Annie Byrd Hamnett, Owner
Annie is a graduate of the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill, where she received her BA from the School of Journalism and Mass Communications, one of the top three journalism schools in the nation. While in college, she had the opportunity to spend an incredible semester in Florence, Italy, and enjoyed several months of traveling, sightseeing and eating her way through Europe. Upon graduating in May of 2002, Annie got bit by the travel bug again and migrated west with her trusting boyfriend, Matt. She lived in San Francisco for two years, working at the SF Design Center, where she was employed in customer service and sales for Kravet Fabrics & Furniture.

Although San Francisco had been an amazing place to live, work and play, Annie felt the compelling pull of the south (and longed for proper sweet tea and fried chicken), and in the fall of 2004, she headed east, landing in Charleston, SC. She obtained a job with the prestigious Home Team Communications and working side-by-side with owner Angel Postell, Annie had the chance to promote several of the city’s most well-known businesses. In November 2005, Angel accepted an offer to become the Executive Director for the new Distinctively Charleston Food & Wine Festival, and generously offered for Annie to start her own company with some willing Home Team clients…thus, the creation of ByrdHouse.

Annie opened ByrdHouse Public Relations in January 2006 with four wonderful clients, extremely supportive friends and family and well-respected business mentors. She has steadily increased the ByrdHouse client base and is honored to be working with some of the best clients in their respective industries. Annie currently sits on the board of the Advertising Federation of Charleston as well as the South Carolina Public Relations Society of America. She volunteers her public relations services for a variety of charities and events, including Lowcountry Aids Services’ Dining with Friends and Shopping with Friends and the Charleston Food & Wine Festival, for whom she created a young food and wine group, the Bon Vivants.

When she is not diligently working at her nest on Spring Street in downtown Charleston, Annie enjoys traveling, music, cooking, eating at Charleston’s wonderful restaurants, hitting the beach and spending time with her nearby brother (Rusty), parents and new husband, Matt.