What started as a solution for a personal design issue in her home for Kelly Eggers grew into the Original Windmill Ceiling Fans and Lighting Co.
Now, she and her husband Phillip Eggers own that and co-own Ranch & Co Interiors with Tim and Sami O'Connell, with a brand-new showroom on the Pilot Point Square.
“We moved into a barndominium 11 years ago, and we had tall ceilings like this, and we couldn't keep the space cool at all,” Kelly said.
Regular ceiling fans weren’t cutting it for her.
“I was out in the pasture one day, riding my horse, and I saw a windmill, and I thought, 'You know what? I wonder if we could do that,'“ Kelly said. “That windmill just has that nostalgic feel.”
They landed on recreating the look with aluminum.
“That's really how we started,” she said.
When friends and family started asking her to create fans for them, Eggers felt she was onto something.
“I put up a website that said, 'We're out of stock but call me if you're interested,'“ Kelly said. “I was sitting on the beach in Cabo, and in a matter of five days, I had 60 people say they wanted one.”
Now, 11 years later, the showroom opening was celebrated with a ribbon cutting by the Pilot Point Chamber of Commerce on Sept. 18.
“We've grown to where we now have a retail space and a design space where our customers can come,” Kelly said. “… It took a long time to find the right space. We didn't want to just do a metal building or a strip mall, so we're really glad we found a spot on the historic square. … It really matches with our theme and the way we do business.”
Kelly pours herself into her work, as do her business partners and their employees.
“Everything is custom,” she said. “And there is so much—it sounds cheesy—but there's so much love and hard work that goes into every single piece.”
Sami too was thrilled for the opening of their new storefront, saying “it's kind of like a dream come true.”
“It's so fun to see everyone walk in and kind of [have their jaws drop] with what we've done in here between the furniture that Kelly and I own the company together, from the chandelier, the fans, it's really like a one stop shop for everyone,” Sami said. “And it's really fun to see our visions come to life and it really is an honor to be where we are.”
The Eggers' first employee, Jaaziel Valles, was among the family, friends and Chamber members present to celebrate the event.
“The integrity that Kelly keeps with the product but then also the transparency with the employees, for me, that's really hard to find in an employer or in any business,” he said. “… Knowing that they actually have our backs allows us to work 10 times harder for them and allow for the product to become what it is now.”
With rugs lining the walls, example designs spread throughout the showroom floor and examples of the kinds of custom fans and chandeliers available hanging above, the shop provides a clear view of what customers can create by working with Kelly, Sami and Valles.
And the Pilot Point Chamber is excited to be a partner with the 11-yearold company.
“We are so proud to have you guys on the Square,” Chamber President Jimerson Adkins
said.
He then welcomed Kelly to speak.
“We just want to say thank you to everybody for showing up,” she said. “It's great to see all of these smiling faces. … We would not be here without the wonderful team that we have, all of our staff, which we call our Fan-ily.”
