So glad Abel Zyl of Zyl Vardos was at Tiny House Jamboree this year! He's one of my tiny house heroes and I've admired his work since I first visited his tiny house in one of Dee Williams' workshops in spring 2011!
After great experiences at Tiny House Jamboree 2015 and Tiny House Jamboree 2016, I knew I was in for another fun adventure this year. That first year none of us quite knew what to expect, but we knew there were going to be more tiny house enthusiasts in one place than there had ever been before. And there were. A lot more!
This third year of Tiny House Jamboree there were several phenomenal leaders in the Tiny House and Simple Living movement who hadn't made it to Jam before, including Dee Williams, Deek Deidricksen, Abel of Zyl Vardos, Courtney Carver, and my co-instructor for the Tiny House Design Build class at Yestermorrow Lizabeth Moniz. It was also great to see so many people who had been at Jam in previous years, too: BA Norrgard, Kai Rostcheck, Vina Lustado, Andrew & Gabriella Morrison, Christian Parsons & Alexis Stephens, Byron & Dot Fears, Ethan Waldman, Jay Shafer, and Michelle Boyle to name a few. And, of course, it was fun to meet people from all across the country (and all around the world) who are interested in tiny homes!
"It's so nice to meet you in real life!" I met Sheena at Earth Day Texas in April and I'd enjoyed following Method to Nomadness ever since. It was fun to connect with Christy of Life Two Go, too!
I probably asked five hundred people to keep me posted about their tiny house adventures. The tiny house movement is really growing exponentially now! I got to meet a bunch of people this year whom I'd known from social media because I'd been following them and visa-versa. (The new conversation starter seems to be "You seem familiar... I think I know you from social media..." and we wrap up with "It's so nice to meet you in real life!" What a funny world as we've found ourselves deep in the middle of a movement!)
Thanks to my pal BA Norrgard's awesome organization, there was an increased emphasis on education this year, which means we all learned a ton from each other, but it was hard to decide which sessions to attend! There were also oodles of tiny houses to oggle, including both a Builder Village and a DIY Village. (I posted several photo montages of Tin Can Homes by Red Deer Classics over on Instagram because it was completely breathtaking!) I enjoyed getting to see Living Tiny Legally: Part 2 and the American premier of simplife, a documentary about the West Coast tiny house movement made by Ben and Yuichi from Japan. It is an honor to be in their beautiful film which captures the heart of the tiny house lifestyle.
Catching up with old friends and making new ones is what Jam is all about! So fun to explore the DIY village with Stephanie and Kim on Sunday to
I even got to participate in Justin's impromptu birthday celebration at Jam this year! Don't worry. He made a wish!
I had a great time getting inspired by people in the Pro Session I facilitated on Friday and the Design Tips & Tricks session I presented twice on Saturday. On Sunday I really enjoyed picking the brains of people living in vans and skoolies and attending sessions like the Diversity Panel at the Village Stage and Courtney Carver's Project 333 presentation. I spent most of Sunday morning exploring tiny houses in DIY Village with new pals Kim and Stephanie, whom I'd met in my sessions. Stephanie is an engineer and interior designer so it was fun seeing her marvel at all the clever tiny house design ideas. Kim is interested in creating a tiny cohousing community like Going Places in Austin, Texas. She and I batted ideas around together and her pal Justin, who is an architect and planner, joined us for a brainstorming session. I was honored to be part of his spontaneous bday celebration at the Village Stage, too! I am so curious to see where their tiny house journeys take them! The connections and the feeling of camaraderie are what make Jam so awesome!
I think we were all saturated by the end of the long weekend and it was great to be reunited with my sweetheart when he picked me up from the airport. Until next time, folks, keep dreaming big and living tiny!