Managing COVID-19 on the Home Staging Project Site

Are you essential or not? …That was the million-dollar question for businesses big and small since the pandemic brought on the first wave of restrictions across the country. As many were told to stay home and close their shops, services and restaurants, many industries were being sorted through to determine whether or not they could or perhaps should still operate. The notion of being essential or not was unclear.

Our home stagers use gloves, masks, social distancing and disinfectant on every Los Angeles, Seattle and Portland project.

We have offices in three states along the west coast, and what an adventure it was to chase all the rules and requirements given by each state’s set of leaders to know what we could or could not do. Even we weren’t sure for our own line of work as home staging exists basically to make houses look pretty. Sure there are valid reasons that were important for the real estate market, but when you put it in black and white, it’s not essential…. Or is it? The state of California and the state of Oregon both deemed us as essential right away because they considered us to be movers. Movers are essential as they help support the effort in providing housing during their mandated stay-at-home orders. So, anything revolving around housing was left to continue operating specific safety measures. Washington State, however, was all over the place in making up its mind. 

When coronavirus showed up in Washington State, everyone found themselves in panic mode there. Real Estate among many other seemingly luxury services was halted, so we halted, too. Then, 48 hours later, after a realization that there were transactions to be closed and homes to be moved into and out of, that decision was turned around. Justin, our owner, along with others in our leadership team felt like they were solving a riddle with the details of requirements and mandates. Suddenly we learned not only were we essential, but we were mandatory. We had to get back up and resume services. 

It was like no one knew what was going on anymore, and since we now finally had our clear directive company-wide, we wanted to make sure those we serviced were managing okay and see how we could help while they got back in the groove safely as needed. There was a lot more communication with our clients which actually unearthed a lot of moral dilemmas with lots of opinions for how to maintain health and safety protocols within real estate. We felt caught in the middle suddenly, but there were two conversations that stood out to Justin, our founder, that helped him understand the necessity for Spade and Archer to get back up and running.

The first conversation was with a new client who was in absolute need of selling her home after her agent and stager backed out leaving her helpless. That urgent need and cry for help was enough to motivate Justin to formulate a plan for operating again. So how would his staff react to working amidst a pandemic? The answer was clear after a certain conversation with one of his newly hired staff members. When Justin asked him if he would be willing to work, he answered with an absolute “Yes!” as he hadn’t been able to file for unemployment because of his former employer never claiming him as an employee. Going back to work meant he would be able to avoid relying on credit cards to get by and would certainly make the near future for his family much easier.

Now realizing that the states, the clients, and the employees were all wanting us to operate, Justin made the decision to do so. That meant figuring out what PPE (personal protective equipment) was needed to stay safe and what our new process and schedule would look like. It was a huge team effort. We had to apply extreme caution because if safety wasn’t prioritized first, then nothing else mattered. We provided our staff with cleaning supplies, masks, and thoughtful scheduling that supported everyone’s well-being and social distancing. Sure, we’re extending our installation timelines to more than one day, but we’ll take it. If we can adhere to requirements, still manage to service our clients’ needs, and keep our employees working, then we are in a very good place.

At this point, we have been back up and running for over a month now having safely installed a number of staging projects in Seattle, Portland, and Los Angeles. One very amazing coincidence in timing that helped us continue accepting new projects was the launch of what we would immediately refer to as our “touchless service” of Instant Pricing. We had this new pricing tool in the works for months and found the ability to provide a new benefit to our clients that we never could have imagined right when the pandemic hit. 

We were just one of the countless small businesses in this country forced to learn how to juggle over a tank of sharks very quickly. It’s hard to know if you’re doing the right thing with each step. With the rules and guidelines changing from one minute to the next, it has been and will continue to be hard to please everyone. That’s true regardless of a pandemic! Fortunately, we have amazing staff that is ready to adjust with every turn that comes our way, knowing that grace, and perseverance will get us through this new normal.  

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!