The Trailer Diva

I am crazy about IKEA’s new ad campaign - Home is the Most Important Place in the World, especially since it is exactly what I believe, build my life and my business around. The photography of the campaign as always is spectacular, and love that some of the images are of “trailers”.

So besides the possibility of it being someone’s most important place in the world, what is a trailer? My definition is that it’s probably one of the most misused terms in regards to housing, and technically describes a recreational vehicle more than a manufactured home. Todays manufactured housing is not made to be moved once it is in place, and should be set on a permanent foundation.

Trailer parks and house trailers became popular in the 1950’s when people who’s lifestyles were more mobile were looking for a way to take their homes with them. A hybrid of a travel trailer, these original units were inexpensive and in 1956 technology made it possible to build a 10ft wide unit offering the homeowner more space, and making the unit more spacious for spending longer periods of time in. A “trailer” was typically a home that could be pulled buy a car or truck, but the mobile homes that became popular in the 60’s had to be pulled by a professional truck company.

But I’m getting ahead of myself. The winds of Katrina brought a new version of the trailer into our lives - the FEMA trailer. They were everywhere in the news, and it was our government’s answer on how to house the people who had lost their homes. The manufactured housing and recreational vehicle companies stepped up and did everything possible to provide the homes - it was a time in my life I’ll never forget. I worked with Patriot Homes to furnish 2,500 homes, and I only hope that whoever received them is enjoying them.

Now two years later there is a lot of discussion about Formaldehyde in the FEMA trailers, but the homes that they are discussing aren’t to my knowledge the manufactured homes, but the recreational vehicles. Just another example of how much difference a name can make.

I love trailers - that’s why I’m the Trailer Diva. But my idea of the ultimate trailer is an Aluminum bullet from the 60’s that I have lovingly restored, not a manufactured home. My dream manufactured home will be the one that is on some land in Arizona - stay tuned!

This has been an interesting week - lots of battles being fought and on the good side reconnecting with great role models.

After getting an SOS from my sister that’s building a stunning home in Oklahoma I headed up 35 to see how I could help. From the beginning it’s been obvious that we are sisters - she and her husband didn’t want a home that was like every one on the block. They wanted one that embraced old and new, had character just like their family definitely does, and was full of the love and craftsmanship our parents brought us up in. This wasn’t a project they took on as a whim - finding the right lot and the right components has been a decade long search. They were also looking for partners in the process that could share their passion and to be honest they had no issues with compensating people for their time and involvement. As a person and as a professional there isn’t one thing that I would have done any differently than they did.

When interviewing builders they spent over a year talking to other consumers that had built in the area, visiting homes built by various builders and almost gave up on being able to find the right partner. Finally they found one that said the right things and was as anxious to get started as they were.

Fast forward almost two years, and my sister is still waiting for the home to be completed. It’s become the nightmare that we all hear about - the builder is never around and with subcontractors that have no supervision or guidance my sister is having to take on pretty much the builders role to move the house forward.

So much comes down to attitude - her family is very sensitive to smoke and they discovered one day that the trim carpenters had been smoking in the house… a lot. They asked then not to smoke in the house because of the health issues and yet the contractors continued to - never even stepped outside to indulge in something that has been proven to be a health hazzard to them as well as everyone around them. Plus the fact that the painters were working in the house with very flammable stains and lacquers. If the builder had been around to see this it should have been his responsibility to handle this with HIS subs and to be sure that the work was being done on time and with the craftmanship that was promised.

As someone who makes their living in the home building industry, I’m embarrassed to have people like this call themselves professionals, and it’s people like this who hurt all of us. My sister and her family are ending up paying a very heavy price - instead of getting to spend as much time as she would like to with her family and her husband’s business she is having to manage subs and do the work that they have paid others to do. Sadly, I think if they knew how much building a home was going to affect their quality of life for this many years they might not have ventured down that road.

Fortunately there have been bright spots. It’s a family trait / curse that we don’t ask people to do anything that we wouldn’t do ourselves and many times we work right along side the people we’ve hired and frienships evolve. One of those is a soul that there aren’t even words to describe -someone who has given his time, his sources, and his treasures to make my sisters home as special as they had hoped. He has understood their vision (unlike their builder) and has discovered architectural components that have been around for hundreds of years and will continue to have a place of honor in their home. Their stone work is a masterpiece and you can tell it is a labor of love as is the pool complete with it’s own grotto.

I’m sure I’ll be adding to this subject in the future. What this has taught me is that it doesn’t matter if your new home costs $20,000 or $2,000,000 - every family and every home deserves to be treated with respect and with the quality we would expect if we were building it for ourselves.

When people walk model homes I’ve merchandised often I get the comment that their own home could never look as great as the model. Not true! Everything that I use in a model home is available to anyone - the “trick” is to develop your own group of sources and to search out things that appeal to your own lifestyle and tastes.

As a Lifestylist, a lot of my job when merchandising model homes is to do the research on who the potential buyer is for that home, and discover what their needs and dreams are. That often takes me to amazing places - national parks, museums, missions, estate sales and flea markets. Finding things that are unique to the area are what give a model personality and make the potential buyer feel at home.

I’ve launched Lifestylist Design to be able to design products for anyone that are similar to the one of a kind objects I’ve found for my homes.

I saw this quote in a wonderful ad by Brandon homefurnishings. It shows a photo of a chameleon and talks about adapting to furnitures’ new retailing environment. With as quickly as our world is changing these days, our ability to adapt and evolve can mean the difference between being successful or extinct.

Today’s consumer has an increasingly short attention span. If your product doesn’t offer them what they feel they need and are looking for was well as being an exceptional value, they’ll keep looking until they find someone that does.

Make time every day to search out emerging trends and “what’s hot” in your market. One of my favorite tools is Google’s Alert service. This is available at no charge and is an easy way to be in the know on any subject that is important to you. It’s also a wonderful way to monitor what is being written about you and your company. A company has numerous times has used my trademark Lifestylist without my permission. By using the Google Alert service I’m able to see when my trademark is being used by someone other than me many times.

It isn’t always about how much you spend, but how much you think. Learn to use the resources available to you and success will follow.

One of the questions I always get asked is exactly what is a Lifestylist, and what is unique about the Lifestylist Lifestyle. The second most asked question is what makes me a Trailer Diva!

The Lifestylist philosophy is that “It’s all about You” - the clients life and style is what dictates how a Lifestylist works with you. My favorite example is I had a client in Phoenix, Arizona that was a major Phoenix Suns fan, and their team colors are orange and purple. The client wanted their entire home done in these colors. What they wanted is what they got, complete with a child’s room with a hardwood floor striped like a basketball court.

I just spoke to a friend who’s dog had just dug up her entire garden and her daughter slammed the door on the neighbor’s hand - all in about 30 minutes time. Her needs and lifestyle are completely different from my Son - no kids, no dogs, and lives in front of his computer. What my style is wouldn’t work well for either of them which is why I need to understand the client and what their “hot buttons” are. It’s takes extra time and sleuthing to achieve this - many times the client has trouble putting into words exactly what they are looking for but they know it when they see it. I take the responsibility very seriously - a person’s environment can truly change their lives in a positive or negative way. If someone is happy in their home their quality of life improves.

Next to being a mother, becoming a Lifestylist is one of the most rewarding things I’ve ever done. I’m looking forward to expanding the concept and what it offers in the years to come.