The Sustainability Issue

November 25, 2015triad-city-beat.com

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15 Perch and Nest

ess is more. Simplify your life. Downsize. While browsing the self-help section of any bookstore or skimming the cover of a

Real Simple magazine, you’ll see these phrases used to bait the average overburdened and time-starved working-class citizen. But for Johanna and Tom Elsner, those phrases ring true. About the start-up of their new tiny cottage and home company, Per-ch&Nest, Johanna states, “Less is more is a common phrase used in the tiny house movement.” It means, “less home and material items to care for financially and physically, which equates to more life experienc-es and time with loved ones.”

But Johanna and Tom Elsner aren’t living in a tiny house. By contrast, the 1890s farmhouse they’re in the process of renovating has room to spare, and dwarfs the tiny house builds surrounding it. But the fact that the Elsner’s aren’t currently living in a tiny

house does not diminish their passion in building them. In fact, next year they plan on building a tiny “dream” home on wheels of their own for travel and show, an American Gothic incorporating vintage and reclaimed finds.

The Elsners have been restoring homes and cot-tages for more than 10 years, but the transition from general residential construction to custom tiny home and cottage builds has allowed them to pursue their dream, as well as spend more time at home with their children. Perch&Nest was born out of their mutual desire to be craftsman and makers.

Johanna states, “It has meant that Tom and I are able to finally hone in on these passions we have been refining for years: carpentry, home design, reclaiming/repurposing materials, and helping others see how great a home can be without spending a fortune.”

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Perch and Nest will be raffling off a New Years Weekend Getaway for one lucky winner who will enjoy a two nights stay in one of their fully fur-nished custom homes. The home will be stationed in the Village of Wildflowers, a tiny house com-munity in Flat Rock, NC, just outside of Asheville. All proceeds benefit the Tiny House Expedition, a documentary in production partially sponsored by Perch&Nest. Raffle tickets will be available for purchase beginning Dec. 1 on their website as well as Facebook page. They will also be for sale during Krankies Craft Fair, where a Perch&Nest THOW will be available to tour!

• Remove leaves • Clean gutters• Mow lawn • Trim edges

• An all-round outside handy man!

Joe Savage (336) 324-9178Lashawngsavage@gmail.com

At Perch&Nest, Johanna does “everything besides building,” which includes design, project management and customer service. Tom is the craftsman, with skills deeply seeded from an apprenticeship with his grand-father, a master carpenter. He makes mobile tiny homes on wheels (or, THOWs) solid enough to rival those on foundations — which is a major con-cern amongst the THOW community. Many issues can arise if the homes are not built correctly and utilizing interna-tional building codes, such as electrical malfunctions, water damage and even theft. (For an example of a tiny house gone wrong, read Tiny House Lessons: Buyer Beware at liveafastlife.com).

Since the switch to a home-centered work environment, the Elsners have noticed they “are starting to feel less stressed and really enjoying our work.” Clients will often stop in the house for coffee while checking on their builds, and the “kids will bring snacks to the shop.” The Elsners truly feel that their tiny home clients are part of the family.

“We are getting to know some great people in this intimate building process, and our children are seeing us help others build their dream homes.”

The tiny house movement is still rel-atively small but growing, and its ideals capture a diverse segment of the pop-ulation — from retirees in search of a home that won’t stress an already tight budget, to college graduates looking for the mobility a THOW affords.

The allure of the tiny house is easy to understand: The average person will spend at least 15 years at work just to

pay off the mortgage on a traditional home. Many tiny homeowners are able to purchase their homes outright, and can choose career paths where salary is not a mitigating factor.

A unique example of a Perch&Nest client comes from a woman in Virginia who wished to purchase a tiny home so she could care for her ailing parents. She planned to park it in their backyard to maintain her own space.

The prefabricated tiny homes that she had been researching online didn’t meet her specific needs. The Elsners helped solidify and finalize her plans, and in six weeks time were able to build the house she had imagined. More details about that specific build are available on their website.

Johanna and Tom stand behind their work, and pride themselves on creating custom homes that will last a lifetime. And though the entire Elsner family won’t be living in a tiny house full-time, their son Aiden, 11, already has big plans for his own.

“We told him we would help him build his home throughout high school so that he can take it with him to col-lege,” Johanna remarked. “He will go to college as a debt-free homeowner who helped build his own home.”

Look for their new line of Heri-tage Homes on wheels in early 2016, featuring tiny takes on classic designs such as Craftsman and Art Deco. For more information about Perch&Nest’s custom-built tiny homes and cottages, visit PerchandNest.com or Facebook.com/perchandnest.

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15 The Thoughtful Gardener

he Environmental Protection Agency estimates that watering lawns accounts for 30 to 60 per-cent of water consumption during the summer

months. And the green grass carpet that many Americans idealize as the “perfect lawn” requires pesticide use and fertilizers in enormous amounts. Approximately 70 million tons of fertilizer and 90 million pounds of pesticides are dumped on American lawns each year.

That’s not to say that grass doesn’t serve a purpose. It cleans car exhaust from the air by ingesting carbon dioxide and producing oxygen, and is a perfect place for children to play. But Jesse Hammond and his team at Dancing Iris Earthscapes can ensure that grass is not the entirety of your yard, and that what grass you do have is cared for in an ecologically sound way.

Jesse Hammond started with his father’s landscaping company, New Beginnings. But after the birth of Jesse’s first child, about 11 years ago, his dad announced he was moving to England and asked Jesse to take the reigns. After changing the name over to Dancing Iris Earths-capes, Jesse took the company in a new direction as well. Being passionate about eco-friendly living, he wanted those values and practices to be at the forefront of his new business.

His landscaping approach is centered in sustainability and moves beyond the basics of using organic weed killers and fertilizers. He incorporates Old English and Asian de-sign elements into many of the yards he creates for both aesthetic and functional purposes. The point is to make a yard beautiful without it being a sea of green grass.

Caring hands and a green thumb

His crew does as much work as possible by hand instead of with large gas-guzzling machinery and equip-ment. While working on a recent project using heavy stonework, his team employed a wooden dolly sys-tem to carry large stones through the yard instead of bringing in a utility loader.

Adding perennials such as hostas and daylily’s are another sustainable

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design feature. These can reproduce, and then be reused in other beds year after year (check Jesse’s Winter Green Thumb Tips). According to Jesse, “If they don’t make babies, what’s the point of putting them in your yard?”

Organic food is great, and if you are so inclined, home gardens can be a valuable resource. But grow-ing fruits, vegetables and herbs are time consuming and need the care of an ex-perienced hand to properly usher in nature’s bounty. Jesse’s team can create and care for raised beds, and turn a barren backyard into a food-producing oasis. They will often try to include edibles in most aesthetic landscape designs as well. Jesse strongly feels that “flowers are nice, but I want to give my clients more than that… more use of their yards.”

Jesse’s Winter Green Thumb TipsSave your leaves. You can chop them up with your lawn-

mower to use for mulch. Easy, green, and economical.Mulch all garden beds. Mulching helps hold in warmth

and moisture. Jesse says it’s “like putting a big ol’ fuzzy blan-ket on top of the plants.” Cozy plants=happy plants.

Deadhead your garden. Snip off the dead parts of plants, especially perennials. This will make it easier for new growth to appear in spring.

Divide your perennials. Now is the best time to dig them up, split the root ball in halves or fourths, and replant them in other areas. The same can be done with bulbs.

Plant that strawberry patch! Between now and January, depending on the weather, is the best time for planting fruit-bearing bushes and trees.

Dancing Iris Earthscapes services the Piedmont Triad and sur-rounding areas. They do design, garden installation, stonework, water features, edibles, and pond maintenance. As Jesse Hammond says, “We do everything except mowing yards.” For more information or a free estimate of services, call Jesse: 336.970.0086. Or visit facebook.com/dancingiris.

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15 World of Woman-Craft

bag with saturated magenta and red textiles rests on a hand-woven chair. They were crafted by women who

“sit on the back of their oxcarts and loom this hemp… and this back part is from their clothing, and this front piece was from a baby carrier,” says Ann Hoyme, known to most as Robbie, proprietor of Blue Lotus Trading Co. in Win-ston-Salem.

It’s a respite from the corporate and chain stores that litter our suburbs. Each display is a shrine to artists, most of them women, many who live halfway across the world.

The store could be a museum of international craft culture, except that the wonders of the world are out in the open to be touched and ex-plored, and every item is for sale. Well… almost every item. Enclosed in a glass case rest a pair of hand-embroidered silk slippers from Thailand, circa 1700, and Robbie isn’t sure whether or not she can part with them.

“They do have a price-tag, but I think I’ve made it high enough where I won’t have to worry about it,” she says.

There are other items in the store that Robbie wouldn’t mind holding on to, like those pieces of handcrafted furniture from Shandong and other Chinese provinces, each finished with a wax seal unique to its region.

“China isn’t letting a lot of this stuff out any-more,” she says. “Once they sell, pieces like this are really hard to get in again.”

Robbie’s first shop, GAIA, has been a staple in

Winston-Salem for 17 years and remains a vital part of the Whole Foods shopping center on Miller Street in Winston-Salem. There she sells eclectic women’s clothing and other handcrafted items. The origin of Blue Lotus began within GAIA’s walls.

It was really a matter of space.“Once I realized that GAIA would not allow

me to be all things, and celebrate women-craft everywhere, I decided to limit GAIA to [prod-ucts from] the US and Europe, and open another store for the other parts, the rest of the world,” she says.

Blue Lotus is the “other part” — all of “the textiles, the things women make, the beautiful jewelry, the tribal accents.”

Robbie created Blue Lotus to showcase the treasures she’s curated from a lifetime of seek-ing. She explains that many of her friends had been in the Peace Corps, and had introduced her to the artistry of the indigenous peoples they had met.

“Almost everything I have is old; wonderful global antiques,” she says.

Unlike chain curio shops that may have hand-made items selling cheap, Robbie insists that her items truly are fair trade.

“I like to buy from the source, from the artist herself, instead of from organizations,” she says.

In her own travels, Robbie finds crafted goods of interest and brings them back to her store. Zooties (baby shoes created to look like little animals) from Kyrgyzstan line a shelf above a

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Melissa Greer Realtor/Broker, GRI, CRSBHHS 5 Year Legends Award 2014Chairman’s Circle Diamond Award 2014Chairman’s Circle Platinum Award 2013Chairman’s Circle Gold Award 2010,2011,2012

(336) 337-5233 • melissagreer.comMelissa.Greer@bhhsyostandlittle.com

Best wishes to all for a happy & prosperous 2016!

& my sincere thanks to all of you who helped make 2015 successful.basketful of handmade toys from Mexico.

And Mala beads dangle everywhere.“Somebody came in here once and

told me: They said, ‘Every time you turn around in here you see something from a completely different viewpoint. And I just loved that!”

Most of the pieces in Blue Lotus are striking and one of a kind: a temple door from India, a mermaid from Indonesia, a suzani throw from Turkey. Captivating pillows and bags with screen-printed faces of women from across the globe, stitched together with strips of decorative fabric and hand-sewn, are on display.

“I met these two sisters from Morocco and they have done all of this photogra-phy of tribal women,” she says. “I fell in love with their things.”

Several items are remade from Kanthas, hand-stitched textiles from Southeast Asia generally used as a women’s dowry.

“These pieces are old,” she says. “There are a lot of newer ones being mass-pro-

duced, but you can tell the difference. Look at this.”

She points out the dotted rows of thread that stripe the intricately patterned throw.

A curve made of baby hats from Nepal line the archway of the store, worn to ward off evil spirits. Robbie gets them from a Nepalese woman who buys them, cleans them up and sells them overseas.

“Smell them… they all smell like this detergent they use in Nepal.”

The collection that Robbie has pulled in from around the world is remarkable and shopping in Blue Lotus is a delight to the senses.

“I believe in enhancing the human ex-perience. I want to make it beautiful… this store is here for seekers of beauty.”

Blue Lotus Trading Co.53 Miller St., W-S336.448.0258Find them on Facebook

Profile of an EcoBroker: Sara Tavery, Robin’s Egg Realty

A green nestccording to the National Association of Realtors, more home buyers than ever have green features at the top of their wish lists. So when Sara Tavery

of Robin’s Egg Realty points out a home’s energy efficiency, buyers take notice.

Sara is EcoBroker Certified, making her uniquely positioned to sell and market green homes. Her expertise in green upgrades and home improvements makes her a wonderful resource for those interested in energy efficiency and sustainable living.

Sara started Robin’s Egg Realty with sustainability as her mission, but her clients are not limited to those buying or selling green. About 80 percent of her business focuses on traditional homes. She enjoys working with clients who are looking for charming older homes with character, and those

who may have special requests that only a small indepen-dent brokerage firm such as Sara’s could accommodate.

Walkable neighborhoodsA recent example of a client with unique needs involved

a woman who wanted to find a home in a neighborhood where driving wasn’t required.

According to her client, “Most people don’t get it, as we are such a car-centric country. But having lived overseas previously without a car for years, it’s a much better lifestyle and better for the planet. If I could just walk, or even take a bus, to the basics such as food (a deli, farmer’s market), pharmacy, etc. I would be so happy.”

Another client is using Sara’s vast network of green homebuilders to find a buyer interested in sustainably developing a five-acre property in Winston-Salem.

Supporting a greener communityThe environmentally sound business practices employed

by Robin’s Egg Realty make it an appropriate choice for clients who are interested in environmental causes. Sara’s green philosophy encompasses all aspects of her internal business practices, including minimizing excess waste and printed materials, conserving resources and recycling.

Sara also practices what she preaches by giving back to

the community, and helping clients do the same.Upon closing, Sara gifts her clients a $100 donation to

a local nonprofit of their choice, as long as it promotes sustainability or environmental education. Sara herself is ac-tively involved with many of these organizations. She serves as vice president of the Piedmont Environmental Alliance, and works with Keep Winston-Salem Beautiful and Yadkin River Keeper, among others.

In 2012, Sara founded the Sustainable Business Network of Winston-Salem, a networking group with a mission to build connections among Triad green-minded businesses and to encourage members to develop more sustainable business practices. Sara reasons, “When we invest in or give back to our local communities, we help make them more resilient… Plus, giving back to the community, even if only in small ways, feels good.”

Looking for a certified EcoBroker, or independent real estate agency that will take the time to ensure your needs are met? Call Sara Tavery at 336.682.7447, or email sara@robinseggrealty.com. For more information, visit robinseggrealty.com.

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