Spade Stories: Meet Seattle Home Stager Daniel

SEATTLE JUNIOR DESIGNER
DANIEL VAUGHAN

Hi, I’m Daniel and I am a Junior Designer at Spade and Archer’s Seattle location. I have some history with home staging while working at another local company as an installation associate. I applied to Spade and Archer because I saw an opportunity to advance my design career in a more desirable position, plus I really liked the Spade and Archer aesthetic. When they called back after the second interview I was excited to join the team.

My design career started a little later in life. The initial move into the design field was a significant change from my former career of professional cooking, as well as the many other hats I’ve tried on. I went back to school at the age of 29 for Industrial Design when I decided that I needed a more rewarding career, one with purpose and security, and that still let me be creative. I didn’t know what a design “career” would look like, I just knew I wanted to design. After graduating with a bachelor’s degree I still wanted to expand my design skills and branch out further. I saw becoming a home stager as a way to expand my design repertoire.

Now as a Junior Designer at Spade and Archer, not only do I get the opportunity to make homes beautiful, I also gain exposure to a variety of other design — such as architecture, furniture, art, home goods, and textiles. The fun part comes in combining these to create unique stories within each home and inspiring buyers to imagine their own stories in that home.  The challenge is making sure we select the appropriate furniture and decor to compliment a home’s beauty and features. 

In my off time I am husband and a father. Part of the reason I wanted to be in the creative field was so that I can inspire creativity in my own two young children. We do a lot of art and cooking at home, as well as a lot of reading. On the weekends we like to go hiking, and camping when the weather permits, and collect beach glass along the shore. I sometimes design and make jewelry or furniture or home and have been working on a blacksmithing forge so that I can make knives. Also, I am a pretty big video game and super hero geek. My favorite super hero though is 007. I am up to debate to this.

Keeping Our Small Business Alive, Open and Safe During COVID-19

Across the world over the past couple of months, we have all experienced great change in our daily lives. As COVID became our new reality, we grappled with new measures attempting to flatten the curve. With those new state and locally mandated measures came a lot of confusion. But as we waded through the mud, we made decisions about how we could continue to support our clients and employees. 

It became clear to Americans that in order to slow this virus, we would have to stop our normal day-to-day schedule. As a West Coast company, we had to look to three different state governments to advise us on if or how we could continue business. Of course, our Seattle location was the first to be impacted by the severity of the outbreak. And, it wasn't too long before we were trying to decipher each state's laws regarding the COVID shut downs. 

Initially, Washington State told us we weren't essential, California came out with a narrow list of non-essential businesses, and Oregon put out guidelines that outlined how you could continue to operate. We were really struggling. If you take a quick glimpse of what Spade and Archer does (in its most simple definition: making home pretty for sale) it's hard to consider us “essential.” But after a lot of feedback from clients, that quickly changed. We realized our furniture was sitting in houses that were sold and needed to be moved. We had clients telling us that their sellers had to sell their homes, they didn't just “want to.” No one wants to sell their home at a time like this. 

So, we got to work. We began dissecting state laws to try and figure out how we could conduct business safely for our employees and our clients. The first measure we took was to set a work from home schedule for our design staff, while our warehouse staff would stay in-house while keeping social distancing in place. We had to order masks, gloves and alcohol to ensure our safety. We put procedures in place for consultations and stages. But what really made an enormous difference for both us and our employees, was the new pricing model we started many months ago. 

Instant Pricing was an idea we toyed with long before COVID. It was really serendipitous that we already had this in the works. Our new pricing model allows our clients to get a staging quote instantly from our website. Once they have their quote, we give them a call and see if they would like to schedule a site visit. We are now conducting site visits without any one else on site--again ensuring that our staff and clients can avoid exposure to one another. At site visits, our design staff wear masks and gloves, when they leave they spray down any surfaces they touched with alcohol. Once the site visit is complete, we provide you with a list of recommendations to prepare the home. The new system is intuitive and really helps speed the process along so our realtors and their clients can get their listing prepared quickly and efficiently. 

Our staging services during this time are exactly the same as they have always been. We've always asked to be the only trade on site when we are staging! And we are asking the same now, not just because it benefits our process and keeps us on schedule, but because it protects our clients and our employees. 

As we move through this challenging and ever-changing situation, we ask that our clients always provide us with feedback about our processes. We'd love to hear about any new procedures you've put in place as well! We are all learning and adapting to this situation. If Spade and Archer can improve, we want to. 

Spade Stories: Meet Portland Home Stager Jesse

JESSE THOMAS
PORTLAND DIRECTOR

Being the Director of Spade and Archer Portland branch has come from a persistent interest in art, design, and adventure. I was raised in the Midwest to parents who were professional writers, poets, and editors that strongly encouraged encounters with art, music and writing, and ultimately influenced my interests in literature and the visual arts.

A Bachelor’s degree in Studio Art and Art History gave way to a Master’s of Fine Art in Painting and Drawing. I had the opportunity to study and live in New York, New Hampshire, Vermont, Ohio, and internationally in Australia and Italy.

After graduating school I spent a few years teaching design, attending a rotation of artist in residencies, taught as an Adjunct Professor of Drawing and Painting at various universities, served as department head at a Magnet Arts high school, and was Founder and Director of a non-profit Art Academy giving middle and high school students the opportunity to experience college-level art instruction.

Although I focus and obsess over painting and drawing, I often extend my interest to interior design. When I applied for the job as a Jr. Design Manager with Spade And Archer, I had little to no idea what I was stepping into exactly, and little experience or knowledge of home staging, but hoped that these would build on that interest. It ended up becoming half a decade of designing, building and working among a team I genuinely enjoy and respect, and moving into the role of Director for our Portland office. 

Being Director simply means that I oversee and support all aspects of home staging in our Portland office and bring calm to chaos. The day-to-day entails daily scheduling, overseeing clients, supporting staff and operations, being a designer, and aiding the team in any situation or need. Outside of work I am an avid rock climber, painter, husband and father. 

Spade Stories: Meet LOS ANGELES HOME STAGER Greg!

GREG FIESER
LOS ANGELES DESIGN MANAGER

I’ve always been interested in home interiors and design.  The true story I love to tell is that my mom stopped sending me to my room as punishment around eight years old because I would just go in there and rearrange the furniture.  She’d come check on me two hours later and I’d be a happy little kid just sitting there with a whole new layout.  My career path has bobbed and weaved in various directions over the years, but always with some kind of artistic bend:  actor, cosmetologist, television casting producer, landscape designer, Feng Shui consultant. 

When I found Spade and Archer, I was in Portland and working in furniture, lighting and home goods retail as a Visual Manager.  I remember it very clearly: I came home frustrated after another long day of holiday retail customer service and decided I needed a different career, STAT!  Retail had served me well and I was happy to at least have a job, but that’s all it was for me.  I enjoyed the visual aspect of my job. I loved moving furniture around every day and setting up displays. However, the grind of customer service coupled with the oppressive nature of large corporate retail was cracking my skull.  I’m a creative person all the time—not just the few hours a day allowed at a store. So I very quickly thought about the few industries where I could be creative full-time, have adult autonomy, and do something that spoke to my deepest skills.  I came home that dreary December day and started looking up local home staging companies.  I knew a little about staging and I had a background in design, so it seemed like the good fit.  I looked up six companies (that’s it!) and crafted a heartfelt and possibly desperate cover letter.  Three never responded to my email at all.  Two said they would look me up in April when they were hiring.  And one responded a few days later with an offer to meet and discuss.  That one response was from Justin Riordan, owner and founder of Spade and Archer Design Agency. 

We met at a coffee shop for a casual interview.  Justin spoke about his company, its humble beginnings and its optimistic future, as well as its design aesthetic encompassing contemporary, modern and antique furnishings.  I was impressed by his business model as well as his expansion ideas.  “Did I have a problem relocating?” Not one bit.  I’d finished my time in Portland and was ready to move on.  Justin said the job opening was in Seattle and I soon had a second interview up there in January.  Oh, and speaking of moving, would I mind moving to LA in a year or so when that new office was set to open? No? Great!

I took the bus up to Seattle for my second interview which went well, I suppose, as I was asked to come back up in February for a working interview. I started working full-time in Seattle in April.  In the flash of an eye, we got a great opportunity to open our Los Angeles office in September, so I returned to the Southland after a four-and-half year hiatus to the Northwest and started working on the new office.  I put a lot of sweat equity into opening our new warehouse. I was so gratified when we started staging homes all around LA.

This new career path that I put myself on has been such a blessing.  In my own home, I can only rearrange my furniture so much before it becomes exhausting and redundant.  In my work with my Feng Shui clients, I can only make suggestions to how they should arrange their spaces but the actual work is up to them.  In my retail work, I was always conscripted to a limited space and a corporate ideology or template.  But every time I stage a property, it becomes a brilliant space all uniquely unto itself.  When I close the door on a freshly staged house I’m impressed (and self-satisfied) that it always looks better than when I got there. Home staging seems to be a perfect fit for me-- I get to use all my talents and a lifetime of varied experience every day.  I can’t wait to see where this path takes me!

GOING GUARANTEED: A SOLUTION IN A HIGH RISK MARKET

Safety has been the number one priority of Spade and Archer these past two weeks as the news of the pandemic became increasingly concerning. After setting up the safety protocols that keep our clients and staff members healthy, we got to work on how our business will continue to solve problems for our listing teams in an uncertain market.

First, we changed our client processes to be completely touchless. Our new Instant Pricing tool now gets you the quote you need to start checking items off your listing to-do’s. Check out the whole story on that right here.

Second, we’re leveraging our Guaranteed Home Staging® program to offer some flexibility to our Pay-Up-Front clients during this time of market instability. Guaranteed Home Staging,® of course, is our pay-at-closing option where no monthly rental fees are paid while the home is listed, and staging is only paid for when the home finally closes.

More than ever before, a full, visually descriptive property will garner the most attention online. Professional photos after a top-to-bottom stage will show your home shoppers exactly how every space of the home can be used.

If you are considering home staging a new listing and want to compare both experiences, use the Instant Pricing tool to have a few quotes, then you can assess best you can the level of certainty you have over the speed of sale to make your decision.

Even if you are not ready to list right away, getting your staging completed now will get you one step closer to being ready to go when the market returns. We’re looking forward to being part of your listing team whenever you are ready!

Client reviews:

Justin and his crew at Spade and Archer Design Agency  were absolutely amazing in staging my listing in Milwaukie, OR.  From the initial consultation my client felt comfortable working with the them.  Justin actually listened to her and implemented some of her suggestions in a very professional manner which truly put her at ease. The two types of billing gave her an option in case the home took longer on market. Installation was flawless, presentation was amazing, removal came off without any damage to the home and the office was extremely easy to work with.  I would highly recommend Spade and Archer Design Agency to anyone looking for professional help with their listing because as we know well done staging sells houses faster and for a higher price.

• BARB KNUDSEN - KNUDSEN GROUP