In episode 9, Justin and Kelly interview one of our very own, Chad Hinke. Our Creative Principal shares his educational journey, his early experiences in the design world and the itch to create that kept beckoning him back to design, along with some of the ups and downs of home staging. Chad plays a key role at Spade and Archer in all three locations, working with the staging designers to finalize each project and maintain the brand aesthetic.
Coming at life in what most would consider a practical approach, Chad didn’t begin his education in the design field, rather he was a pre-med bio student at UC Santa Cruz. Feeling as though this was not the right fit, he started down another path leading him to study social psychology and economics. After working and living in San Francisco, boredom set in and that little burning desire to create started getting hotter. Yet again, Chad went back to school and this time it was for interior design.
Chad is busy everyday reviewing home staging project like this one in Portland before the staff completes work.
Now holding three degrees, Chad started getting more involved in design and working on a number of collaborative projects, though primarily focused on hospitality design. He even landed a fantastic project, working on a penthouse suite for the Ritz-Carlton with a budget that had no limit. Moving on, he worked on other high-end hospitality design along with his own independent design ventures. The biggest revelation taken from these jobs though was the sense that interior design had such an emotional and psychological aspect to it, tying his educational background to his design skills to invoke specific emotions. With his experiences in high-end design and an education in economics, Chad soon learned how to create beautiful spaces on any budget.
Soon after, fate intervened in the form of a mutual friend, bringing Justin and Chad together while Justin was looking for a Creative Director. They chatted, got along, and ta-da! Chad became the Creative Director for Justin’s new Seattle location. It was a perfect match, bringing Chad into the world of real estate and home staging.
For the first few years he led and grew Spade and Archer’s Seattle office, and now leads the Portland, Los Angeles, and Seattle Spade and Archer offices, overseeing every home staging project. He speaks on the ups and downs this position can bring, the logistics of operations, “putting out fires” as he says, and the aspiration of being the best boss he can be.
Having to work remotely now with three design firms in three different states, and the glorious challenges of COVID-19 of course, Chad has to spend a lot of time video chatting with all the different designers. This has become one of his favorite things, like a multi-state, home staging video game. Seeing the staging projects through the lens of a screen actually helps immensely in visualizing what the photos will look like, as it is all about the photos.
Listen to Chad’s entire story on Episode 9 of the Behind the Yard Sign podcast.