The RESA Metro Centre Chapter was started in September of 2017 and has formed to 11 members from New Jersey. They meet once a month to network, share ideas, and learn from industry professionals about how they can grow their home staging business.
In January the RESA Metro Centre Chapter welcomed in the 2019 board members. The board members on our local RESA chapters volunteer their time and expertise to help grow and navigate the chapters business and promote professionalism in home staging. Dianna Scarpa who served as the 2018 chapter secretary was elected as the 2019 RESA Metro Centre Chapter President-Elect. I had a chance to ask Dianna a few questions to get to know her a little bit better.
Dianna Scarpa is the founder and CEO of Opal Home Staging. She studied Interior Space Planning at Parsons School of Design in New York City, Interior Architecture at the Academy of Art University in San Francisco, and was formerly a real estate agent in Monmouth County, NJ.
She graduated with high honors and a Sociology degree from Monmouth University and has worked with several human rights organizations. Dianna earned her staging credentials from Home Staging Resources (HSR) and is a member of the American Society of Home Stagers and Redesigners (ASHSR).
Dianna is a founder and current President-Elect of the RESA Metro Centre Chapter. She brilliantly combines her knowledge in design, real estate and the study of social institutions to successfully prepare homes for sale time and time again. She uses these skills to save her clients money, time and stress!
Get To Know Dianna Scarpa
What are you most excited for in 2019 in regards to your local chapter?
I’m going to be leading a DIY Artwork for Staging that I’m really excited about. I like to make my own artwork when I have the time to do so and I’m excited to share it with our chapter members. Since we are all creative individuals, it will be really interesting and inspiring to see how their pieces come out.
What type of music do you listen do while staging?
Lately I’ve been automatically turning to Leon Bridges when I’m staging. He’s got such a cool, relaxing and old school vibe that I just love. It keeps my mind at ease and at a steady pace while still igniting joy and creativity through his music.
What did you do before you were a home stager?
Better question is what didn’t I do before I was a home stager, I was a serial job hopper! I’ve worked at McDonald’s, an elementary school, a pottery studio, Urban Outfitters, a farm in Santa Cruz, a tiki bar, a Mexican restaurant, Guitar Center, an art gallery in NYC, a farmer’s market, and Freedom House in DC, just to name a small fraction of the places I’ve been employed. Looking back on those jobs, I realize that I was never sure of what my career path was going to be, which is why I’ve left all of them on my own terms in search for the next thing.
I didn’t know what the end game was, but I knew that whatever I was doing wasn’t it. I even got a degree in Sociology thinking I was going to excel in a career in international relations. I got started on that path working in DC and Brooklyn, but it wasn’t long before I knew, in my gut, that I still wasn’t where I needed to be. It was difficult to accept that feeling and turn away from what I had been working for years to achieve.
What I realized is that during all of those years of job hopping, I was always designing as a hobby. I was constantly drawing rooms, rearranging my apartments, sketching furniture, building lamps, making accessories, and painting everything. I finally don’t have that itch of needing to figure out the next move. I’ve found where I need to be. Being a home stager is the longest job I’ve ever stayed doing and funny enough, it’s never felt like a job!
Learn more about the Real Estate Staging Association here.
Felicia has a background in production design and studied at Academy Of Art University where she had a focus in Motion Pictures And Television. In her free time you can find her reading about the latest marketing trends or hanging out with her husband in Disneyland.
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