About Speaker Mina Starsiak Hawk…
Mina Starsiak Hawk, star of HGTV’s Good Bones, is the co-founder and owner of Two Chicks and a Hammer. Mina graduated with a general studies degree and a litany of minors from Indiana University. She was indecisive about what she would tackle in the future and was searching for her passion. Following graduation, she began working at a restaurant as a server. Seemingly aimless, and wanting to do something “grown up” like all of her friends from college were doing, she bought her first house with Karen, her mom, as a co-signer. It was a $12,000 house in desperate need of repair. In rehabbing her first house she found something she enjoyed doing; working independently and being her own boss. After the first house was finished, it was onto the next one. She and Karen were doing about 1-3 houses a year depending upon what they could afford, when one day a strange message was sent her way.
A talent scout was interested in the operation Mina and Karen had built. Suspecting the whole thing to be a scam, it was ignored until some convincing was done on the scout’s behalf. A camera was sent out for a self-filmed “sizzler” reel. That reel lead to a pilot, and that pilot lead to a first season. The production company stated they needed more access to her time for filming so Mina quit her serving job. This was now a full-time job. The production company needed 10 houses to be filmed, so the work load for Two Chicks and a Hammer grew exponentially. No season is promised and every renewal is rewarded through the hard work of Mina and the Two Chicks and a Hammer team
Being from the Midwest, Mina stays pretty down to earth and this translates through to her design style. Mina describes her style as attainable, clean, comfortable, with a touch of color and luxe. This shines through with the homes on Good Bones. Having recently entered motherhood, Mina’s style of accessible beauty and comfort has gone to a new level; from the construction itself down to the furniture and fixtures she installs, everything has a balance of beauty and functionality.
Mina is a workaholic and is always tapped into the business even if all she has at her disposal is a phone. Outside of work, she is passionate about spending time with her family. Since having Jack, her son, she makes sure to take time during the show to swing by her house to give him a squish, and has become more conscious of getting home from the office or field at a more reasonable time to enjoy what she has built, the family within her forever home. Family does not just extend to her son and husband, but also to her fur babies. Mina’s love of dogs and children, has helped shape the community impact of Two Chicks and a Hammer in Indianapolis. The team has a “Do Good” calendar that includes days spent at the local shelter trying to get dogs adopted to helping support the local school programs.
Revitalizing Indianapolis one property at a time is the is the mission statement of Two Chicks and a Hammer and the driving force behind everything Mina and the company does. From its start as a side hustle, to a full-time job, Two Chicks and a Hammer and Mina continue to work hard to make Indianapolis a brighter more beautiful place.