Pepper & Tumbleweed: A perfect combo

Our first workshops for 2012 are just around the corner and you may have noticed some new names & faces amongst our crew. Let’s get acquainted with one of them: Paprika Clark aka Pepper.  Honestly, we couldn’t ask for a more energetic and enthusiastic person to join the Tumbleweed family.

Pepper has been a fan of tiny houses for a while now. Her love for designing houses started when she was just 6 years old when she noticed an ad for a new subdivision in the newspaper. With a 3D image of the house she wanted firmly fixed in her creative mind, she went on to design every detail. As she grew, so did her interest in all kinds of building practices.

5 years ago she decided to really focus her attention on the world of tiny houses. While she appreciates all the different types of houses out there, Tumbleweed really struck a cord with her. As she says it, “The Tumbleweed idea struck me as an amazing solution that had real potential to be both truly green and accessible to more people financially and aesthetically than anything I had seen before.” Her thirst for knowledge led her to one of our workshops in Sebastopol. Little did she realize that one day she would be leading one of those workshops herself!

Like most people who are attracted to our homes, Pepper loved what she saw but wanted to personalize the experience. After carful thought, she knew what she needed to do. Pepper started her own company and started to build a tiny house based on the Lusby plans. With the help of some talented friends and neighbors, she has completed her first build and is ready to do more. One of the things that she is excited about is the workshop schedule that she will embark on in 2012. Last fall she was a guest at our Santa Rosa workshop. With house in tow, her enthusiastic presentation was only exceeded by a tour of her splendid tiny house. Her drive, creativity and energy is creative and genuine. We are looking forward to having her as a part of our workshop crew.

See more pics of Pepper’s Lusby … on Sale now.
Learn more about her workshops: Asheville, Phoenix, Santa Fe

Is there a Bodega in your future?

Did you know that the Bodega plans are on sale this month? It’s the smallest of our houses on foundations but it’s big on style. I personally would love to have one with the half loft. Image how cool that cathedral ceiling would look like in the living room? Make sure you get your hands on the plans before the month is over. If you could build a Bodega, where would you put it? What modifications would you make? Would you add the extra bedroom?

A Little About Me

A Little About Me

by Jay Shafer

A friend recently suggested that, by now, there’s probably more fiction written about me online than fact. So I spent some time googling myself, and it turns out he may be right. I’ve listed five of my favorite findings below (some true, some false). I’d previously tried to keep my private life private unless some part of it actually related to my “simplicity = happiness” message. By omitting gratuitous details, I’d hoped the focus would remain on my message rather than on me. This hasn’t been entirely the case. Detractors make up gossip to distract us from the real issues at hand. I hope that in revealing more of myself here, I’ll become less of a subject for this kind of distraction in the future.

5. Jay Shafer’s the Kovorkian of the Tiny House Movement. (False)

To be honest, I don’t really know what the term “Kovorkian” means in this context, but I’m assuming it can’t be good, and it can’t be true. I have absolutely no medical background, and I’ve never been successfully convicted of my so-called “crimes”.

The commentator goes on to describe my relationship to the tiny house movement as the, “right religion, wrong messiah”. While it’s strangely flattering to be compared with such bigwigs as Dr. Jack Kavorkian and the Messiah, the author doesn’t seem to mean the latter comparison in a good way either. Her comment is part of a thread that, first, announces that I’m the leader of an exclusive Tiny House Movement (False) then demands that I be dethroned (uh, ok…).

4. Jay and his business partner must be total potheads. (False) Steve never smokes marijuana.

3. Jay Shafer is a two-timing pervert. (False) Even some of the most established purveyors of, so called “news” have gotten in on the action. The Sunday New York Times printed the story of a guy who cheated on his girlfriend as he lured another young woman into his tiny, 96 square foot home on wheels and therein fondled her.  The article (written by the fondled, young woman herself) alleges, amongst other things, that her host’s diminutive home contained little more than a single shelf  “stocked exclusively with books about tiny houses and a good number of Tantric sex manuals”. The article reveals the name of this two-timer’s business and that of his house.  It describes his occupation and even provides a quarter-page illustration of his home. To my dismay, these details identify the adulterer as none other than me. I actually knew of this stories’ author before the stories’ publication. She was stalking me when I lived in Iowa City. *

2. Jay’s a moron. (True) Though I do prefer “learning disabled”, “intellectually challenged” or, even, “retarded” to being labeled a “moron”, the general sentiment behind this allegation is, indeed, true.

I often have a hard time learning new things and performing simple tasks. My primary condition is what’s known as a sequencing disability. I also score alarmingly high on the Asperger scale. Throw in an anxiety disorder and depression, and you can begin to see the madness behind my method.  I, mostly, have trouble reading and spelling; with comprehending what’s being said when there’s background noise; with over-stimulating environments: with testing and with using both hemispheres of my brain at the same time.

The upside of this is that in order to compensate for my relative inability to sequence, I’ve developed super-human powers of abstract reasoning and comparable visual and spatial perception (not seeing, but making sense of what is seen). I should add that since men do generally have a weaker connection between the cerebral hemispheres than women, my condition makes me particularly manly.

I wouldn’t be the first to claim that my weaknesses are also my strengths.  Like many who are said to think outside the box, I’ve never really been able to get in to the box in the first place.

1. Jay’s beard looks a little “survivalist”. (True) When I ran across this offering in some online “Should Jay Shave?” discussion, I immediately headed for my razor. I could see myself more clearly through the eyes of others, and what we all saw wasn’t the look a guy pushing the tiny house thing should probably maintain. While I haven’t included much of it here, a lot of the criticism I’ve seen about me and my work is actually accompanied by solid critical thinking.

Some comments have been offered anonymously, but here’s what I could find as far as additional credits go. Most can be found in their full context by googling the phrase in question.

He’s the “Kovorkian of the Small House Movement”, “… right religion, wrong messiah”. – Anne

His shelves were“stocked exclusively with books about tiny houses and a good number of Tantric sex manuals”. – Xeni Fragakis

“one photo screams “mild-mannered architect” and the other has a sort of “survivalist in a shack” vibe. But it’s his face, so he can do as he pleases. – DJ.

*In response to my repeated request that the Times print a correction and remove the story from its website, Asst. General Council of the New York Times, George Freeman, wrote that pressing the issue further “might subject (me) to possible legal claims”. This is what’s commonly interpreted as a “slap suit” (i.e. unless you have enough money to go against our deep pockets in court, just drop it. O.K.?). The story, “A Girl Could Get Cornered In A Tiny House”, can still be found at http://www.nytimes.com/2006/03/05/fashion/sundaystyles/05love.html

A Little Yellow Fencl in the California Sun

For all of you who wonder if you could build your own Tumbleweed with little to no building experience, I’d like you to meet Ella and her Little Yellow Fencl:

You will love her story. First of all, where can we get neighbor like hers? You’ve got to read this post. How kind! Ella really lets you in on the process and it shows in every post. Oh, and the pics? AMAZING!

Did you catch this one important detail in her first post? Ella went to the workshop we held in Los Angeles. We strongly believe that going to the workshop in your area is an essential first-step if you intend to build a Tumbleweed. Be sure to grab a seat in a city near you. We’ll be adding more cities in the coming months. In the meantime, spend a few minutes (or hours) checking out Ella’s build. No building skills? No problem! Go Ella, go!

Host a Tumbleweed

Are you a Tumbleweed fan? Then we’re looking for you! Our most popular house, the Fencl, is moving its way around the New York state area. Could your business benefit by displaying our tiny house for a while?

Here is what’s in it for you:

• Tumbleweed will promote your business as the host of our tiny house. Since the media loves stories like these, we will issue 2 press releases on PRWeb promoting the fact that you are hosting a tiny house for the public to come and see. The second release will announce an official open house where people can come for a tour.
• We will promote the house and location at your business regularly on our Facebook Fan Page (over 30,000 fans) in our newsletter (over 120,000 subscribers) and on our website.
• You will receive books to sell at the open houses which will cover your costs.
• Plus hundreds of people will come to your business giving yourself a chance to attract new business.

Our open houses often attract 100-200 people in a 2-3 hour window.  There are 3 ways to organize an open house:

1. One was just to have it available to view every day the business was open. The door was unlocked during business hours, and people could just walk on in and take a look around.
2. The second option was to have the house on site, but keep it locked except during specified open houses.
3. The third way was to do a combination of both.

If interested, please email us here.

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