By Andrea Cortina-Portugal

“Eventually everything connects - people, ideas, objects. The quality of connections is the key to quality per se.” - Charles Eames

Milestones – large dots connected by a series of smaller ones that span a timeline. Hurray Design has had many since its fledgling days as Heima, a quirky lifestyle shop at the heart of Cubao X, and Heima Home and Lifestyle at Kapitolyo.

Our story, in a nutshell, goes like this. The year was 2009, the space was 24 square meters, and the dream was to launch a different kind of retail experience.

From an idea to reality, Hurray founders, Bong Rojales, and IDr. Rossy Rojales, PIID at the Heima Home & Lifestyle Kapitolyo Store in 2013

A year later in 2010, Heim Interiors entered the design scene, offering a fresh and vibrant alternative to premium interior design. In the space between then and now, founders Robert “Bong” Rojales and IDr. Rossy Anne Yabut Rojales, PIID, has been gradually taking that dream to higher heights and wider breadths along with a growing team of creative and innovative minds.

In 2018 – ten years, three addresses, and 50 employees later – Hurray Design made its debut, combining both retail and Interior Design arms and rounding out our services which, to this day, are anchored on a simple thrust: Creating Spaces that Celebrate You.

Fast forward to today. It’s 2023 and we’re celebrating our 14th year anniversary – that’s 500 projects, a pandemic, and 52k followers later – by taking stock of the journey thus far. Co-founders Bong and IDr. Rossy reflects on recent chapters we’ve closed, the season we are in, and what to look forward to on the horizon.

On Celebrating Hurray’s 14th Year

“We celebrate being alive and well, being able to continue and take more challenges this year, 14 years is not an easy feat,” shares IDr. Rossy, also Hurray’s Principal Designer. “But it’s another beginning and exciting times are always ahead. New projects, new partnerships, and a newly energized team prepared for another big year.”

On Running the Business Post-Pandemic

“It’s a time for reconfiguration after the pandemic and lockdowns,” the founders explain. “We have again learned a lot and that helps. We also have a more defined process and set of clients that we know how to address and align with.”

In the past months, Hurray has turned over a number of projects that were started during the pandemic – projects that, to the team, are symbolic of the immense challenges that we are bound to face and proof that it is possible to overcome them.

On Evolving as a Designer / as a Team

“There comes a time as a designer that you want to maximize your impact and that means being more in control not just of the creative process but each step of the way,” says IDr. Rossy. “We are addressing this in many ways, such as finetuning our preferred suppliers, standardizing on many things, and also having the right team structure to support this direction. We also depend on a lot of software tools to be more efficient and have made some investments in that area. The keyword that we use a lot is ‘tailoring’. This means being able to strategize and execute by being flexible and adapting to different sets of projects.”

The Our (“R”) House, one of Hurray’s newly turned-over projects designed by Bong and IDr Rossy. A passion project that reflects a fusion of what they love, their interests, and the styles, materials, and items that resonate with the Hurray identity

Bong, Hurray’s Managing Director, also has his sights set on continuously building for the future. “We started doing our own architectural design and construction business during the pandemic. We started doing core turnkey projects,” he explains. “We address our customer requirements and hope to do better every time. The teams we build and empower align with our business directions and so far we are on track to do big things this year and beyond. The past two years have given us challenges that have, in turn, given us the opportunity to improve.”

On Managing Full Plates

And when we say full, we mean full to overflowing. The Rojales’ recently completed work on their own weekend home and a condo in the city, all while simultaneously working on client projects. “Yes, two at the same time,” they share. “And we also built a new office space and renovated the older one.” Definitely a memorable season for Team Hurray. “A lot of changes but we fortunately are accustomed to building and adapting,” they go on to say. “New spaces, new dreams, new memories to be made.” And perhaps that’s the key to managing a full plate – staying anchored on why we do what we do while being willing (and able) to adjust and adapt to whatever comes our way, be it predictable or otherwise.

On What’s Next for Hurray Design

“We do want recognition, but more than that, we want to have loyal and happy clients. We want projects that are really iconic and lasting,” says IDr. Rossy. “And I guess after working really hard the past 15 years to get to this point, we have defined what projects we will take and deliver with our capacity.” She goes on to say that a family-oriented corporate culture can go hand in hand with a high-performance team – a perfect fit for our clients who are also incredibly family-oriented.

A family built through Hurray’s 14 years; Bong & IDr. Rossy and their two kids, Rhye and Raye

“We impact the lives of our clients as well as other stakeholders,” Bong adds, noting that this includes partner suppliers and helping them align better. “We strive to make a positive impact each time and for 2023, this is taking it to the next level. The success of each project depends on the quality of the team, and the team is not just Hurray, but also includes partners and the client.”

When asked what big dreams they have for the firm in 2023, they simply had this to say, “More dream projects, more premium and luxury projects – but again, just to continue to have loyal and happy clients is enough to dream and work for.”

To get to know more about Team Hurray and what we do, check out the rest of our blog at Beyond Ordinary!

Hurray Turns 14: Moving Forward through the Changing Times