#172 The End? Or a Hiatus? Tiny House Podcast Season Finale

Is it the end or merely a hiatus for Tiny House Co-hosts Mark, Michelle and Perry? Depends on who you ask. This is the 3-year season finale of our show. After over 170 episodes, we’re making changes. What are they? You’ll just have to listen. Mark, Michelle and Perry reminisce about Tiny House Podcast’s origins, how they came together and what the last three years of working together to put on this show have been like. It’s been a crazy, fun, and wild time. Welcome to the season finale.

Listen To Episode »

#171 Doing Well Doing Good For Veterans with Gabrielle Rapport

Gabrielle, a serial entrepreneur from Seattle saw an opportunity to offer high quality solutions to the housing crisis focusing on Veterans. Today, her non-profit organization Operation Tiny Home (http://www.operationtinyhome.org) is in its fourth year tackling that daunting mission. But with A-list celebrity and corporate sponsors firmly in their wheelhouse, Operation Tiny Home is making progress. Gabrielle says there’s lots in store for her non-profit’s future. We speculate whether connections with Zack Giffin portend a TV future. But we couldn’t get a peep out of her about that. Still, tune in and find out how Gabrielle is making dreams come true for homelessness among the nation’s veterans.

Listen To Episode »

#170 Talking The Tiny House Evolution with Jewel Pearson

Our third time having Jewel on the show, we talk about where diversity plays in the tiny house movement, the fracturing of the movement and whether any progress has happened regarding representation. But really, what we’re talking about is how perfectly the Tiny House “community” mirrors the everyday human one. So should we really have been surprised that dominant culture folks (even apparently “woke” ones) would still react from their fragility? Jewel says of course not. But we could have hoped. Which is what she (and others) did. Sadly, their hopes were dashed. What will come of the community now? Who knows? But the question sure makes for a great show!

Listen To Episode »

#169 Learning Something New With Cosme Hernandez

In over a year we’ve heard some interesting things. But this show takes the cake. We didn’t know the state of Washington is offering tiny house certifications specifically for tiny houses built in Washington. Wow. That’s total news to us. Thankfully, Cosme Hernandez from Tiny House Cribs joined us on our show to edumacate us. Cosme launched his company last year stemming from his personal life living minimally since he was 14. Cosme has done his homework out of necessity. With the massive shakedown of the tiny house builder community, he’s going to need all the understanding he can get. Sounds like he has.

Listen To Episode »

#168 Tiny Houses As A Side Hustle With Sean O'Neil

Listen To Episode »

#167 Another Tiny House Builder? With Jason Johbeck

Getting a late start to a growing industry (is it still growing?) isn’t always a bad thing. When Jason decided he was not going to take another job after ten years being a stay at home dad, he decided instead to put his carpentry skills to work. As a tiny house builder. His first creation is called Tiny Terrapin. He envisioned the new owner traveling, like a turtle, with its home on its back. The tiny house movement is seeing a strange cycle these days, with events hosting lower turnouts and builders going bust. That doesn’t confront Jason. He believes he offers something unique in his attention to quality, materials and, of course, his creation.

Listen To Episode »

#166 At Home On The Farm, The Winery And The Brewery With Joel Holland

Nomadic Entrepreneur Joel Holland likes businesses. When he saw Harvest Host, though, he liked it so much he had to buy it. So he did. Harvest Host is built a network of people who love RVing and agricultural operations (wineries, farms, breweries, etc.) who are looking to expand their brand awareness. Today Harvest Host is growing, fueled by Joel and his wife’s steady guidance, their personal passion for nomadic living, technology, entrepreneurship, living small and building community.

Listen To Episode »

#165 The Most Fantastic Things Are Things That Just Pop Up With Zach Yeager

Listen To Episode »

#164 Visiting Middle America with Carolynn Campbell

Carolynn started life as a professional, but now has become a rural activist as a result of her intimate travels spurred at first by school kids. Armed with a charming micro van conversion, and directions from students in Oregon, she headed from Stumptown east to find out about small town America. Unexpectedly, she fell in love with one particular location, Mississippi. So much so that she’s going back. What she discovered changed her mind about “the south.” Now she’s wishing more of her liberal friends could learn what she’s learned. For Americans in the south are pretty much like every other American: they just want to be understood. And respected.

Listen To Episode »

#163 Gettin’ Nostalgic with Mike and Shannon

This show, one of our latest after a long hiatus (hey, that rhymed), started clunky. But then Mike and Shannon started talking about their 10-year love affair with a Polaris 42 –– a speedy rustic, traditional sailboat they intended in sailing the world on...but ended up living in, tied to the dock, for 10 years. AAARRRG. While they didn’t fulfil their long-held dream (which still festers unfulfilled below the surface), they did benefit from wonderful small-space living epiphanies, epiphanies which still hang with them today. They say everyone has fun until someone gets hurt. That’s exactly what happened with Mike, when one day, up atop the boat’s mast, he fell...as far down as the boat is long. We’ll leave the rest of the story for your listening pleasure.

Listen To Episode »

#162 Keep It In Mind Means Probably Ain’t Gonna Happen with Roger Fitzsimon

Portlanders Roger and Martha (his current fiance) love Jeff Golblum. They’re hoping Jeff will some day visit their new, caboose-like tiny house, which Roger got up and running in just six months. Roger himself is from England. How he came to the USA is an interesting story...but so is everything else about Roger. Including his love of Jeff Goldblum. And Star Wars. And Painting. One day walking through the iconic Portland neighborhood, called Alberta, Roger was surprised to see so many tiny houses. That led to one thing, which led to another, then another until suddenly...or not so, Roger had a tiny house in his backyard. Seems to us Roger and Martha love hosting people about as much as they love Jeff. Whether those two loves might meet is anyone’s guess, but sure to be a dream come true. Something to keep in mind.

Listen To Episode »

#161 Loaves Fishes and Tiny Houses With Pastor Matt Huff

Our guest sometimes come by way of inspiration born on the road. This one is a great example. While driving on our local freeways over many weeks, Michelle noticed something strange happening at a large church along the freeway: Zombie RVs were being resurrected….kind of. That’s until the city got involved. The but intent behind Pastor Matt Huff’s effort was so altruistic (not to mention was addressing a major Portland area problem) that the city another non profit and Pastor Huff’s congregation all got on board to leverage tiny houses to house the houseless. Now, Matt’s conceptions aren’t technically tiny houses, they’re actually selter pods, but he, who’s quibbling when you want to talk with a Pastor who’s got some stories to tell?

Listen To Episode »

#160 There’s A First Time For Everything With Eric Goranson

We’ve never had an on-air personality on the show. Maybe we should do it more often. Eric Goranson, host of the West Coast home radio show called Around The House With Eric G. Michelle was a guest on his radio show recently and so we thought: “Let’s turn the tables.” We didn’t know what was going to come of this interview, but it actually had quite a few nuggets in it about what to look for in a builder when it comes to not getting screwed, another weigh-in on “screws vs. nails” and ikea: is that really good furniture for a tiny house? Join us as we wax poetically and unapologetically about nuthin’.

Listen To Episode »

#159 Lucking Out In LA With Steven And Sarahi Mejai

Los Angeles denizens Steven and Sarahi were living the American Dream as an accountant and an entertainment industry professional. There parents were excited for them, their friends were all living the same lifestyle. It was a perfect match of desire and fulfillment. But then, a very close friend lost her life. That changed everything for the couple. It made them realize what was really important; really valuable. So they ditched their typical hectic California professional live-to-work lifestyle so they could spend more time. With each other. With their son. Doing things they loved instead of working, paying for a massive mortgage and giving the best days of their lives to their employers. Then they discovered Tiny Houses. The rest is history.

Listen To Episode »

#159 Lucking Out In LA With Steven And Sarahi Mejai

Los Angeles denizens Steven and Sarahi were living the American Dream as an accountant and an entertainment industry professional. There parents were excited for them, their friends were all living the same lifestyle. It was a perfect match of desire and fulfillment. But then, a very close friend lost her life. That changed everything for the couple. It made them realize what was really important; really valuable. So they ditched their typical hectic California professional live-to-work lifestyle so they could spend more time. With each other. With their son. Doing things they loved instead of working, paying for a massive mortgage and giving the best days of their lives to their employers. Then they discovered Tiny Houses. The rest is history.

Listen To Episode »

#158 We Lost Our Guest...What Do We Do!?

We improvise, that’s what we do! With Shandra Morton & her dog Reno & John & Finn & Sarah Stebbins
Gracious. What began as a head-scratching problem turned out to be a wonderful opportunity for us at Tiny House Podcast. When our scheduled guest couldn’t make it, we wondered what would happen if we opened the show to pre-recorded live conversations with our podcast listeners. The result? We were pleased. We think you will be too. Join us as we welcome crazy stories from hither and yon with some of our listeners who were gullible GRACIOUS enough to let us make fun of them!

Listen To Episode »

#157 Telling Tiny Stories About Tiny Businesses With Sharon Ross

Sharon Ross is the founder of Eco Bags, a company she created after being frustrated with all the plastic bags in New York. An actor by education, Sharon attributes much of her success to acting, where improvisation, embracing failure and taking risks are they keys to success. Having put her personal touch on her company for well over 20 years, Sharon not only balances her business with her life goals and also her goals for making the planet a better place. Her new book, The Magic of Tiny Business: You Don’t Have to Go Big to Make a Great Living, shares her path and is inspiring people all over how to start their own Tiny Business. A perfect compliment for people wanting to “go tiny”.

Listen To Episode »

#156 Insuring Tiny Houses With Michael Carmona

Got a tiny house or schooly and need to insure that bad boy? You need to talk with MAC Insurance. Michael Carmona, a Farmers Insurance Agent and tiny house enthusiast found his way into insuring tiny houses (and insurance) by literally following his personal interests and dreams. For only $1000 a year, you can attach a policy to your tiny (or schooly) that will cover your mobile abode for the replacement cost of your home. Just like a real home. That’s pretty cool. We talked with Michael about the ins and outs of this policy, how more people are coming to insure their tinys with it and how easy it is to ensure (and insure) your tiny dream dwelling. You should take a listen.

Listen To Episode »

#155 Hydrogen Peroxide Takes the Blood Stains Out With Tiny House Builder Cameron Scott

Cam has had a varied career path. Commercial pilot flying air ambulances, tending to elderly people, building tiny houses….building tiny houses? How did he go from life flight, to caretaker to tiny house builder? That’s what we wanted to know. We got our answers and in the process took a winding path through trials and tribulations of Oregon’s love-hate relationship with the tiny house movement. That’s right, one of the epicenters of the tiny house movement has essentially made making and selling the damn things nearly impossible in this state. And yet, Cam has hope this will all blow over, like a tumbleweed in the wash of a life flight helicopter.

Listen To Episode »

#154 I Got A Penis And I’m White With Michael Johnson

Holy smokes what an interview. Michael owns 121tinyhomes, a bend-based tiny house company that….well, we were going to write “builds tiny houses” but it seems he and his partner are thinking about other plans with tiny houses. Yes, they do provide customs and shells, workshops and all the other offerings many tiny house builders offer. But Michael comes at the industry with a unique twist. One we seriously appreciate. As for his penis and complexion….well you’re just going to have to listen in.

Listen To Episode »

#153 Getting Close And Personal With Tiny House Podcast Co-host Mark Grimes

decided to give interviewing each other a shot, so you get a sense of why the three of us came together in the first place. This is our first installment. And we’re not even sure it’s going to see the light of day. Fun fact: We actually recorded similar shows early on, but guess what? They haven’t seen the light of day either. I don’t even know why I’m writing this...chances are, you’re never going to read it.

Listen To Episode »

#152 A Surprising Ride Through Tiny House History With Michael Withy

We were surprised this episode passed so quickly. Which is always a good sign. Michael Withy made a name for himself in the Occupy movement in Portland, Oregon during its heydays. Remarkably (to us) that notoriety would catapult him into his current line of work: conceptualizing affordable housing communities around the country. Fascinatingly enough, we never got to what Michael does because we were blown away by his stories about what he did. Don’t worry, it all ties together nicely to tiny houses. And as you can tell by the end of the show, we’re going to have to have Michael return to the studio for round two.

Listen To Episode »

#151 How To Survive And Thrive As a Tiny house builder with Jeremy Killian

We started this show with an joke that had unintentional macabre connections with reality. Once we recovered from that ghastly story, we were pleased to welcome Tiny Innovations principal Jeremy Killian who shared his secrets for succeeding in the Tiny House Movement as one of the preeminent builders. Jeremy should know a thing or two: he has over 200 builds in the works, both commercial and private individual clients seeking his builds, and an amazing business model that has put Tiny Innovations seemingly in the middle of it all that is Tiny...all without having to deal too much with zoning, planning, and many of the other challenges besieging other builders. It was almost as good as the conversation we had after the show. But since we didn’t record that, you’re just going to have to settle for what we did record. Snatch your hammer and beer and enjoy our latest episode.

Listen To Episode »

#150 Church Was Boring Until I Went To Jail With Linda Donaldson

Tiny houses meets ex-offenders meets the housing crisis. Linda and her husband David, one day went from being entrepreneurs straight into debtor’s prison….literally. But this story ends up positive as the experience lead to David receiving “a calling” to serve those people they found themselves behind bars with. The result? Fresh Start Ventures, a new non profit organized to help ex-offenders avoid returning to prison. What’s really interesting about Fresh Start is they combine their mentoring work with housing...tiny house housing for ex offenders, through an innovative program that uses Tiny Houses as ADUs, community development and mentorship to create better and lasting opportunities for those coming out of prison.

Listen To Episode »