Why Kinship Landing's Hotel Interior Design Feels Local

Brooke Mikulas: We were in bungalows, we were in homestays. We were able to experience so many different types of hospitality concepts all over the world. What we ended up landing on was: let's develop a hospitality concept that we're really proud of in Colorado Springs, something that really exemplifies our local community.

Robin Pasley: That piece of storytelling is what makes a place a place that you remember, right?

Brooke Mikulas: We like to say that hospitality is best provided in your own living room and at your own kitchen table, but when that's not possible, you have Kinship.

Robin Pasley: That's awesome. I'm Robin Pasley, and this is Design to Help Your Business Grow. Today I'm super excited to have Brooke Mikulas with us from Kinship Landing.

Brooke Mikulas: Thanks for having me. I'm so excited.

Robin Pasley: You said something when you came in the door that I have to hear more about, which was that this was where the whole brainchild for your first venture started. Tell us more about that.

Brooke Mikulas: Yeah. Literally in this space between the brick walls, this is really where a lot of the development and the startup phase of Kinship Landing all began. We had lots of meetings in here, lots of pitches in here. My babies were tucked in the back corner, sleeping, taking naps. So it's really sweet to be back in here today.

Robin Pasley: It's so fun. I should note that this was Welcome Fellow, a co-working space, before we moved in years ago. So that's why you were here. You weren't just randomly taking over.

Brooke Mikulas: Yep, no squatting. We were renting the space.

How Do You Turn a Travel Dream Into a Colorado Springs Boutique Hotel?

Robin Pasley: So tell me, how did the dream of Kinship Landing begin? And what's your story that would guide us to that?

Brooke Mikulas: Bobby and I both grew up here, and this is home for us. We love it. After we got married in 2010, we wanted to spread our wings. We thought maybe this isn't home. Maybe we should go try some new places. We lived in Boulder for a while. Ultimately, we ended up moving back to Colorado Springs and living on the west side close to trails. We were like, wait, this is like Boulder, but much cheaper, and the trails have no one on them. So we ended up coming back here and did some community development work and nonprofit work. Then we traveled for a year in 2016–2017 and went to 17 countries. We stayed in one hotel the entire year, and it was actually gifted to us. The rest of the time, we were in bungalows, we were in homestays, we were in hostels, we were camping. We were able to experience so many different types of hospitality concepts all over the world. About halfway through, we had quite a few different ideas. We're both very entrepreneurial-minded. What we ended up landing on was: let's develop a hospitality concept that we're really proud of in Colorado Springs, something that really exemplifies our local community. So we got back and hit the ground running. It was the hardest thing we've ever done. We were 27 and 28 trying to pull this thing off. And that's really what started it all.

Robin Pasley: Wow. To be that young, to have the vision that you had, and to actually pull it off means that you have something innate in you. Can you trace it back to your younger years, to where you think that might have gotten its start?

Brooke Mikulas: I have a few responses to that. One is yes. Bobby and I have four entrepreneurial parents. It's just all we've known growing up. But we were so naive to the process. We had no idea what we were doing, but we had the tenacity, we had the dream, and we had the community around us. I think that was really what made it possible for us to pull this off. When I look back on those startup years, there were probably four different times when we determined this project was completely dead. The door was shut, whether it was financing or construction hurdles or whatever it might be, and we couldn't see how to move forward. But we were surrounded by the right people who wanted to see this come to fruition. One of our mentors at the time, who we found through the Small Business Development Center — and I love giving them a plug, because they are such an amazing resource for entrepreneurs — was such an amazing mentor to us. He said, "No, we're not giving up. Tomorrow we wake up, we keep going, and we figure out a new path forward."

Robin Pasley: Wow.

Brooke Mikulas: So having that accountability and support around us was so critical.

Robin Pasley: So, Brooke, explain what Kinship Landing really is.

Brooke Mikulas: Kinship Landing is a boutique hotel in the heart of downtown Colorado Springs. The idea is that locals and travelers collide around outdoor adventure and city exploration. We have a restaurant on the main level called Homa Café + Bar, and every detail has been curated and intentional. We like to say that hospitality is best provided in your own living room and at your own kitchen table. But when that's not possible, you have Kinship.

Robin Pasley: That's awesome. We were talking before about you. Is there anything else, as you look back on your life, where you go, "Oh, that's why I'm this person now. That's how I can do this"?

Brooke Mikulas: Yes. For my husband and me, it's hospitality. I feel like it's actually rare that you have two people who are both extroverts and both love people. Hospitality has always been ingrained in both of us. That's what has made this journey extra special, because it doesn't feel like a stretch for one or the other. It really is both of us on the same page with hospitality. It's always been that way for me. It's been innate in me since I was a little girl.

Robin Pasley: That is so cool. I love it. I love to see how what's in us in those early years translates all the way through to our adult lives.

What Does It Take to Bring a Hospitality Concept From Idea to Opening?

Robin Pasley: It's so hard to get from a big dream, when you're in your room or at your desk at another job, to fruition, where it comes to life. How do we get from there to here? That's a big question.

Brooke Mikulas: We could talk for hours on that. Right off the bat, we started with a team.

Robin Pasley: Okay.

Brooke Mikulas: We said we need to get the right people around us. When we got back, we sat down. I actually looked back at my calendar, and there were 300 meetings that first summer back after our trip.

Robin Pasley: 300 in a summer?

Brooke Mikulas: 300, yeah. We didn't have kids then, but we were hustling. We were meeting with anyone who would talk to us about this dream. One of the things we always say is, vocalize the dream like it's real.

Robin Pasley: Oh, that's good.

Brooke Mikulas: Get it out in the open and share it with as many people as you possibly can, because all of a sudden you have this group of people who are going to hold you accountable to your dream. With the 300 meetings, it was other people in our community saying, "Have you met with so-and-so? They would be a great investor. They would be great for your branding and design. They could be an amazing architect for you." Over time, we were able to develop this amazing team and support system. I would say at least 50 people were working on this on a regular basis for a couple of years to pull it off.

How Does Branding and Interior Design Shape a Boutique Hotel Experience?

Robin Pasley: You mentioned earlier that you were really at the helm for design decision-making on the team. Tell me about that process. I know you had a great team around you, specifically for branding the hotel, because I love your branding.

Brooke Mikulas: It was an amazing process. One of the things Bobby and I committed to was that we wanted this to be an example of excellence, and we wanted it to highlight the best in our community. So we stayed local. We hunted for the best in Colorado Springs because we wanted this to be an authentically local experience. That means the wayfinding, the branding, the signage, the menus, everything — the topo map on the wall, those types of things — we wanted to be extremely intentional about. At the time, I think people were feeling like a lesser experience in Colorado Springs was acceptable. We wanted to change that, because we had seen so many incredible concepts around the world that were so thoughtful and intentional. We have that here, but we needed some people to step up to the plate. It's been incredible to see our community pop over the last decade.

Robin Pasley: Seriously.

Brooke Mikulas: Fixer Creative is who I would say is largely responsible for our branding, our design, and our identity. They are a very unique duo, Sara and Troy DeRose. Are you familiar with them?

Robin Pasley: Yeah, yeah.

Brooke Mikulas: They really are a studio. It's not just "here's your brand kit." It's "let's figure out your identity. Who are you in this community? Who are you going to be for, and why? And what does that look like in terms of how everything plays out for the property?" I would say we worked day to day with them for probably three or four years, legitimately.

Robin Pasley: Wow. Tell me more about the topo map, because to me, that's a feature piece.

Brooke Mikulas: Garrett Brown Designs out of Denver. They did a lot of our millwork, and their whole team actually moved here for six months.

Robin Pasley: Oh my gosh.

Brooke Mikulas: A lot of the very intricate woodwork and millwork that you see is their work, and they are so intentional with it.

Robin Pasley: I'm so thankful that you used local and that it was in your heart to do so. We just finished a hospitality interior design project as well, called the Outrider Hotel. They had the same heart behind everything they touched in the space: they wanted it to be local. They wanted it to be an expression of what we have here. I think that piece of storytelling, the way that the brand is infused into the whole space, is what makes a place a place that you remember, right?

Brooke Mikulas: If it's void of the human connection, the design just falls flat. It's not going to be an experience people remember. But if you create the space where the human connection can happen, then you've nailed it.

Robin Pasley: Yes. I love that.

Hyper-Local Hospitality Design: Why Kinship Sends Guests Out Into the City

Robin Pasley: We know that you're attracting travelers, obviously. Can you dial in, in a couple of sentences, the ideal traveler you want to come visit you?

Brooke Mikulas: Ultimately, our ideal traveler is someone who wants to come and get a glimpse behind the curtain of Colorado Springs. Like I have said many times, we are authentically local. Our menu is authentically local; we source as locally as possible. We want the adventurous traveler to come and have their landing space. Ultimately, it's for the modern adventurous traveler who is needing a reset, needing a place to land, and then be launched out. We are actually amenity-light, intentionally.

Robin Pasley: Okay.

Brooke Mikulas: We designed it that way because we wanted to highlight all of the amazing local businesses downtown. If someone is needing a gym, great — here's CityROCK. If someone is needing a spa, there's SunWater Spa in Manitou Springs.

Robin Pasley: Nice.

Brooke Mikulas: We are constantly pushing people out instead of trying to keep them in.

Robin Pasley: Oh, I love that concept. Speaking of concepts, do you have another one that you're thinking about?

Brooke Mikulas: That is a good question. It's no secret that since day one, we have wanted a network of Kinship Landing concepts across the world — that was the idea. We have been spending some intentional time lately underwriting different locations and figuring out what makes the most sense. But yes, it is definitely on the horizon.

Robin Pasley: Okay.

Brooke Mikulas: It's on our radar to be growing the brand and expanding, hopefully regionally, soon.

Robin Pasley: That is awesome. I can't wait to hear more about that. So if people want to find Kinship, what's the best way for them to find it?

Brooke Mikulas: Socials at Kinship Landing, and also at Homa Café + Bar, which is our restaurant. And then show up on site and let us serve you. Our restaurant is open 7 a.m. to 10 p.m. every single day, Monday through Sunday. We're at 415 South Nevada Avenue, 80903, right on the corner of Cimarron and Nevada. If you know where Loyal Coffee is, we're right across the street. It's also one of the best coffee shops in town, so if you're going to come, make sure you try both.

Robin Pasley: Wonderful. And this is an old person's question: do you have a website?

Brooke Mikulas: Oh, yes, of course. That's another great option. It's kinshiplanding.com.

Robin Pasley: Okay, good. Awesome. Thank you again for coming and joining me today on Design to Help Your Business Grow.

Brooke Mikulas: Thank you.

H.B. Pasley: If you need to create an unforgettable experience, then branded interior design is your secret weapon, because we don't do boring. Design to Help Your Business Grow. Pasley Commercial Interiors.

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