2022 Minneapolis Home and Garden Show will feature Mina of HGTV’s ‘Good Bones’ on Friday

If you watch HGTV regularly, you might be familiar with the revitalization of Indianapolis neighborhoods.

That’s surely the case if you watch “Good Bones,” a series that features Mina Starsiak Hawk and her mom, Karen Laine, as they rehab dilapidated properties to sell to homeowners who want to be part of the blossoming of this Indiana city — and who admire the mother-daughter team’s eclectic style.

Starsiak Hawk is stepping away from the renovations to travel about 600 miles north to answer fans’ questions at noon Friday at the Minneapolis Home + Garden Show.

“I LOVE doing as much Q&A as possible so people can hear what THEY want to know about,” she replied when asked what she’d be talking about on Friday. “So I typically give a brief background, how I got started, where we are now, then just have a conversation with the audience.”

How did she get started?

“My mom and I started rehabbing homes back in 2007,” she writes. “I had just graduated from Indiana University, and I bought a house that needed a lot of love. When we decided to renovate it ourselves, we had never done it before. We figured out what we were doing along the way and discovered a passion for home renovation in the process.

“In 2014, High Noon Entertainment found us through our Facebook and filmed a pilot for HGTV under the name ‘Two Chicks and a Hammer.’ We for sure thought we were being scammed at first, but seven seasons later of ‘Good Bones,’ here we are!”

Starsiak Hawk, 37, and Laine, 59, aren’t just playing “neighborhood rehabilitators” (not flippers, they say) for the camera — they really do work on bettering the housing stock in their corner of Indianapolis through Two Chicks and a Hammer.

We asked Starsiak Hawk for advice in this crazy real estate market.

“Sell if you can and avoid buying!” she writes. “If you have another living option and can take advantage of the seller’s market without engaging in the challenging buying market, DO IT.”

Of course, Starsiak is still buying and selling.

“We have around 10 homes we are working on right now for HGTV,” says Starsiak Hawk. “They will be featured in our seventh season of ‘Good Bones’ this coming year. We also are wrapping up our huge project for the new spin-off show, ‘Good Bones Risky Business.’”

That spinoff, scheduled to stream on discovery+ this summer, will feature Starsiak Hawk taking on a solo restoration: a historic home in Indianapolis that is more than 6,000 square feet and includes a carriage house.

Still, not everything in her life is so big. She and her husband, Stephen Hawk, have three dogs (Frank, Beatrice and Sophie) and two small children — Jack, 3-1/2, and Charlie, 1-1/2, who have been featured on the show, as well as the family’s struggles to overcome infertility. And just because she’s on HGTV, Starsiak Hawk says, doesn’t mean she’s leading a life of luxury.

“People think that we are super-rich and a huge company because we are on TV,” she writes, “when really that’s not true at all, and we only have a handful of employees!”

The ventures are growing, though, and include a store in Indianapolis, Two Chicks District Co., and a line of kids’ clothing, Jack and Drew, that drops a new outfit at noon on Fridays (11 a.m. CST). They also rent out the downstairs unit of a home in Indianapolis through Airbnb.

When it comes to homes in Indy, though, Starskiak says she has a favorite.

“My house, of course!” she says.

2022 Minneapolis Home + Garden Show

• When: Noon to 8 p.m. Wednesday and Thursday; 10 a.m. to 8 p.m. Friday and Saturday; 10 a.m. to 6 p.m. Sunday. Mina Starsiak Hawk of HGTV will speak at noon Friday.
• Where: Minneapolis Convention Center, 1301 Second Ave. S., Minneapolis
• Features: The theme of this year’s Idea Home is “Minnesota Farmhouse.” There’s also a backyard lounge and garden displays; kid activities; shopping; local vendors, speakers, food and more.
• Tickets: $14 general admission ($12 for tickets purchased online); $4 for kids ages six to 12. Other discounts and promotions also available.
• More info: Homeandgardenshow.com or call 612-330-3001.