Rising Stars: Meet Jerolyn & Erik Hamer

Today we’d like to introduce you to Jerolyn & Erik Hamer.

Hi Jerolyn & Erik, thanks for joining us today. We’d love for you to start by introducing yourself.
During the Covid-19 pandemic, we saw a perfect opportunity to finally step out in faith to start not one but two businesses. While on maternity leave. I (Jerolyn) was hesitant about going back into an office setting. But I still needed a way to bring in income and I needed something to stay busy.

Events and parties had always been a passion and hobby of mine. I am known as the “Theme Queen” amongst family and friends. All of my parties and events typically have a concept or theme.

Like my 32nd birthday was Blue 32 where everyone had to wear blue, or my “Roar for 34” was an animal print party, Our personal events were always creative and different. We hosted a Jack Daniels-themed party one year for Erik and also an at-home Hibachi theme Night.

We just loved hosting and seeing just how creative we could get year after year. Of course, the pandemic put a damper on our parade so when we came up with the idea of starting a party business we were so excited. We wanted to of course be creative and different as there are many party planners in the area, and we wanted to stand out. That is when we came up with renting party props!

Hamer’s Props & Party is a party prop shop that specializes in custom and theme prop rentals. Not only do we rent them, but we also make them, and sell them to others in the event industry as well. This is what allows us to be different from others in the same industry. Our catalog is constantly growing from Champagne walls to marquee letters and numbers, candy carts, customized event props, and more.

With Erik’s background as a commercial building engineer, and craftsman he is able to build and construct all of our inventory. I myself a former healthcare marketing assistant was able to take my skills in marketing and handle everything from building our website to operating our social media pages and building word of mouth in the community.

We like to say I am the face behind the brand because our clients typically deal with me when reaching out, and it is me you see at networking events Erik, we say, is the hands behind the brand, and its obvious why since he is the one who builds and delivers to our clients,

Would you say it’s been a smooth road, and if not what are some of the biggest challenges you’ve faced along the way?
It has not always been a smooth transition. Of course with a new baby and two other kids, we were nervous about losing one full income.

Erik maintained working a 9-5 for a while so we could have consistent income for bills and keep our insurance. So that was stressful at first but we managed.

Then we went from not only being husband and wife but business partners and although it is fun it can be challenging at times and is not like when you’re at the office and have a disagreement or get annoyed with a coworker you get to go home at the end of the day and regroup.

We can’t do that lol so we had to learn real fast how to separate business from home life. We still struggle with it but it is getting better.

Thanks for sharing that. So, maybe next you can tell us a bit more about your work?
We refer to ourselves as party prop curators. Even though we are still party planners and decorators we want the focus of Hamer’s Props & Party to be our props!

We are proud of the fact that we can bring props locally to our area. People in the industry typically would have to order certain props from Wholesalers in China or suppliers on Etsy, or across different states. Now they have a supplier that is local and easily accessible.

We also will begin to offer 1:1 prop-making classes to event planners who would love to learn how to make their own props. We feel there are enough opportunities in the industry where we can share our skills with others and still grow. So be on the lookout for that soon.

How can people work with you, collaborate with you, or support you?
We love collaborations! You can find us on Instagram at www.instagram.com/hamerspropsandparty and via our website at www.hamerspropsandparty.com.

send us a DM or drop us a hello in our comment section!

Contact Info:

• Website: www.hamerspropsandparty.com
• Instagram: @hamerspropsandparty
• Facebook: hamerspropsandparty

Image Credits
The Full Frame Factory