From the age of 21, Harrell was a regular attendee at the International Furniture Market at High Point, North Carolina. In 1974, work with McLure Design in Winston-Salem and later Coy Carpenter gave him the opportunity to apply his talents to residential and commercial properties and learn the design business.

Over the years, Harrell branched out into business (as a restaurant owner), nonprofit management (for the March of Dimes), and real estate – and his professional interests moved him from North Carolina to southwest Michigan.

Throughout he continued to undertake individual interior design projects for selected clients – balancing his enduring involvement in the creative process with practical business interests. “In the late 1990s, demand for design services increased to the point where I decided it was time to pursue it full-time,” Harrell explains. “Now I combine my business experience and community connections with 30 years of creative work in interior design.”