We had the good fortune of connecting with Shannin Williams and we’ve shared our conversation below.

Hi Shannin, what was your thought process behind starting your own business?
The idea for my business came from recognizing a gap in the interior design industry. I was working on a project of my own, sitting with a client, explaining her design in words—but I could tell she wasn’t following. I didn’t have clear 3D visuals to show her, and the computer-generated ones never quite captured the design ideas I had in mind.

At that moment, I told her, “Give me a week, and I’ll come back with something clearer.” So I dug out my old markers and pencils from design school and hand-rendered her space exactly as I envisioned it. When I presented it to her, she immediately got it—she loved the concept and signed off on it right away.

That was my lightbulb moment. I realized hand-drawn renderings could be a powerful tool for other interior designers to communicate their ideas and get client buy-in. And that’s exactly how my business started and I haven’t stopped since then and that was 8 years ago.

Alright, so for those in our community who might not be familiar with your business, can you tell us more?
I’ve always had an entrepreneurial spirit—it runs in my family. With both my parents and my daughter carving their own paths, the idea of being my own boss was always in the back of my mind.

For 17 years, I worked as a commercial interior designer in higher education and taught in the academic sector of interior design. I enjoyed it, but I knew I wanted to do something more for myself. Being your own boss isn’t easy—it’s a daily hustle—but there’s a big difference between hustling for yourself and hustling for someone else. After nearly two decades in the industry, I decided to open my own school, The Bertrand Williams School of Design Visualization, to teach interior designers how to create hand-drawn architectural illustrations for their projects—giving them a powerful tool to sell their design ideas.

With my background in both interior design and education, teaching these skills felt like a natural transition. Now, eight years into running BW School, we’ve grown tremendously. We started with fully online courses, and more recently, my partner, Rob Moya, and I have expanded to offer in-person workshops at our training facility on the beautiful island of Galveston, TX. These workshops allow us to work one-on-one with interior designers who want to integrate hand-drawn skills into their process, helping them present their ideas with more creativity and authenticity.

The impact of these workshops is immediate. In just two days, I can sit beside a designer and guide them through techniques like marker strokes, color application, and composition—giving them instant results. Architectural illustration for interior design is unique because we’re taking the ideas in our minds and putting them on paper. Designers are natural visionaries, but the hand skills don’t always come as easily—that’s where we bridge the gap.

Beyond our online courses, we’ve also had the opportunity to work with architectural and design firms, teaching their teams how to use sketching as a quick and effective tool for visual communication. Whether online or in person, our mission remains the same: to empower designers with the hand-drawing skills they need to bring their ideas to life.

Let’s say your best friend was visiting the area and you wanted to show them the best time ever. Where would you take them? Give us a little itinerary – say it was a week long trip, where would you eat, drink, visit, hang out, etc.
The museum district because I love art and I me and my partner are current students of the Glassell School of Art. I would also visit the Houston Design Center and The Houston Decorative Center because being an interior designer we are always on the hunt and looking for new things. I would take them to a few of my favorite restaurants in Htown, Istanbul in Rice Village, Paulie’s on Westeimer and Niko Niko’s. And can’t miss Kata Robata for the best sushi ever! I would explore vintage shopping in the Heights as well as Rice Village and a few antique stores around the area.

Shoutout is all about shouting out others who you feel deserve additional recognition and exposure. Who would you like to shoutout?
Shoutout to my incredible students at The Bertrand Williams School of Design Visualization! Watching them refine their hand skills and push past their own limits is truly inspiring. It fuels me every day to do more, to challenge them, and to remind them to keep going.

We’re in this together—learning, experimenting, and discovering new techniques to elevate our illustrations. We DO HARD THINGS because taking action is what sets us apart in this industry. Our work is entirely hand-drawn, not generated by computers or devices, and that’s something we take pride in.

This community isn’t just about skill-building—it’s about support. My students lean on each other for feedback and advice, and they support me just as much as I support them. Their success is my passion, and I couldn’t do this without them.

Website: https://www.shanninwilliams.com

Instagram: @shannin_williams.com

Image Credits
Images taken by Erica Williams

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