Gathered Design Co.
Erin Van Nevel’s love of interior design began at a young age — a reality, she said, best demonstrated by how she tended to her doll houses. Her attention was focused more on the small faux furniture pieces and other accompaniments, rather than the dolls themselves.
More recently, after a decade-long stint working as a designer for Ethan Allen Furniture, Van Nevel decided to venture out on her own with Gathered Design Co. Now, she is meeting her clients in a new way, via her showroom van.
“I always had this concept in mind,” Van Nevel said. “I thought, ‘Wouldn’t it be so cool to have a mobile studio?’ That way I could have all of my supplies and everything that I sell on hand. It would all be more productive.”
Van Nevel, who holds a bachelor’s degree in interior design from Harrington College of Design in Chicago, founded Gathered Design Co. in 2019. The various pieces of her unique business model came together as she contemplated establishing her own business.
Van Nevel’s husband, Jon, has been instrumental with many aspects of the business, including setting the van up to resemble a small-scale, makeshift showroom.
“It’s a little outside the box, and it has been very well received,” she said.
The truck’s home is in Woodstock, where Gathered Design Co. is technically based. However, since opening those signature van doors, Van Nevel has traveled to clients from various locales in Illinois and Wisconsin, taking on a range of large and small projects.
“There’s no sitting at a shop, waiting for people to come in,” Van Nevel said. “I bring everything that I have to offer, along with my expertise, to the client’s home, and I’m ready to go. I have everything for you to touch, feel and make sure the colors are going to go together.”
Gathered Design Co. offers a number of services, including interior selections and project management for new home constructions and remodels as well as custom drapery and upholstery installations.
Other services within Van Nevel’s menu of offerings include bedding and bedroom designs, rug and wallpaper selections, reupholstery for older furniture and antique and custom window treatments.
In addition to Van Nevel’s unique approach to meeting her clients, Gathered Design Co. has carved out a niche as an exclusive distributor of Rowe Furniture, a North Carolina-based wholesaler that manufactures its own line.
“I have a lot of confidence in their product,” Van Nevel said. ‘I think it’s quality and will hold up.”
As she hears her clients’ wishes, Van Nevel said she begins her visioning process, contemplating the different possibilities.
“I adapt my skill set to the client’s style,” she said. “I think that’s what a good designer should do.”
Regardless of the task she is undertaking, Van Nevel said she takes immense joy in offering her skills and passions to brighten her clients’ living spaces.
“I’ve been in this industry for a while, and this is not work to me,” she shares. “It’s fun to see clients so happy. It’s very rewarding to me.”
gathereddesignco.com | 815-353-4012
Written by Dave Fidlin
