In the News
Brazil to KC: Carol Espinosa showcases path to creativity, opportunity
June 20, 2022
She arrived in the United States with just two suitcases and her own creativity, but today Carol Espinosa fills a 7,000-square-foot Westport storefront with enough modern workplace designs to unpack for weeks, she said.
“This company was built from nothing,” said Espinosa, founder of Freedom Interiors. “It started with no customers, no product offerings — just an idea, a hope and a dream. Here in America, we have a chance to build something and share it with other people.”
A 2017 graduate of Blue Hills Community Services construction incubator, Freedom and its team moved in mid-December to an expansive new showroom at 4000 Washington St., the former Westport post office. It was the culmination of seven years of growth and planning, Espinosa said.
“And now, to be able to contribute to the economic development of Westport is really amazing,” she said. “I see this area being very different five or 10 years from now. To be right here, right now, is really cool.”
Check out five inspiration points at Freedom’s new space here.
Brazilian-born Espinosa arrived in Kansas in 2000, studying creative writing at the University of Kansas before turning her attention to interior design and 3-D visualization — specifically for 21st-century corporate and government workplaces, as well as educational spaces.
“I fell in love with Kansas City,” she said. “I got married and became a U.S. citizen — one of the proudest moments of my life — and this is my home. This is the country that embraced me and supported me. I’m so grateful for this opportunity.”