedin.com/company/chioco-design/

Image Credits
(Paperboy Restaurant photos) – Photography Chase Daniel (Honest Mary’s Restaurant photos) – Photography Chase Daniel (Full Goods Diner Restaurant photos) – Photography by Likeness Studio