Meet Elizabeth Wheeler | Product Designer & Entrepreneur

We had the good fortune of connecting with Elizabeth Wheeler and we’ve shared our conversation below.

Hi Elizabeth, we’d love to hear more about how you thought about starting your own business?
I think I’ve always been a bit entrepreneurial. I started my own jewelry business when I was 14 as my first job and have also worked as a freelance graphic designer. Starting WheelHaus is really a dream my partner and I have together to move towards more financial independence as we get older. We don’t want to feel financially tied to our stressful full-time tech jobs forever and want the freedom and flexibility to spend our time as we want (particularly more time with our kids). Purchasing our home in Breckenridge and creating LoughHaus with Myles and Eoin was part of that dream. All four of us were independently thinking of investing in a mountain house but we couldn’t afford what we wanted on our own. Eoin and Myles brought it up one night as we were having drinks and Kevin and I immediately said we were planning to ask them to go in on a house as well. We are so lucky that they felt similarly and we align pretty much perfectly on everything from lifestyle, finances, interior style and more.

Where are you from and how did your background and upbringing impact who you are today?

This question is always so hard to answer. I’m from all over! I was born in Los Angeles, raised in Westchester, New York, went to high school in St. Louis, Missouri and went to college in Boston. Kevin and I met in college, stayed in NY for two years and then moved to the Bay Area in Northern California. We lived there for about six years then moved to London for two years, moved back to the Bay and then drove all our belongings and two kids (in the middle of the pandemic) to where we live now in Denver. I think moving around so much as a kid really made me interested in different places and cultures. I didn’t travel much with my family growing up, but it was something I did on my own once I was in high school and college quite a bit. Back then I stayed in hostels, but it was always so cool to see how other people lived, what they ate and what they did for fun. When Airbnb came on the scene it was such a great way to really experience a new place rather than staying in a bland hotel room. I still remember one of my favorite Airbnbs that I ever stayed in. It was in Dublin and we were renting a room in this couple’s flat. Our host was an ex VP of a large corporation and her husband was in the shipping industry. They didn’t need the money but they loved meeting new people and sharing their beautiful flat with travelers and giving them a great experience. They made us incredible breakfasts every morning, gave us great recommendations for restaurants and activities. One night they invited us to join them for a glass of port (the first time Kevin and I had ever even tried it). I remember thinking, wow, I want to do this one day.

Risk taking: how do you think about risk, what role has taking risks played in your life/career?

By nature I am not a risk taker. I think one of the reasons my husband and I work so well together is that he is the dreamer, adventurer and risk taker and I really enjoy diving into the details and getting stuff done. I’ve also learned and recognized over time that when I’ve taken the biggest risks I’ve also gotten the biggest rewards. When I was in my mid-20s I took a huge risk and left my job in the art gallery world and paid a lot of money to go back to school for graphic design. After some time and a ton of hard work, this really panned out for me and led me to the product design job I have today. I also think that starting WheelHaus and buying these properties was a big risk and so far has worked out really well. I love talking to people from all over the world who have come to stay in one of our houses and trying to give them the best stay of their life. Seeing the 5 star reviews come in and reading how much our guests have loved their experience has been the most rewarding and made everything worth it.

If you had a friend visiting you, what are some of the local spots you’d want to take them around to?
Winter activities – Definitely head to Breckenridge ski resort it’s great for people of all levels (we even put our 3 year old in ski school last year) or at the base of the Ten Mile Range, a half-mile from Main Street on Ski Hill Road, cross country ski on the trails that weave through the Cucumber Gulch Nature Preserve in the surrounding National Forest.

Summer, Spring, Fall – hike the Spruce Creek trail to Mayflower and Mohawk Lakes, horseback riding, Leadville railroad, rent ATVs to explore abandoned mines and off-roading on Mosquito Pass

For a drink: RMU Breck

For a great dinner: Rootstalk

Great for families: Tin plate

Coffee: Unravel Coffee (Located in Gravity Haus Breckenridge)

Who else deserves some credit and recognition?
My co-owners in LoughHaus for sure. My husband, Kevin and our friends Myles Hession-Kane and Eoin Hession-Kane. Myles has really been spearheading the set-up and continued improvement work we’ve been doing on LoughHaus and we wouldn’t have been able to get it up and running without his tireless efforts.

Website: https://www.wheelhaus.homes/

Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/wheelhaus.homes/

Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/wheelhaus.homes/

Other: https://www.airbnb.com/rooms/634106811415082511?source_impression_id=p3_1664395164_YYlfatQD71GnC1fy