Photos by Paul Flessland
Last year, Maria Bosak brought us Chip and Joanna Gaines of HGTV’s wildly popular show, “Fixer Upper.” Just when we thought there was no way she could top that day, she introduced this year’s Eco Chic Design Conference by bringing in Drew and Jonathon Scott of HGTV’s “Property Brothers.” To blow our minds even further, she added the cherry on top with Clint Harp from HGTV’s “Fixer Upper.” If you missed out on this event last month, sadly, you missed one epic day. If you were one of the lucky 2,000+ in attendance, even weeks later, you’re probably still smiling.
From event founder Maria Bosak:
“Design Conference 2016 was everything we hoped it would be. From our local celebrities Grain Designs bringing their moms on stage to the sixteen bagpipers who led the entrance of the Scott Brothers; the energy, excitement and love that filled the room made it a truly magical day. Emcee Patrick Kirby was charming and funny and the attendees were grateful, kind and inspired, but it was Clint Harp from HGTV’s ‘Fixer Upper’ who stole the show. His heartfelt story and encouraging wordds had the crowd hanging on every word and clamoring to hear more.”
– Maria Bosak, Founder of Eco Chic Design Conference and owner of Eco Chic Boutique
A Day at the Eco Chic Design Conference:
NOON – Doors opened for shopping.
2 P.M. – Design Conference 2016 began with the day’s energetic host, Patrick Kirby.
2:15 P.M. – First workshop commenced: Creating your life lovely with the talented guys of Grain Designs.
3:15 P.M. – Second workshop commenced: Painting your life lovely with the queen of chalk paint herself, Maria Bosak.
4:15 P.M. – Clint Harp of HGTV’s “Fixer Upper” takes the stage and inspires.
5:15 P.M. – Social hour with shopping, cocktails, coffee bar, and an array of food and sweet treats.
6:15 P.M. – Keynote Speakers Drew and Jonathon Scott of HGTV’s “Property Brothers” hit the stage after being welcomed in by local bagpipers Heather and Thistle Pipes and Drums, who paid tribute to the brother’s Scottish heritage.
7:15 P.M. – VIP ticket holders headed to the VIP meet and greet lounge to get their picture with the Scott brothers and Clint Harp.
Staged to Perfection
Bosak sets the scene with a chic lounge area, farmhouse style backdrop and reclaimed wood table setting worthy of her HGTV guest speakers and locals, Grain Designs.
On Stage With Grain Designs:
Grain Designs surprised the audience and their moms by pulling them on stage to compete in a live frame building contest. Proving that even folks with little to no experience can build, these moms did a a great job creating reclaimed wood frames.
VIP Tables
60 lucky ticket holders snagged a chair in VIP with a special meet and greet with Clint Harp and the Scott brothers. Showcasing Bosak’s signature farmhouse style, fresh bouquets by Love Always Floral, sweet treats by Cracked Pepper and a tote bag filled with goodies from the event, sponsors gave this VIP section the star treatment.
Premium Seats
Just three rows back, Bosak offered premium seats with the same tote bag goodies and dainty succulents.
On Stage with Clint Harp
“I’m a cryer. … Every other Monday I would meet with this guy, my mentor at a Starbucks, and I would cry my eyes out. Taking deep into my life the craziness that was going on and why I wasn’t happy, what I wanted to do. I still wonder if there are people that watch HGTV that also used to go to that Starbucks, and they’re like, ‘That is that clown who used to come here and cry.’ So I would meet with this mentor and we really dug deep into our life. If you’ve never done that with somebody, I highly recommend it. It doesn’t matter how young or old you are, dig deep into your life and really think about why you’re here, what you are doing and what you want to do. Happiness comes from inside, but in order for that happiness to be real, you have to be honest with yourself and the truest form of yourself.
“If you’re waking up every morning and living a lie, doing something that you know you don’t want to do, then you’re not being the truest form of yourself. In the end, it all sort of plays in. My mentor used to ask me, ‘Well, if you can do anything what would you do?’ I said, ‘I know this sounds stupid, but I want to build furniture.’ He’d say, ‘Okay then, build furniture.’ In May of 2011, after many, many tears and conversations with Kelly, I agreed I was going to quit my job and I was going to build furniture right there in my garage in Texas. Bye bye six figures, bye bye check every two weeks and bye bye comfort. On day one, my wife decides to go to the grocery store in Waco and she decides to pull in the back way. As she pulls in the back of the store, she rolls by the dumpster and whats that? She rolls down the window and my kids say, ‘Daddy, what are you doing?’ There I am, day one, by a dumpster, ratty clothes, and there I was, pulling pallets out of a dumpster. That was day one.”
Q&A:
If you’ve tuned into HGTV’s “Fixer Upper,” you may have noticed Chip and Joanna’s charming go-to guy for all things reclaimed. Clint Harp of Harp Design Co. creates the gorgeous farmhouse tables, benches, desks and anything else the Gaineses need designed, from scratch and by hand. Using reclaimed wood to create new masterpieces, we sat down with him before he took the stage at the Eco Chic Design Conference, to find out what inspires his designs and his life beyond the wood.
Is this your first trip to Fargo?
The closest I’ve been is Bozeman, Mont. That’s the farthest north I’ve been until now. I’m originally from Atlanta, Ga. So, far I love it here. I went for a run around this park close to where I’m staying.
What will you be talking about at the conference?
The main thing I’m talking about is our story. I love that the theme of today’s event, (Design your life beautiFULL’), It’s kind of the main focus of what I talk about, because we can design furniture all day, but we also have a life that we’re living. I think that we’re just now, I am at least, waking up to the fact that you can design your life, too. You can build for your dreams and plan out this idea for your company or whatever it might be and shoot for the stars and go for it. I talk about the journey around the world and meeting Chip in Waco at a gas station and next thing you know, I’m filming a pilot for HGTV. And what it’s like to design furniture in an incredibly small business until national television thrusted it into the national spotlight. We’re dealing with big business problems, but we’re still a small business. It’s an interesting battle that we have everyday.
What was life like before Harp Design Co.?
I went to Baylor (University) in ’96, graduated in 2000, then moved all over the place including Europe. Then we moved back in 2011 to Waco for my wife to get her masters. That’s when I met Chip (Gaines) at a gas station. We have three kids, Hudson (9), Holland (6) and Camille (3).
Before Harp Design, I did medical sales. I sold the drugs that pharmacies make or the delivery device of those drugs. I was in home antibiotics, so IV therapy at home. I had never done medical stuff before that, and I never did after. I did it for four years in Houston, and that’s what finally took me over the edge to quit my job and go for my dream.
Have you always had this dream?
I’ve always loved building with my hands and ultimately trying to figure out how to do something. Someone asked me recently how long I’ve been a master carpenter. I said, ‘Oh no, I’m not a master carpenter. I just love building and I haven’t always had the resources to do it.’ So I think that’s part of what makes me good at what I do. Because I’ve had to just figure it out on my own. Make my own way. I think you have to do that. That struggle makes you even better at what you’re doing.
When you’re shooting for “Fixer Upper,” how much time does that take out of your week?
It depends. With home renovation, there’s more factors like weather, contractors, other jobs. There’s all these different things that Chip and Joanna have to manage, so a reveal might get delayed for a few weeks. Each time I film each episode, it’s two to three hours per scene. Loading up, camera crews setting up, going out there, them coming to me, whatever that might be. But, this is the tidbit I always love to make sure everyone hears, is that yes, of course we’re all smart enough to know that the scene is set up. But, that being said, it’s literally and truly the first time I’m hearing about that design and we are really in that moment doing what we were doing before the show. When she’d come to my shop and draw it out on a piece of paper and say, ‘What about this?’ So it’s the exact same thing, they’re just capturing it on film.
Are you coming out with your own show soon?
We were given the opportunity to shoot a pilot. We don’t have a name for it yet, but we should very soon. I will be letting everyone know if they follow me on Instagram or Twitter. It could be within the next month and a half. We are very close, and I’m very excited, but it also could be six months. The first episode focuses around our shop, the fun things we get to build and the cool materials we use. It will also be on my wife and the guys at the shop. It focuses on custom projects that we do, then as it moves forward, it will just evolve.
Can you tell us about your furniture collection?
We have our furniture line and within that line, we have different collections We’ve got the Original Farmhouse Collection, Harp Design Co. Collection, The Melissa Table Collection. We’ve got a solid walnut table that we’re introducing. I think we’re going about it slow, if we try to keep up with the growth of the show, it would just kill us. So, we’re just sort of taking the growth of the show that’s given to us and rolling with it. That’s been the best plan for us.
How do you feel about being in the spotlight and on TV?
I’ve always been to some degree an entertainer. I was a musician, I played guitar and I was a singer. I did that for years and years. I thought that’s what I was going to do when I graduated college. I was moving to Nashville and the whole thing. So, I love being in front of people, but when I quit my job to start building furniture, the last thing I was planning on was ever being on TV. That was kind of my way of saying, you know what, I’m not gonna chase anything other than what I love to do and let’s just see where it takes us. When I met Chip and Jo, they didn’t even know they were getting a show. Next thing you know, we’re shooting a pilot for HGTV.
What was your first impression of Chip Gaines?
We met at a gas station, my family was in the car. We talked for five minutes or so, and he said, ‘Hey, why don’t you run over to my shop later today,’ and I said, ‘Great.’ I drive over to his shop and we rode around Waco for three hours that afternoon and talked. He’s just a funny guy. When you meet him in person, he’s very sincere. If you can corner him long enough to just have a one-on-one with him, he’s incredibly sincere and someone you want to sit down with and as people say, have a beer with. People always ask me if he’s that crazy and funny in real life and the answer is yes, he is, but he’s even funnier in person in a very endearing and dry way. We have a good time together.
What is one thing you would love to do in the future?
I’ve spent some time in Europe and I have family over there. My wife’s sister lives over there, so we love to visit. I love to see different types of furniture that’s being built over there. I really want to go to South America and other places where indigenous people are still building things with very rudimentary tools and learning from them. It’s great to have the money to buy all of these massive tools and it’s fun, we do have some of those. But at the end of the day, I love that piece of furniture that was built with nothing or maybe a hammer made from rock. Necessity’s the mother of invention. And not just in other countries but around our own. I hope to be able to see what others are doing. I created this hashtag; #checkitoutclint so I can go on Instagram and if people hashtag it, I’ve got their work and I can check it out. I don’t even know them, but I love to see what others around the country are doing, not just furniture, but other handmade things.
On Stage With Drew and Jonathon Scott
“Most people put more effort into kicking the tires of a coffee maker they buy at Walmart then they do about buying a house. This is the biggest investment you’ll ever make, so it’s important you put in the effort. First, you need to surround yourself with the right team, the right professionals.” – Jonathon Scott
“Ninety-nine percent of us don’t live in our dream home. We want everyone to be able to live in their dream home, that’s why we do the show. But there is some steps you have to take. Take the emotion out of it, think logically. What is it that you want? Is it something physical or something emotional? You can make any home look pretty, but you have to look at the numbers and it needs to make sense to put that much money into the home.” – Jonathon Scott
“How do you find a dream home? Or what’s the difference between a house and a home? A house is just the walls, the studs, the doors, the ceiling, the roof over your head. That’s a house. A home is where the heart is. A home is where you make memories. It’s where you’re excited to wake up every morning and go to bed every night. We want to inspire people through our shows, book, other shows to help you to live in your dream home without breaking the bank.” – Drew Scott
“The whole philosophy of our book is that your home should make your life easier. That’s what it should do.” – Jonathon Scott
“It’s easy to get a high-end look if you know what you’re doing. Also, don’t be afraid to be a little bold. I’m not talking candy cane stripes or leopard print on the countertop. A little bold is not a bad thing because it can add a little personality, some design. Like two tone cabinets, that doesn’t cost you any more. You can do dark wood on the island, light cabinets on the walls.” – Drew Scott
“I’d say we re-use up to 50 percent of the homeowner’s existing furniture, and they don’t even realize it. They’ll walk in the room and, have you noticed that every single homeowner says, ‘Is this even my home?’ We’ve even told them, ‘Don’t say that,’ but for some reason, everyone says it. They’ll then say, ‘Oh my gosh, I love, it’s so beautiful.’ Then they’ll walk over to their table and say, ‘Wow, that table looks so familiar.’ They don’t realize that I just refinished it or reupholstered their chairs. You don’t have to clear cut everything out of your house and start over. You can save a lot of money by reusing.” – Jonathon Scott
Q&A:
As keynote speakers for the Eco Chic Design Conference, Drew and Jonathon Scott of HGTV’s “Property Brothers” didn’t disappoint. Before they hit the stage, the twin brothers sat down with Design & Living’s Tracy Nicholson for an up-close and personal interview. Giving us a glimpse of their life beyond the show, their music and their relationship statuses, we got the goods on the brothers.
Have either of you ever been to Fargo?
J: No, we know people in Fargo, but we’ve never been here. We’re going to dinner tonight at Mezzaluna. I’ve heard from several sources that Mezzaluna is a great place to go.
On the show, how long does the process of purchasing and remodeling take in real-time?
D: On ‘Property Brothers’ it’s all the real numbers that we give, but the difference is like anybody, how long it takes to buy and sell a home. The renovation timelines that we show you on TV, those are all real. What people forget is that’s just three to four rooms.
J: People think, how are you renovating an entire house for $70,000? Well we’re not, that’s three to four rooms. Typically we renovate the entire house, but there’s a separate timeline and separate budget for that. We have great relationships with the building inspectors and usually we’ll have all our permits and everything lined up before we we even get in there.
Have you ever had a client that did not like the finished design?
J: Fortunately everyone’s liked the design so far. There might be individual pieces or art that can be swapped out that they don’t like. But I’m very collaborative with them, so throughout the whole process, I’m having them look at samples and I’m giving them inspiration boards. So, I’m pretty much in tune with what they like right up to the end.
D: We just can’t show every piece, there’s only 42 minutes to show the whole thing with inspiration boards and everything.
What is the most challenging part of being on that show?
D: Dealing with Jonathon and his hair. No, I’d say the most challenging thing is that we shoot with lack of sleep. Most of the talent on HGTV shoots 13 hours of original programming a year. Some do 26, we do 60. So, we shoot a lot, we’re always on the go. New cities every few months, we don’t get to go home very often, so that’s the biggest challenge.
What’s it like coming from Vancouver where you grew up to now living in Las Vegas?
D: Yeah, we’re from Vancouver, but lived in Calgary for ten years or so. It’s nice in Vegas though, you don’t get the snow or the rain. Lots of great restaurants and shows. When people go to Vegas they only think of all the debauchery. When were there, when you live there, you don’t gamble. We don’t go to the strip and party, unless there’s a show or a restaurant we want to go to.
How did the idea of the “Property Brothers” as a show, start?
J: We started our construction endeavors right out of high school. We didn’t want to be struggling artists. We were both actors and I’m a magician, so we thought, let’s invest in real estate. So, we renovated everything we could, starting investing and became very successful at it. Then licensed Drew as a realtor, I went back to college for construction and design and then it was about 10 years later when we were still wanting to do a little acting. Drew was doing more than I was, and it starting getting put out more for hosting roles. A production company had him come in and test for a show called Realtor Idol. Which was the dumbest idea I’ve ever heard.
D: It’s like ‘American Idol’ for realtors.
J: That didn’t go anywhere, but the same company found out he had a twin brother that was a designer and contractor. They pitched us the idea.
What is great design to each of you; how do your styles differ?
D: Funny thing is on our other show, ‘Brother vs. Brother,’ last season, that was the first season that we weren’t mentoring teams, it was just Jonathon and me designing, going head to head. We had other HGTV talent coming in and judging who’s they liked better. All of the judges thought that my design was his. It’s funny, people think they can tell us apart, but a lot of times they can’t.
Why do you think they couldn’t tell who’s design it was?
J: They just start playing in their mind, that oh, a realtor would know about storage and this and that. I like to design around conversation pieces. I love when you walk into home and you get a real sense of who the person is and all this interesting stuff that has a story with it. So that’s how I design. As far as our styles, I think Drew is a little bit more modern, clean lines. A little more minimalistic.
D: We have different ways of saying the same thing. We’ve worked so long together, almost 20 years in real estate. I call my style rustically modern. I like having character pieces, with rustic traditional pieces mixed in with modern design. Whereas Jonathon calls his style elegantly eclectic, where he has a little bit more of those conversation pieces mixed in.
Can you tell us about your other skills and passions outside of real estate?
D: Acting has always been a big thing for me, directing as well. And I’ve been doing a bit more over the last year or so. Our production company Scott Brothers Entertainment will be shifting back into the scripted side as well. That’s a big part of what I want to continue to do on top of hosting, producing, and lifestyle television.
J: We’re not abandoning our shows, that’s our first priority. Even with music, the one song ‘Hold On’ that we released, billboard charted and went to number one and it was crazy. The fans absolutely loved it. So, we’ll write more music absolutely, it’s a lot of fun. But we’re not going to abandon the shows.
D: Jonathon’s magic is another thing that he wants to pursue more of. When he was 16, he was ranked third best in North America on the competitive circuit. Pretty amazing, but our schedules have been so busy that him and his magic, me and my acting and directing, we haven’t been able to do as much.
Can you tell us about your family?
J: Every time we go for breakfast with my parents to Denny’s, my dad feels it necessary to tell everyone who works there who we are. So, he’ll stop everybody and force photos, saying, ‘Oh, you want a photo?’ They’re proud. They’re our biggest fans and even with our brother JD, we work with him a lot. He pops on our shows, he hosts some of his own shows. We produce some of his shows, so it’s just nice to have a family where there’s no drama. We just all get along. We all lift each other up.
How can we get “Property Brothers” to come to the Fargo-Moorhead area?
D: The network actually chooses where we go for shows. So, the best thing I can tell you is go on social media or HGTV. com and message them. Tell them that you want to see us in Fargo. Season 2 of ‘Property Brothers’ we shot in Austin, Texas. That’s because there was a huge Texan fan base that was messaging saying, bring the brothers here. So, they do listen.
J: The network also chooses the cast of families, so we don’t even meet them until after they’ve been cast. They’re looking for people who have different stories, and of course the people have to be in the city where we’re coming. We don’t take outside projects anymore; we just don’t have the time.
D: You have to really be looking to buy. You have to actually be selling your house. A lot of people will pretend to sell. We had this one guy, him and his cousin that pretended to be a married couple to apply to the show.
What is one admirable trait you would steal from the other?
J: I would say loyalty. His ability to be unequivocally forward. He’s never afraid to go and talk to a stranger and say hello and what’s your story.
D: Loyalty too, Jonathon is probably the most loyal friend to anyone that he’s ever met. He will never go behind someone’s back and he’ll always defend those that are close to him.
J: I learned that from my dogs.
Can you tell us about your new furniture line?
J: Yes, Scott Living. It’s so exciting for us to see the growth of how all of our fans and others who are seeing it are loving it. We started our launch on QVC with our outdoor collection. We have 13 collections with over 400 skews of different pieces. Then we expanded to our indoor and we’ve also launched Gordman’s and Costco and we have some other big retailers we’ll be announcing in the coming months.
D: We actually hit every price-point. That’s something that was important to us, but what I love is that at every price- point it’s still what we call affordable luxury. What you’re paying for, you would have expected to pay a lot more for.
J: I’ve spent half my life shopping for clients and when I’m walking around I see a lot of the same stuff over and over and over. Especially in the entry to mid-level price-points. So, that’s why we thought, it’s about time they get to see some of the little details, the color combinations and the quality that are on the high-end pieces.
A question from our readers, can you tell us about your relationship statuses?
D: Oh, I’ll dish all the dirt on Jonathon’s status. Is there a status for zero?
J: Yeah, Drew has a lovely lady that after five-and-a-half years, I feel at some point he should propose maybe? For me, who knows, maybe she’s out there somewhere. Maybe she’s from Fargo. I work a lot so it has to be someone who doesn’t mind their guy working a lot.
Anything you want to tell us about for upcoming and current projects?
D: Th