This Friday, 17 February, marks 17 years of local family business, Solace Creations, helping Canberrans to improve their homes.
One of the very first double-glazing businesses in the ACT is now a household name, and residents are well acquainted with Karen from Solace Creations – a previous Canberra Business Woman of the Year and Telstra Entrepreneur of the Year.
But did you know the last 10 years of success almost never came to be?
“Seventeen years ago, we started the business in the loungeroom of our house in Kambah,” Karen tells Canberra Daily.
“I noticed a gap in the market where Canberrans were not insulating our windows and doors properly and it wasn’t easy to find good quality double glazing,” she says.
Solace Creations was just one part of Karen and her then husband’s construction business, of which he was the builder.
“I had two little babies, and customers would come to our house while the babies were sleeping to buy windows.”
Today, all five of Karen’s children, aged 16 to 31, work with her at Solace Creations – including those two little babies, Tyler and Riley, who now provide top-quality installations to the community.
“We still have returning customers who first visited the house when the babies were there,” smiles Karen.
Before the kids grew up, and before she was an established name in the community, Karen was forced to restart from scratch and go at it on her own as a single mum.
Following her divorce in 2011, and her ex-husband taking the building company in the split, Karen faced the decision of leaving behind five years of hard work, or “starting from ground zero”.
She chose the latter.
“There were periods of time where I couldn’t even pay myself,” she says.
“If there’s one message I would like to give to others who are in that position today, it’s that moment when you are so close to giving up is often a sign that you’re really close to a breakthrough.”
For Karen, that breakthrough came in 2014, when Solace Creations won Telstra’s Micro Business of the Year award.
“That win catapulted me into my future success – it was the beginning. Before that, I was applying to get back into the public service, but the universe had other plans.”
The publicity she received from her win put Karen and Solace Creations on the map and lined her up for Canberra Women in Business naming her their Business Woman of the Year in 2015.
Soon after, she was able to move into the company’s current showroom in Fyshwick – a huge win for the family business.
Her eldest, Hannah, joined the company and soon became her right-hand woman.
“In the last 10 years we’ve grown to a point where we have over 20 team members and double glaze over 500 homes a year,” says Karen.
“I just want to thank the Canberra community for having faith in Solace Creations. We have had thousands and thousands of customers who took that leap of faith with us.
“And with Australia’s new 7-star energy efficiency building standards, we are well placed to take the community even further, and create solace in their homes.”
Starting in October this year, the National Construction Code states that all new homes must be built with a minimum energy efficiency of 7 stars, as opposed to 6, meaning single-glazed windows are a thing of the past.
That will mean a lot of new cowboys joining the market, says Karen, “a market that we’re 17 years ahead of”.
Karen was able to pay it forward in 2021, when Solace Creations came on board Master Builders ACT’s charity build in Strathnairn. The house was designed, built, and will be auctioned off by women to raise funds for local charities.
Karen is excited about the next installation of the Solace Creations journey.
“We’re just going to keep improving and looking after our customers in the community,” she smiles.
To find out more, visit solacecreations.com.au or meet Karen and the team at their studio, 17 Townsville Street, Fyshwick. For a complimentary home consultation and quote, email [email protected] or call 6260 1621.
