As a creative professional, looking back at past work is a great practice to be in, if not just to celebrate how far we have come as artists but to see how trends change, to think about how we may do things differently today or even to inspire ourselves for new work ahead. The annual Home Staging Industry Awards hosted by the Real Estate Staging Association recently announced the winners for 2021 and I thought it would be fun to look back at the work from recipients of the RESA Best Rising Star Home Stagers and see where they are now.
Jenny Hilborn’s Rise To The Top
This week I had the chance to catch up with the RESA 2015 Rising Star Home Stager of the Year, Jenny Hilborn who was named the 2021 Professional Stager of The Year, the highest honor in the RESA Home Staging Industry Awards. Read the full article to see what her staging business, Centre Staged Inc. has been up to since Jenny was named Rising Star Home Stager, her advice for new home stagers and more!
Always curious how home stagers started on their staging journey and what obstacles they faced I asked Jenny Hilborn to reflect on her first year opening a staging business. Jenny mentioned, “In the first few months it was all about making new connections, the biggest struggle was having the mental game to keep going every day and thinking of new ways to reach people.” This is not uncommon for new business owners, but especially common from those starting a home staging business. We get asked questions on “how to reach real estate agents” every day at RESA HQ. Best advice Jenny has for those starting out? “When you’re a brand-new business owner the most important advice I could give, is to stick to a structured routine every day.”
Jenny Hilborn and Her Home Staging Design Over The Years
Centre Staged Inc. has been staging homes in Ontario, Canada for over a decade. They have watched trends come and go, and I wanted to hear all about them! I asked Jenny Hilborn to look back at some of her first staged properties and compare them to her work today. I wanted to know what she noticed about her staging then and now.
“The creativity! Our staging projects today portray a much higher standard of design. Most likely because the interior design side of the business has really elevated in the last 2 years. I was a qualified Interior Designer before I was a home stager so quality designs are at the foundation of all our projects.”
We dug up the before and after photos from 2015, the year that Jenny ran against home stagers in both the United States and Canada and won Best Rising Star Home Stager. We asked Jenny to reminisce on what it meant to her to win that award. “It really meant a lot to be recognized, especially as a British immigrant starting a new life and growing a business in Canada. It gave me a new confidence and acceptance in the industry.”
Jenny Hilborn & Centre Stage Today
A lot has happened since Jenny won her Rising Star award in 2015, including a pandemic. When I asked her what she learned about her business during this difficult time for so many business owners she said “How important processes and systems are if you have a team. We obviously couldn’t always be together to communicate but the strength of our process kept the wheels in motion and the team moving forward. Also learning to pivot and be present to what the world wants and needs to hear and see.”
Centre Stage has been able to survive the pandemic without letting go of a single member of their team, which was one of their greatest achievement of 2021, Jenny Hilborn being named RESA 2021 Professional Home Stager Of The Year was just the icing on the cake for her hard working team!
Looking back on the journey Jenny wants to remind other home stagers to “Be resilient and maintain a clear focus of your vision for your staging business. There will always be peaks and troughs to running a business and learning to ‘ride the wave’ and believing in your vision will see you through the ups and downs. Build a great team to support you, even if they’re just a network of vendors you use because you can’t do it all and focusing on what you’re most skilled at and most passionate about is 100% best for you and your business.”
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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