A little bit of big city in small town Hillsboro, IL.

January 2018, almost 5 years ago, my wife Kristen and I bought this abandoned building in Hillsboro, IL. I’m not sure I could have imagined the amount of work it would take to get here, between loans, stress, dirt, dumpsters of debris, lots of hard work, donations of building materials and help from lots of […]

Surprise POP-UP-by The Refinery vintage!

The old back room recording space in Gold Pan records is getting a new pop-up shop opening tomorrow! Ever since the recording studio moved out earlier this year the guys at Gold Pan Records have been trying to figure out a cool way to use the back tracking room. Jamie Sarsany, who runs The Refinery […]

“Big Green” hits a renovation milestone!-and I get a little sappy…

Finishing something. Such a rare and good feeling! While I’m technically only 3/4 done with “Big Green” (our overwhelming, exciting, and marathon-long renovation project in the small town of Hillsboro, IL) it feels incredible to be done with one of the upstairs apartments this month. I love pictures for what they give us on a […]

Dios está en los detalles – a walk through the Hillsboro Post office

This week I’ve been thinking about the saying “God is in the details” There are so many things that builders, and designers used to do that have since been cut out of most buildings to save on cost, but its true, part of what we love about old buildings is the craftsmanship and passion that was […]

Made in Hillsboro!- Pyramid scheme shelf by Isaac Reynolds

I have to say, this thing is freakin cool. This commissioned seven and a half foot tall shelf looks like it floats off the ground. It is also displayed in what will soon be a personal indoor two story Skateboarding half pipe. Hows that for perks of living in a small town!