Today we’d like to introduce you to Kristi And Shaun O’Rorke.
Hi Kristi and Shaun, so excited to have you on the platform. So before we get into questions about your work-life, maybe you can bring our readers up to speed on your story and how you got to where you are today?
There are brands born from strategy.
And then there are brands born from survival, artistry, heartbreak, and soul.
CHICCRETE was born from survival.
Just months after purchasing their home, Kristi O’Rorke and her family faced an unexpected disaster when their basement flooded. What should have been a season of excitement quickly turned into uncertainty, financial stress, and heartbreak. Faced with impossible choices and limited resources, the family found themselves with no other option but to learn how to rebuild, refinish, and create with their own hands.
So they did.
What began as necessity slowly transformed into artistry.
There were no grand business plans in the beginning — only late nights, experimentation, exhaustion, determination, and a refusal to give up on creating beauty from something broken. Concrete, texture, overlays, and artisan finishes became more than materials; they became a way forward.
And somewhere inside that process, CHICCRETE was born.
Kristi is the eye. She always played around with painting tile and using her creative energy to diy any and everything! This has been in her since she has been a young adult and fate brought it to the surface and Shaun has been a strong labor loving guy forever. Shaun is the best person for krisit because he knows to never shoot down her wild ideas and they have learned through all the trials they’ve faced that quite literally anythign can be done and figured out!!!
Alright, so let’s dig a little deeper into the story – has it been an easy path overall and if not, what were the challenges you’ve had to overcome?
There were no grand business plans in the beginning — only late nights, experimentation, exhaustion, determination, and a refusal to give up on creating beauty from something broken. Concrete, texture, overlays, and artisan finishes became more than materials; they became a way forward.
And somewhere inside that process, CHICCRETE was born.
Every entrepreneur will tell you having a business is like having another child. So much heart and soul goes into it behind the scenes the late nights the grit but it’s all worth it!!
As you know, we’re big fans of you and your work. For our readers who might not be as familiar what can you tell them about what you do?
We are artist first. We provide pittsburgh businesses, homeowners and builders high end unique artisan interior and exterior finishes. The philosophy behind CHICCRETE is deceptively simple:
Imperfection creates soul.
In a world obsessed with polished surfaces and disposable trends, CHICCRETE became a rebellion against over-design. The studio embraced raw texture, aged beauty, architectural restraint, and materials that feel lived in rather than manufactured.
What started as survival evolved into a full creative language. Floors became canvases. Walls became sculpture. Countertops became tactile experiences. Old surfaces were transformed rather than demolished — a philosophy the studio now calls the “no demo reno.”
Instead of hiding texture, CHICCRETE celebrates it.
Hairline movement, tonal variation, weathered edges, and hand-finished surfaces are not flaws in the CHICCRETE world. They are reminders that something beautiful can still emerge after disruption.
Building Beauty From the Ground Up
Much like the departments Kristi built during her corporate career in global clinical operations, CHICCRETE was also built from the ground up.
No investors.
No polished launch campaign.
No roadmap.
Just resilience, creativity, experimentation, and heart.
Can you talk to us a bit about the role of luck?
I don’t know about luck but I do know a thing or too about manifestation. I’m a firm believer of where you put your thoughts your dreams your free time and how you spend it your attitude, that translates to me into luck.
Contact Info:
- Website: https://Www.chiccrete.com
- Instagram: @chiccrete
- Facebook: Chiccrete
