The Entrepreneur Growing Beyond Golden Rule

Like many a creative, it’s hard for Erin Parrish Duininck to ignore the allure of a shiny side hustle. She attributes her sense of style and business savvy to her late grandmother, an antiques dealer and estate sale company owner. “Her impact on me has been enormous, and because of that, I’m eternally attracted to vintage treasures and feel most at home with a pretty lineup of colored glass ready to be photographed, catalogued, and sent off to a new life,” she says.

When the shopkeeper and art collector isn’t stocking her retail store and gallery, Golden Rule, she’s donning a hard hat and transforming spaces into hubs for local creatives, brands, and party-throwers alike.

In 2020, the pandemic halted special events and gatherings, so Parrish Duininck converted Golden Rule’s small top-floor event venue and photo studio into more retail space—“but I missed having that arm of the business—a place for people to really connect,” she says.

It wasn’t long until she stumbled upon her next project: a cozy Scandi-inspired cottage in Shorewood, which she’s now renovating into a designated space for brand production and small events and gatherings. Currently, she’s working with a local landscape architect to reimagine the cottage’s grounds into a venue suitable for outdoor nuptials and concerts (her first gig will feature local musician Chris Koza, who is slated for early September). “I want to make it a gorgeous place to gather, listen to music, talk about art, and really connect the creative community.”

But that’s not all: She’s also flipped a fixer-upper in Shorewood into a charming tiny house and recently broke ground on a mother-in-law-like apartment at her primary residence designed to host Golden Rule–specific art shows, creative gatherings, and private events.

All will operate under Parrish House Rentals, each with its own personality and brimming with one-of-a-kind art pieces to serve as backdrops for other creatives looking to get inspired. “I know blank, all-white spaces have been the hot thing, and while I totally appreciate that, I feel like enough of that is already offered locally,” says Parrish Duininck. “I’ve always been a color person, and I’m so happy that color and pattern are back in for me to tastefully incorporate into all of my spaces.” Each space shows off her unique fingerprint, with the help of local interior designer and consultant designer Anne McDonald. “I’d call my style storied—everything has to have a purpose and story,” adds Parrish Duininck. “I surround myself with things I feel connected to—a color or one funny vintage portrait.”