Entrepreneur of the Month

02/10/08
April 2008 "Mount Vernon Entrepreneur of the Month" . . . Robin Myers
     Throughout the last decade, the city of Mount Vernon in New York has undergone a
tremendous social and economic renaissance. In addition to the restored commerce, the city’s beautiful and historic homes are as visually and aesthetically welcoming as its people. Robin Harmon-Myers, with her Harmony Designs Furniture & Interiors retail store and interior design studio, has largely influenced this rebirth.
     Having grown up in the close-knit church community of Princess Anne, along Maryland’s eastern shore, Harmon-Myers was raised in a family that, despite limited means, celebrated style and originality. “My family always encouraged creativity and style; they have a flare no matter the humbleness. We were proud of where we lived.” Harmon-Myers’ own artistic pursuits would begin with creative writing before she ever deemed herself a designer.
     While studying English at University of Maryland Eastern Shore, Robin met her would-be husband Floyd. As a native of Mount Vernon (and brother to one of the city’s biggest stars, Heavy D, of the seminal rap group Heavy D & The Boyz), Floyd moved home with his wife to build their family.
     Seventeen years ago, Robin Harmon-Myers assessed the value of her hobby
of designing interiors and took the steps to make it her life’s passion. “When I
bought my first home in Mount Vernon in 1991, I got some really favorable
responses to the work that I would do to the house. It was consistent enough
to make me find out if I had any real talent,” she adds. The next step for Robin
was to enroll in continuing education classes at Manhattan’s prestigious
design institution, Parsons School. Remembering, she adds, “Design was
something that I was doing my whole life that never really occurred to me
until later. It’s that one thing that you love to do so much that it comes
effortlessly.”
     Following her design education, Robin Harmon-Myers opted to become the
change she wanted to see as a consumer. “As a young African-American
woman shopping for her first home, I kind of felt a void in the market. It was
either completely ethnic or not at all.” Noticing that void, Harmon-Myers
began carving her niche by consulting dozens of like-minded design flareseekers
in her city through word of mouth. By her own admission, Harmon-
Myers strayed from animal prints, Kente cloth and other traditional African
themes and adapted a sensibility that celebrated American style amidst a
cultural awareness. “Color and texture are the main things indicative of
culture,” Robin reveals.
     To house and market this vision, Robin and her husband purchased a 100-
year-old, 12,500 square feet building in Mount Vernon’s downtown shopping
district. With Robin’s keen design sensibility and her husband’s “structural
know-how”, the building received a stunning transformation. At street level is
the amazing retail space and design studio that radiates her timeless design
style. Directly above are three 2,500 square feet lofts that are receiving the
same golden touch. “It’s about harmony, living well and creating environments,”
says Robin. Not only is the store a retail furniture outlet, but it also hosts workshops,
community outreach events (including a recent PTA teacher’s lounge makeover)
design consultations and classes. “People can buy things here that work well in their
space, whether for themselves or somebody else.” One longtime customer, passing through the store, adds, “They need more spaces like this. I’m blown away every time I come here.”
     From selecting paint colors to overseeing entire home renovations, Harmony
Designs offers services suited to fit any budget. Another component that makes Harmon-Myers and Harmony Designs so innovative is its foresight. With “green designs” celebrating health, sustainability and the environment, Harmony lives up to its name, and is attracting clients from beyond Mount Vernon’s city limits.
     One of Harmon-Myers’ primary objectives is to engender, via her designs, a sense of “personal wellness” through the creation of inviting, spatially hospitable and environmentally friendly spaces. “We’re pioneering the idea to bloom where
you’re planted. Mount Vernon was once called The City of Homes.”
     With Robin Harmon-Myers living her passion, the City of Homes is celebrating its
deserved, qualitative lifestyle reputation once again.