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. It was also in Florence that she met her future husband, Matt. Upon graduating in May of 2002, Annie got bit by the travel bug again and migrated west to San Francisco, where she worked in interior design at the SF Design Center for Kravet Fabrics & Furniture.

Although San Francisco had been an amazing place to live, work, play and eat, Annie felt the compelling pull of the south (and longed for proper sweet tea and her Nana's biscuits), and in the fall of 2004, she headed east, landing in Charleston, SC. She obtained a job with Home Team Communications, where she had the chance to promote several of the city’s most well-known businesses. Annie opened ByrdHouse Public Relations in January 2006 with some wonderful clients, extremely supportive friends and family and well-respected business mentors. Nearly five years later, she is honored to be working with some of the best clients in their respective industries. Annie is currently Vice President of the board of Slow Food Charleston and volunteers her public relations services for a variety of charities and events dear to her heart, including Lowcountry Local First and the Charleston Food & Wine Festival. She is also a member of the Southern Foodways Alliance, SCPRSA, Charleston AMA, and Charleston Young Professionals. In 2009, Annie founded an annual event called Lowcountry Field Feast, a farm to table dinner spotlighting local farmers that raises money for a local charity. To date, this annual event has raised $8500 for Lowcountry Local First. She was named one of the Charleston Regional Business Journal's "40 Under 40" in 2011.

When she is not diligently working in the nest, Annie enjoys oyster roasts on the May River at her family home in Bluffton, yoga at Holy Cow, live music, movies at the Terrace, photography, cooking, eating at Charleston’s unbelievable restaurants, hitting the beach and spending time with her family, friends, wonder hounds, Birdie and Stella, and husband, Matt. Annie and Matt welcomed their first child, Matthew, April 22, 2011.