Hermosa Beach’s Erin Condren is a Letter-Perfect Businesswoman

While she was a sleep-deprived new mom of infant twins, Erin Condren began designing and printing note cards from the playroom well into the night. Friends and family encouraged her to sell the designs at shopping parties in the South Bay, and by 2005 she launched her first website.

“The business steadily grew, and I discovered how truly viral paper is!” says Erin. “As customers wrote letters on my stationery or sent holiday cards with my logo on it, I experienced incredible organic growth.”

Since her days packing and shipping each box herself, Erin Condren Design has evolved into a thriving lifestyle company with a robust collection of planners, notebooks, stationery, calendars and home organization products. The company has two state-of-the-art facilities: one in Austin, Texas, and one in Hawthorne.

“While I’m not the sole employee anymore and now work with over 200 employees, I’m proud to say the company has stayed true to the mantra I held to when I founded it: ‘Let’s get it done so we can have some fun!’ I wanted to create products to make life easier, to help reduce stress, save time and get organized. It brings me such joy to see how my products are reaching customers around the world and bringing them happiness.”

In 2017 Erin opened her first flagship store in Austin, followed by one in Fairfax, Virginia, and a lobby store in Hawthorne. This fall she’s opening store #4 at the Irvine Shopping Center.

And those twins who witnessed the earliest days of her business will soon leave for college. “We’re facing the beginning of four new adventures into adulthood, an empty nest and a whole world of changes in 2020. While I’m already missing my ‘baby birds,’ I’m very excited about the time freed up to focus on other projects and passions like our partnership with the Breast Cancer Research Foundation,” shares Erin. “And we’re doing more than raising awareness and donating. We’re developing products that will improve the lives of those fighting cancer. It’s been a true passion project for my team and me.”