Millpond Collective 03

JUNE 2022

collective RAISING BREAD AND BABIES: THE SHEAR FAMILY

TRUTHS BEHIND VETERINARY MEDICINE

YOUNG ENTREPRENEUR ENDEAVORS

SUMMER SALAD WITH BRITTNI CAMPBELL

ON THE COVER THE BREAD BARN | APRIL 2022

THE TEAM SAMANTHA MORRIS

EDITOR IN CHIEF + CREATIVE DIRECTOR

SAMANTHA SHOVER

ASSISTANT EDITOR, JOURNALIST + PHOTOGRAPHER

JONATHAN SHOVER

MANAGING EDITOR + VIDEOGRAPHER

CONTENTS HOME + FAMILY

Noteworthy: Selling Your Home, Photographer’s Eye

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Raising Bread and Babies The Shear Family

07 BUSINESS + GROUNDED

Design and Contractor’s Tips 16 Brad Long: KBL Construction Summer Salad Brittni Campbell

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Truths Behind Veterinary Medicine

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Evergreen Design Co. Katie Greenmun

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Too Cool for School (Bus) Conversion Gabe Butler

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AMA Sweets Ashland Allred

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'Butler Built' Woodworking Eli Butler

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pillars FAMILY

“Millpond Family” is the heart and basic building block of our business. It seems like each client we work with ends up becoming folks that we want to cook out with, laugh and cry with, and follow along as they go through life’s big adventures. This section of the magazine is devoted to people that we want to highlight that manifest all things “family.”

HOME

We want to incorporate all senses of home in the magazine whether it be highlighting an old home built on history, taking you on a tour through someone’s amazing kitchen, giving you the most amazing warm-your-belly recipes contributed by the best cooks we know, and even helping you to remember the things that really make a house a home.

BUSINESS

It is hard to know every single business that surrounds us. We want you to know about the mom and pop places that started 20 years ago, or the business of the 16 year old kid who just started out. We want to shine light on the people that we see shining light on others...and following their dreams while they do it!

GROUNDED

This section of the magazine is devoted to all things well-being. We want our Millpond Collective readers to have some insight into others that may help them be more in tune with their spiritual, mental, physical well being...whether that be from visiting your local plant nursery, to learning about how to breathe. Grounded is the broadest topic, but probably one of the most important ones of all!

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noteworthy Real Estate: Staging and Prepping the Home

Staging and preparing a home for professional photography, whether you are a realtor or the home owner, is key to a quick sell. We want to share with you some of our favorite ways to make sure your home is in tiptop shape!

You will want to make sure to move vehicles from the driveway and front of house, and put away any garden hoses, tools, or toys.

This creates a cleaner curbappeal for photos.

Additionally, removing trash cans and recycling bins, as well as planting some flowers or putting out a flag, can really catch the buyer’s eye.

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To create a cleaner look on the interior of your home, we have prepared several pointers that take very little effort, but make a huge impact.

Hiring a cleaner, or spot cleaning yourself, is always a good ideaespecially for windows and mirrors!

Make the beds with fresh linens and add some decorative pillows Clear all end tables and counters of clutter

Place a throw blanket and fun pillows on living room seating Set-out fresh (or fake) flowers on the coffee table Turn all lights and lamps on, and fans off Open blinds to allow natural light in Add decorative hand towels to the bathroom counters Clear vanities and showers or tubs of personal items Remove family photos and magnets from the fridge Clear the kitchen sink of dishes and sponges 06

pillar of family

SEASON’S YIELD THE SHEAR FAMILY:

Learn how the Fawn and Daniel turned a military reprieve into a thriving business

Photo provided by photographer: Jeralyn Robacker

@seasonsyieldfarm

Do you smell that? It is the smell of freshly cooked bread wafting through the air and out of the Bread Barn. You can hear milk being steamed by the most precious little girl named Tirza for a special latte. A sound of thudding can be heard of bread being kneaded in the kitchen as the sourdough is being formed into spiral cinnamon rolls and prepped for baking. Outside, you can see the farm animals strolling around, the farm cat at your feet begging for pets, and the creek babbling nearby. You are at Season’s Yield Farm in Raphine, Virginia. Once you get here, you won’t want to leave.

This farm is owned by Daniel and Fawn Shear, along with their five children. Their story is quite amazing, as told by Daniel while he kneads the dough and by his wife, Fawn, as she snuggles their newest little one in the kitchen.

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“I was an Army Infantry officer in 2012 and was deployed to Afghanistan, which turned out to be a significant catalyst for our life. I experienced so much life in those 10 months: there was a lot of death, destruction, blood and a lot of meaningful questions about life. Amidst this deployment, Fawn sent me a book called Tartine, by a fella named Chad Robertson. This book was more than a recipe book. It was a story of Chad’s baking passion becoming his profession. I would get back from a combat patrol covered in sweat and dirt, having just been in a firefight, and I would grab this book to read and dream of another world. It offered such respite. That book became the spark which excited both Fawn and I for a future of working together. I returned from deployment and both Fawn and I were committed to a family future of togetherness, working side by side.

Daniel Shear

Fawn Shear 10

After another deployment, I left the active duty service and we started homesteading. We traded in our super-sweet Chevy Tahoe for a Subaru Outback and went to the livestock auction: coming home with pigs, a goat, and some chickens. We operated a small farm and vegetable CSA for several years while I baked as a hobby, selling various produce and a few loaves of sourdough on the side. The bread became more sought after than our potatoes and peppers. Anticipating the trajectory of the business, we built the Barn Barn, our bakery, which was finished in September of 2020.

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I think the takeaway from our time in the military, which has fueled what we're doing and how we're doing it, is that life is just too short to be spent apart from those you love: so how can we maximize the time together as a family? That's really been the vision. If there was ever a book about our story, it would be titled ‘God is Gracious’.

None of this has been part of our master plan. The Lord has opened these doors. We've just kind of jumped through, you know, all in.”

Fawn smiles at him as he finishes telling us his story of their beginning. The baby grabs at her hair and snuggles against her chest.

Fawn operates the coffee cafe on the famous “Bread Days” and all the background operations like homeschooling their five children, business details, assisting on the prep work for Bread Day, running and maintaining their Airbnb (located atop the bakery), and making sure her family is maintained through it all.

The best part of this farm and business is their dedication and love for their family. Not only does their oldest daughter work for the business, but both sets of parents of Fawn and Daniel work for Season’s Yield as well.

It is a true family operation. You can feel it from the minute you walk into the Bread Barn.

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life is just too short to be spent apart from those you love: so how can we maximize the time together as a family? That's really been the vision.

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photography • PORTRAITURE • BUSINESS • ARCHITECTURE • WEDDINGS

contact us 540.836.7392

@millpondphotography

Daniel: “There's so much art form in this baking process. We mill locally sourced flour, we use naturally leavened sourdough and we bake in a wood-fired oven to produce the most intentional and nutritious product possible for our community.”

WHY SOURDOUGH?

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Now, the Shears enjoy their family and work hard to provide the community with the most LOCAL product they can make and are now even milling their own flour from a local wheat field. They plan to further that as they grow and perfect their recipe and skills. You can catch them the second and fourth Saturdays of the month at Bread Day on the farm to grab your bi-weekly ration of delicious, homemade bread and pastries to get you through until the next Bread Day. These items are available by pre order through their website or walk-up. They also bake wood-fired sourdough pizzas in their stone oven and offer coffee at the coffee bar inside the Bread Barn. The Savory Croissants are our favorite as well as the peppermint latte made by Tirzah! From April to November, they host a farmer’s market on the second bread day of the month, featuring around 30 local artisans: a perfect time to grab some local gifts and goods while at the farm. Check their online schedule to figure out when you can stop in and enjoy this community event!

pillar of home BRAD LONG: HOME TOUR

KBL CONSTRUCTION

Brad explains the process and struggles of one of his most recent builds

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SAM: When did you start and finish the build?

BRAD: We started the build in November of 2020 and they moved in Halloween of 2021. It took a year to complete. Even after they moved in, we had to finish up some of the tile as it finally came in.

SAM: What were some of the obstacles during the build?

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BRAD: Some of the obstacles during the build were the fact that the home itself had a 20 foot grade difference from the front to the back of the house. Also, just the crazy world we live in right now didn’t help either! During the build was when all the shipping containers were backed up at the ports. All of this stuff from overseas was out the ocean, you couldn't get materials for months. We had four by nine panels of tile imported from Italy for the master bath walls, and half of them came in broken after waiting so long for them to come in but we got creative and made it work.

SAM: I mean, you can't really control that. So how did you deal with it?

BRAD: Basically, we just kept getting in materials, and as it came in, we just finished those projects. It wasn’t ideal, but the homeowners were so patient with us and the situation.

SAM: What are some of the most unique and insanely awesome features of the house like the things that people wouldn't know just by looking at pictures?

BRAD: I would say some cool things about this home is that the floor was imported from New Hampshire. It was eight inch maple hardwood. The tile in the laundry room and the bathrooms were handmade in California. Some of it was imported from Italy like the big sheets for the master bath. All of the countertops were poured concrete including the sinks. The accordion style doors (the nanawalls) were 24 foot wide. The front curtain wall window was 16 by 20 foot. That was a $55,000 window.

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SAM: What about the beams and porches, and the frame? Anything special with those?

BRAD: The porches are 4x12 Douglas fir rafters with 2x6 tongue and groove on top of them.

The front wall is engineered with steel beams for the curtain wall. There are also some pretty massive beams above the 24 foot openings above the nanawalls. We had to get a local engineer to help us with the portal frame for the curtail wall, and above the nanawalls.

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us today

SAM: Can you talk about the original placement of the house and the story of the tree?

BRAD: Originally, they had the house placed up against the woods.

That grade difference was more than 20 feet at that point. I really wanted to take this big walnut tree down to help with the grade difference. The homeowner had me put a temporary fence up around the drip line of the tree, just to keep people from pulling underneath it and ruining the roots of it. I really wanted to take out the tree to move the house where the tree was but he wanted to keep the tree at all costs. We got as close to the tree as we could get, and moved the house a little bit. This gave us a 20 foot grade difference from front to back. We shaved the hill down, and kept a little bit of rock as a feature for the landscaping, which turned out pretty cool. I am glad he kept the tree because it really is beautiful!

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SAM: What about the road to get to it? I mean, talk about that because it's an insanely long driveway.

BRAD: Right? We kind of went straight down through the hollow and it wasn't an easy road to put in. And it's still not the best but it's the best we could do with what we had.

SAM: If you had the estimate, how much of a cost would it be to put in a driveway that long?

BRAD: I'd say somewhere around $75,000.

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SAM: If you were to tell future clients a tip for building their custom home in this crazy atmosphere that we have right now, what would you say?

BRAD: Just stick with what you want to do, even though I don't see your vision 100%.

A lot of times it takes doing it and getting through it to see what they actually have in mind. A lot of times, I'm glad that we stuck with what they wanted to do. Also, make sure you have plenty of money, because things are expensive! We were lucky on this build because they were great clients to deal with.

They're very understanding, and they were fun.

Notes from the Owner: "One of our favorite aspects of the house is how many craftspeople contributed to the final product. For example, Staunton Mill Shop made all the kitchen, pantry, and laundry room cabinets, as well as all the floating shelves, and the upstairs bookcase and desk.

They told us this cool story about how the walnut they used was milled by a cabinetmaker in Harrisonburg who stored it in his barn and then it was forgotten about until someone reclaimed it many years later. The tile wall in the laundry room was made

by New Ravenna, a mosaic company on the Eastern Shore here in VA. All of the concrete countertops were made by Rock Solid Concrete Artisans, in Charlotte NC. The bathroom vanities were made by North Coast Modern in Knoxville TN. Brad had so many skilled people working to pull everything together through the entire process."

Brad Long and his wife, Jordan, own the building company KBL Construction. They are a builder and realtor team in the Shenandoah Valley, specializing in high-end homes, and making sure all their clients' dreams come true. They love spending time together with their three boys when they aren’t working, and giving extra love to their donkeys, dogs, and horses.

the long family

@A.M.A.SWEETS

540.688.6377

SUMMER SALAD

COURTESY OF CHEF BRITTNI CAMPBELL WITH @BRIITTNISRECIPES

Story of the Smiley Spoon by Brittni: “I had just quit my job to start my new marketing business and I was freaking out. I was thinking, “Should I do this? Like, what am I thinking?”

Shortly later, I went into Ross and I found the smiley spoon. The weirdest part about this spoon is that you cannot find these anywhere.

All it says on it is ‘homemade.’ I've looked all over the internet for it.

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When I picked it up, the craziest thing happened. It hit me. I had this feeling come over my whole body. It was God. He put this idea in my head: “I should start doing food blogs on the side just to, you know, just see what happens because I love to cook.” And then it just grew into this huge thing. And now I get to cook for a living, which is crazy. So that's the story. It gives me chills every time I talk about it, because it was really special to me. Ever since then, it's like these ideas just come to me. God is like, you need to do this, you need to do this.

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I've just been doing it ever since then. I just keep growing and growing.

People love it. I was in a really dark place. And He's brought me through it. My goal with my cooking and videos… and especially now since my dad's going through a really hard time and has a lot of health issues, I really want to help people learn how to cook. It doesn't have to be crazy hard, but small things you can do to be healthier. He has diabetes. And you know, there's people that have gluten allergies, that I would love to teach people how to make food where it's not super expensive, or super hard.

All photos in this article were taken at Season's Yield Farm "Bread Barn" Airbnb

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Brittni owns her own graphic design business, Wildflower Marketing and Design, as well as a VIIRAL Tiktok and Instagram cooking page @brittnisrecipes. She loves her family and the Lord number one, but also loves cooking and feeding the multitudes (meaning her love, Tyler, and their little boy, Wylder).

“It was God. He put this idea in my head: I should start doing food blogs on the side just to, you know, just see what happens because I love to cook. And then it just grew into this huge thing.”

-brittni campbell

strawberry summer pasta salad Ingredients: 12 oz cooked farfalle "bow tie" pasta 8 sliced Strawberries 1/2 cup Blueberries 1 cup chopped broccoli 1/2 diced red onion 8 oz package mozzarella pearls

Dressing: 1/4 Cup Olive Oil 1/4 Cup Balsamic Vinegar 2 Tablespoons White Sugar Salt & Pepper to taste

Instructions: 1. Cook the pasta according to the package instructions, drain, and let dry.

2. Combine the strawberries, blueberries, broccoli, red onion, and mozzarella pearls with the cooked pasta in a bowl.

3. In a separate bowl, combine the dressing ingredients (Olive Oil, Balsamic Vinegar, Sugar, and Salt & Pepper) 4. Pour the dressing over the pasta salad ingredients, then stir until mixed throughout. Serve immediately or refrigerate until ready to serve.

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TRUTHS BEHIND VETERINARY MEDICINE pillar of grounded Veterinarians share the unknown joys and struggles of the veterinary industry

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SAM: Can you go into a little detail about your profession?

DR. PLAUGHER: I work in primarily Ambulatory Practice focusing mainly on equine. I do a little bit of food animal practice as well but horses encompass a large amount of my practice. I'm going on my fourth year of practice and I've been at this hospital since I graduated from the vet school at Mississippi State University.

SAM: Can you tell me how you decided to become a vet?

DR. PLAUGHER: I grew up on a small farm and had a wide range of different types of animals. It wasn't until one of my horses went through a very long series of lameness issues and I worked really closely with a vet that was involved that my interest in wanting to be a veterinarian really sparked.

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Dr. Plaugher shows us her collection of horse's teeth that she has accumulated through the years to use for teaching ride-along vet students

DR. PLAUGHER: I asked that specific veterinarian that was taking care of my animals how he became a horse doctor. He was so excited. Shortly after, I asked him how he became a veterinarian and he told me that he went through a long undergraduate process and then went to vet school. I actually went the same exact college pathway that he did and I work beside that same veterinarian today.

SAM: Did you have to apply multiple times to get into vet school?

DR. PLAUGHER: I'm one of the rare students that was able to get in after my senior year of undergrad. I went to school with lots of other students and I remember being in my freshman year of college, I was 17, I was a baby.

I'm sitting in this big lecture hall of probably about 100 other students and the teacher said, “Okay, how many of y'all want to be veterinarians? Raise your hand.” And we all raised her hand.

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Be sure to check out the video of two other veterinarians, Dr. Nelson and Dr. Cromer, who we got to interview as well. Their efforts and kind hearts do not go unnoticed.

DR. PLAUGHER: Approximately 80 students raised their hand, and she said, “Okay, look to your left, look to your right, only one of you is gonna make it.” And she was true, because I remember exactly who was sitting next to me that day, and I was the only one that made it into vet school. I'm so thankful for that. I'm so blessed.

SAM: What, in your opinion, is the biggest misconception about being a vet?

DR. PLAUGHER: I think there's a lot of common misconceptions about veterinary medicine. The one that really sticks with me is the income. A lot of people think that veterinarians make a ton of money, you’re a doctor, right, so you should make a ton of money like doctors do, or people think doctors do. That's just not the case. Our income to debt ratio is insane. We have the same amount of student loans and student debt that an MD does and unfortunately, we get out making a half to 1/3 of the salary that a human doctor makes. People think veterinarians make the big bucks, but that's just not the case.

Another really funny misconception that people have about veterinary medicine is that they don't have to deal with people. They think Oh, I love animals so much, I'll become a veterinarian, because I can just deal with animals all day. Believe it or not, I've never worked on a horse that doesn't have an owner attached to it. A great deal of my time is spent communicating with people more so than animals. I think people need to realize that this is a human to human profession, not just human to animal profession.

Dr. Plaugher and large animal assistant, Kim, work together to "float" a horse's teeth.

This process is painless for the horse but necessary to keep their teeth healthy, and extend the horse's life.

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Another really common misconception and I hear all the time is that ‘euthanasia has to be the hardest part of my job.’ Unfortunately, that's not always true. Euthanasia is really, really hard. It breaks my heart every time I have to end an animal’s suffering and put them down. Sometimes it can be really controversial. But I really feel a sense of pride that I can relieve suffering from these animals. I think that that's a really great gift that we can give them. It's hard as it is to say, euthanasia is not the hardest part of my job.

SAM: Well, what is the hardest part of your job then?

DR. PLAUGHER: Unlike in human medicine, finances play a huge role in how we practice medicine. Unfortunately, when a client comes to me, with severe financial constraints, I'm really limited on how I can treat that animal.

Sometimes when the animal doesn't respond, the owner gets really frustrated with me. I go home knowing that I could have potentially saved an animal's life had I had just 50 more dollars or 100 more dollars. I don't always get that. I certainly respect that there are financial constraints. I try really hard to work within those.

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DR. PLAUGHER: That can be super frustrating when owners get angry or upset that I couldn't save their animal or even when they brought their animal in too late (say their animal has been sick for two, three weeks, six months) and they bring it to me and it dies within a few hours. I'll often get blamed for the failure of that animal. I know deep down that that wasn't me, but it can still take a toll on you when people get upset with you. Of course, none of us as human beings want anybody to be upset at us but especially with all of the other aspects of what's going on in a veterinarian's life that can sometimes tip you over the edge.

SAM: What is the most rewarding part of your job?

DR. PLAUGHER: I think it's the combination of everything that I do. Of course, seeing a sick animal make a full recovery is really, really awesome, especially one that you've treated or another one of our associates have treated that's just really, really great. But my personal favorite part is seeing the newborn foal with the owner that I helped their horse conceive.

Now it's delivered and almost a year has passed. I'm seeing that animal grow and thrive. Then, not long after that, maybe in the coming months, two years, helping that owner say goodbye to their best friend for 15, sometimes 30 years on the same exact farm. I think that I formed such great relationships especially within the large animal side. These people are inviting me into their homes and their farms and I see their lives. That's a really personal thing. I get to develop really good friendships with a lot of these people and really close bonds. I think that that's by far the most rewarding part of my job.

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SAM: Have you or someone you know been affected by "JUST BE KIND. BE KIND TO depression in veterinary US, BE KIND TO medicine?

EVERYBODY." DR. PLAUGHER: So, in my time -dr. hannah plaugher in the veterinary profession, and even my time leading up to becoming a veterinarian, I've definitely been directly and indirectly affected by depression and anxiety. This profession is brutal, it really is.

It's not for the weak, and we're all perfectionists in this profession. Our education kind of gears us towards being a perfectionist, being the best, and not failing. If we did fail, we wouldn't be where we are today.

That just puts a lot of mental and emotional strain on us.

When we get into work, and things aren't going perfectly, a patient is crashing, an owner is upset with us, our hours are long, that can really take a big mental toll.

Not only do we want to be the best veterinarian that we can be, but we want to be the best wife, sister, daughter, mother or self that we can be. If we can't be the best at all of that, then it takes a huge mental toll on us.

It's like 2.7 veterinarians or veterinary professionals are 2.7 times more likely to commit suicide than the average person. I've definitely known several people that have been severely affected by depression in this profession, and even a few that have taken their own lives.

SAM: How do you deal with these situations in your daily life?

DR. PLAUGHER: Certainly, it's really hard when I come across a colleague or a friend that's in a dark place, but what I do to try and prevent that from happening to me, I try really hard to create a decent work life balance. It's hard in this profession, it's hard. The hours are really long, you always have people that need you, you always are going to have animals that need you.

But I think it's super important to take care of yourself, and to step back and say, “Okay, right now, I'm more important.” I'm trying really hard to set some boundaries. This has gotten even more important to me now that I've become a new mom. I have a five month old baby at home. I've realized that there are some things that are more important than being a doctor and I'm much more than just a veterinarian. I'm a person too. I'm a mom. I'm a daughter. I'm a sister, and I want to make sure that I can be good at those things too.

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“I'VE REALIZED THAT THERE ARE SOME THINGS THAT ARE MORE IMPORTANT THAN BEING A DOCTOR AND I'M MUCH MORE THAN JUST A VETERINARIAN. I'M A PERSON TOO. I'M A MOM. I'M A DAUGHTER. I'M A SISTER, AND I WANT TO MAKE SURE THAT I CAN BE GOOD AT THOSE THINGS TOO.”

-dr. hannah plaugher SAM: What would you tell someone wanting to become a veterinarian?

DR. PLAUGHER: When somebody comes to me telling me that they want to be a veterinarian, my biggest word of advice is to just really do your research. Spend as much time with veterinarians as you can.

It’s not what the TV shows often portray. There's a lot that goes into it. It's a lot of work. It's not just puppies and kittens and pulling baby calves and all of the positive things that TV often portrays. Also, make sure that financially, it's a good move for you and that's something that you want to take on with your life. If you decide that being a vet is what you want to do, then I'm here to encourage you!

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SAM: What are some changes within the veterinary field that could positively affect mental health?

DR. PLAUGHER: I think a few changes that could be made involving mental health in the veterinary profession would be just promoting it. Our clients don't know what we're going through. A lot of students don't know what we're going through. Just making people aware. I know the American Veterinary Medical Association is making a good attempt to bring awareness to depression and the high suicide rates in our profession. I know that veterinarians are 2.7 times more likely to commit suicide than the average human being and that's crazy. That's insane and terrifying.

Maybe by knowing that, they may change their approach to how they speak with their veterinarian. Just be kind. Be kind to us, Be kind to everybody. We're all here and working hard and doing the best that we can especially during these times with COVID. Everybody is short staffed.

Everybody is overworked. Everybody is overwhelmed. I think that people just need to remember to be kind, and we're all doing the best that we can.

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stay awhile

(540) 294-5682 @charitycoxre

pillar of business YOUNG ENTREPRENEUR: KATIE GREENMUN

EVERGREEN DESIGN CO. A high schooler discovers calligraphy during the COVID pandemic

@evergreen.designco

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We had the incredible opportunity to visit the studio of the calligraphy artist and owner of the local business, Evergreen Design Co., Katie Greenmun this spring. She showed us her craft and allowed us to observe her in action.

Katie started her business during December of 2020 like many other businesses that popped up during that time when people were confined to their homes. That is when she sold her first piece, and hasn’t stopped since. She is a full time student so this is her artistic relief from stress and classes.

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Katie is currently doing custom pieces, custom wedding invitation suites, and her own work as well. She loves doing calligraphy the most vs. doing full watercolor paintings and it is evident within her skill, even though she is still a highly skilled watercolorist. When she sits down with her calligraphy utensils; she is home. Katie has a love for the Lord, and likes to use verses that speak to her from the Bible for her pieces the most. She also loves to use song lyrics to favorite songs.

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We loved watching this young lady in action and can’t wait to see where her artistic passion takes her in the future. Contact her through her social media pages now to place an order or purchase one of her original pieces, and keep your eyes peeled for her Etsy shop coming soon!

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pillar of business YOUNG ENTREPRENEUR: GABE BUTLER

SCHOOL BUS CONVERSION

A childhood dream of bus-life becomes a reality

@struggle_bus46

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SAM: When did you get the bus and begin the bus conversion?

GABE: I got the bus on November 15 of 2021, and have been working on it ever since then. I work full time for the Service Authority, so I work on the bus every weekend and in my spare time.

SAM: When did you really start to get into bus conversions?

GABE: Two or three years ago. I always thought it was cool, but I never really started blueprinting and really laying stuff out until two years ago.

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SAM: Can you tell me about what made you decide that you wanted to do a bus conversion?

GABE: Well, I really liked the idea of not being bound. If you want to go here one day, you go there. If you want to go there one day, you go there. If you want to take a friend, you can. If you want to just be by yourself, you can. I just like being able to take your house with you when you go to places. Not only does it save money, but to me, it's cool. I really like creating and the bus has given me the opportunity to design and to really think about the process of space saving, different layouts for your plumbing, your electrical, and different stuff like that. It has taught me so much so far. I used to know nothing about solar and now I can do whatever I want to solar.

It's one of those things that I've always seen and been like, wow, how did somebody do that? And then now, knowing what it takes, and knowing that I can do that, it really has empowered me and makes me feel pretty good about my abilities.

Gabe and his girlfriend, Riley, standing on the bus roof showing off the newly installed solar panels

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Gabe has made so many big updates in his bus conversion like installing solar panels and making it an "off-grid" bus, installing plumbing throughout including a water tank and water heater, and has framed out the entire bus to prepare for the rest of the insulation and paneling to go up.

His next big update includes a rooftop deck, finishing the bathroom with a zero entry tile shower and double sinks, and then finalizing the cosmetic details like the kitchen cabinets, and flooring/paint. The bus is truly a tiny house!

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540.943.2723 CALL OR VISIT US TODAY! waynesboro, virginia

"NOW, KNOWING WHAT IT TAKES, AND KNOWING THAT I CAN DO IT, IT REALLY HAS EMPOWERED ME AND MAKES ME FEEL PRETTY GOOD ABOUT MY ABILITIES."

-gabe butler

SAM: Do you feel like there have been any classes or things that you've done that has prepared you for the bus conversion that you're thankful you did?

GABE: I think taking architecture blueprinting in computer design really was helpful. When you think about designing a part for example, you think about it in terms of how to take it apart vs. how to build it. That class taught me that. If you think about how you would take it apart, it helps you think about the process and helps you realize what needs to be done and what would make it easier to fix it in the long run. I guess, taking classes that force you to think in reverse, like that, especially with a mechanical aspect are super helpful.

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The photo above was taken the day Gabe picked up the bus, and the photo below was taken recently looking at the same angle of the bus with all the updates that have been made.

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SAM: What do you think has been the hardest part so far of the build?

GABE: I would say not losing the motivation to keep going. It's really hard to not get overwhelmed, because you have so much to do in so little time to do it. It is just hard to stay focused, and not lose the motivation to just be like, Alright, I'm done with this. I mean, if you start it, then you need to finish it. We've gotten so close and it's getting even closer to being done as time goes.

SAM: What has been your favorite and least favorite part of the build?

GABE: I really enjoyed the framing and the solar stuff so far. I have enjoyed learning the big stuff along the way. It is what keeps you motivated to keep doing new things and learning new things. I hated doing the paneling and small stuff. It's just so time consuming for such a small thing. With a bus, you just have so many odd dimensions that you have to go around with the odd contour of the bus. You also have to account for the windows.

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SAM: What is your plan for the bus? Do you plan on keeping it? Do you plan on doing another one?

GABE: I would like to finish it and I want to live in it and see if I enjoy the lifestyle. Nobody actually knows until you do it.

If I do enjoy the lifestyle, which I most likely will, I'd like to use this bus learning curve and potentially sell it when I'm done using it. For my next build, I’d like to do a smaller conversion, like a van. That way if I were to have a house, I could just travel on the weekends or go on road trips in the van vs. the size of a house with a full size bus.

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SAM: Who are some people that inspire you and why?

GABE: Definitely my mom because of how hard she works to maintain what we have, the lifestyle that we have, and just the ability to do things that we do, even as hard as times are, she really is a motivator to me. It is amazing to see someone that can be that strong, and at the same time, take care of multiple people and constantly have a house that's warm, and a house that's full of food and a house that’s safe for people to be here and is so welcoming.

Also, seeing people my age on social media that are living similar lifestyles and have the same challenges as everybody does is also inspirational. Seeing them be successful with converting their buses into houses and being able to live without caring about what people think is a really big motivator for me.

pillar of business YOUNG ENTREPRENEUR: ASHLAND ALLRED

AMA SWEETS

A generational baker shares her love for all things sweet

@a.m.a.sweets

SAM: When did you start baking and begin your business, AMA Sweets?

ASH: I started in June of 2019. I really started baking with my grandma, my mom's mom, and she baked a lot before she had cancer. I just learned from watching her. A lot of my cake recipes are from her. I make a carrot cake and a red velvet cake and both of those are her recipes. Then I got some of my recipes off of Pinterest starting out and then I would tweak them and find what works and what doesn't work. I started posting on Instagram and seeing if people would buy the baked goods locally, and then just expanded slowly from there.

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SAM: Did you learn how to bake from anyone/anything besides your grandma?

ASH: Honestly, I have learned through trial and error. I also watched youtube videos and did lots of experimenting!

Baking is a stress reliever for me.

SAM: What is your favorite dessert to eat that you make?

ASH: I really love to eat cheesecake. That's what's sitting over there that I made homemade.

Strawberry cheesecake is so good and that one has an Oreo crust to it as well.

SAM: What is the most difficult part about baking?

ASH: I think the difficult part is the time that is involved. It's a lot of time and trial and error. If you do something minorly wrong, you have to start over. It's a lot of science involved in it, and I love science. I think that's why I like it so much, but a lot of people don't like it because if you do one small thing wrong, it's a disaster.

SAM: What do you like to make the most?

ASH: I really like making cakes, and cheesecake type things. Cakes are a lot of work to make and they're probably the most time consuming thing to bake, depending how many layers you're doing. Cakes are what I started out doing and I really like the decorating aspect of it.

Photos contributed by Ashland from one of her previous weddings SAM: What do you dislike making the most?

ASH: I don't know if I really dislike making anything. I feel like some things I get frustrated with if they don't turn out quite right. Sometimes in my cupcake recipes or cake recipes, I'll forget one ingredient or not quite measure it properly, and it never rises up properly. I pretty much like to bake anything though. I like to experiment with a lot of different things.

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pillar of business YOUNG ENTREPRENEUR: ELI BUTLER

WOODWORKING: BUTLER BUILT A young guy with a passion and heart for woodworking

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@butlerbuilt2019

SAM: When did you start woodworking?

ELI: I started woodworking in freshman or sophomore year, about 2018. I officially started my woodworking business, Butler Built, in 2019.

SAM: Tell me about your woodworking experience (what you started doing and what you've transitioned your business into)?

ELI: It started with smaller projects and playing around with woodworking. I made a lot of small items like swords and little projects for people that I loved. As time has passed, I now do custom woodworking projects for people, cutting boards, tables, epoxy projects, and really anything anyone throws at me.

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SAM: What do you feel like was the turning point for your woodworking business? Like where you really started to feel like ‘I'm on top of the world?’

ELI: I would say everything changed when I started working for Mr. Black at Black Forest Sawmill. He taught me how to do everything, and do it better. He taught me how to be more precise with my cuts, everything I know about epoxy, and especially about all different types of trees and wood.

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SAM: Where do you see your woodworking business going?

ELI: I plan to continue working for Mr. Black as long as I can and doing my woodworking business on the side.

SAM: Where do you get your inspiration from?

ELI: Mr. Black definitely is number one, probably because he has an awesome business. He's a good person, and he's generous with what he gets. And that's why he's so prosperous. It's because of his generosity.

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Eli spends time within his woodworking business selling his products online as well as in local art and craft shows, like a most recent one at the Dayton Redbud Festival with his fiancé, Kelsey.

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millpond THANK YOU It has always been a dream of ours to create a magazine to share amazing stories of all things local.

We are so thankful for the hearts that follow our adventures and the support we have gotten along the way. We can't wait to continue to grow this platform and highlight how amazing our community is.

Thank you for your continued support, and for making this all possible!

Much love to you all, Sam and Jonathan Shover @millpondphotography