“To be truly stylish, it’s all about knowing how to mix it up.”
I'm Terry, founder of the House of Terrance aka HOT.
Clothing and accessories are intensely meaningful to me -- nothing tells the story of you better than what you’re wearing. Clothes are IMPORTANT. They empower you, they delight you and they can be the difference between a stellar day and a so-so one.
I got into selling fashion and styling many years ago as a side hustle while working in one of the world's largest ad agencies as a creative director on beauty and fashion accounts. While there I occasionally held private sales of clothing and accessories that I had collected over the years (back then I had a real problem:) These sales were really successful and fun and what a rush to see everyone walking around wearing a little piece of me!
I guess my dream has always been to curate and sell special pieces to women who love fashion and style as much as I do. After all, I've been breathing, eating, and dreaming about fashion since I was a little girl. My traditional, education-loving family steered me away from fashion as a career (it was fine to dress dolls in your designs, be a model in high school, and make all your own clothes, just drop it all for law or med school when the time comes!)
Anyway, fast forward more years than I'd like to admit, and here I am -- after a 25-year career in advertising, 10 years lived abroad in Paris and Singapore (where I was a stylist for Elle magazine), and an 18-month stint at NYC luxury department store Bergdorf Goodman in the Prada boutique -- still loving fashion, not one iota less and committed to creating a site full of unique and interesting pieces (some handmade by me) that bring a smile to your face.
Here’s a little bit more about some of the special pieces for sale on my site:
When I discovered founder Colleen Brand's stunning creations made with African textiles like shweshwe and wax print mixed with exquisite African beads on Instagram in 2018, I knew I had to offer them to my lovely customers. How lucky I was to actually meet Colleen while on a trip to South Africa soon after that discovery. We spent a wonderful afternoon together in her atelier and I learned all about her unique handmade wearable artwork and her commitment to employing local women enabling them to supplement their income while working from home. This is our 3rd collection and we're so excited to make it available to you!