OUR STORY - A DEEPER DIVE
9/29/2024 - 2 MIN
If you have already read the rest of our website, you'll notice we have a thing for creating spaces that make you feel good. Ironically, a few years after we started our business, created our concept and adopted our tag line, I got sick from a rental home I was living in (not one that we built!).
I found myself a in a whirlwind of significant physical, financial, and emotional challenges that are still being healed to this day. My body was overburdened with environmental toxins, both natural and man-made. And the burden didn't stop with me. It encompassed our entire family. Once we shifted into a much cleaner living environment, we were finally able to see real changes in healing.
On this journey I personally connected with many others who had become ill from their homes, all facing similar challenges. Interestingly, I didn't have to look far for the connections. They were old friends, people I knew, friends of friends. It was all word of mouth. And then I was introduced into the online world of toxic homes where I saw the numbers of those impacted grow exponentially. I also discovered many doctors and business professionals whose businesses focus on helping those affected by unhealthy homes. It became very evident how a large of a problem this is, affecting way more people than I ever would have thought prior to getting sick myself.
After realizing how I got to such a low point of health and how so many others I knew were suffering, we became aware of the following:
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So many American homes are built and maintained poorly.
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The issues that stem from toxic living environments seem to be unrecognized, overlooked, and sadly dismissed or ignored by many.
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We believe both of the above are a result of changes in the way we build (as an industry) and live (as a society) due to new technologies, style over substance, lack of maintenance, and a lack of education.
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Our tag line means so much more than we can ever express with words. The silver lining was evident. Giving our clients and potential clients a chance to proactively help them escape the rough road we went down was imperative. Trying to get people to understand was imperative.
This is a diver's hand signal for decompression. It's very important for divers to decompress as they ascend. It gives the body a chance to re-adapt so they don't get sick. This is not only a super cool image of a dive, it conceptually, draws a very strong parallel to healing from toxic environments as well.
While my past professional career included building science education and healthy building strategies, understanding just how critical those things are didn't click until I went through what happens when those things are ignored. Materials, methods, and processes used in building can have a significant impact on our ability to live well and thrive.
Fortunately, the world around us has changed significantly in this arena in recent years, especially since COVID. Awareness of healthy buildings and better indoor air quality is emerging more than ever since so many are spending more time at home. Though focused more on the commercial sector, our society is now waking up to the question of "how does my space affect me", but in all aspects of self and life. Questions need answers, so new science, new products, and new market trends are cropping up. Change is coming.
We strive for an ever-growing consensus as an industry that we MUST BUILD BETTER. We choose health and wellness. We choose spaces that make you feel good.
- Jenica
Education on these topics for homeowners and industry professionals, we believe, is the foundation for awareness of this growing problem.
To dive further into the world of building science and healthy homes, check out these links (no paid affiliations):
US Dept of Energy Building America Solution Center
Prescriptions for a Healthy House | John C Banta
The Building Performance Workshop
Jenica holds the following licenses and certifications to assist in her journey of striving for spaces that make you feel good.
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Licensed Texas Architect
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BBA certified by the Building Biology Institute Healthy Buildings For Sustainable Living - Building Biology Institute