Hey guys, welcome back! If this is the first episode that you are listening to, the Home Staging Show is all about learning how to create a beautiful home, whether it is for selling or for living. On today’s episode, I interview a veteran home stager and a leader in the home staging industry, Karen Otto. She is the owner of Home Star Staging in Texas and she started her business around the same time I did. If you have been listening to the show for awhile and like the show, please take a minute to rate and review The Home Staging Show on iTunes. That will be super helpful because that will help other people to find this show and allow me to keep finding great guests and keep recording. Today’s show is brought to you by EcoJoe, the eco-friendly St Joseph statue home selling kit. In real estate, there is a tradition of praying to St Joseph for good luck, and we made an eco-friendly statue made with clay. EcoJoe is 100% natural, he won’t harm the earth. To find out more about the product, visit ecojoekits.com So I just love the way Karen mixes different colors and textures, as well as mixing in vintage pieces with her staging. She also uses materials and props in creative and unexpected ways, which we will talk about on the show today. We also chatted about business a little bit. I know sometimes, when home stagers get together, we can’t help it but chat business. But I think it is also important for you guys, even if you are homeowners who have no interests in ever owning a home staging business to hear the behind the scene stuff since then that gives you a better understanding and perspectives on what to look for when you are hiring a home stager, or if you are a new stager wanting to build a better business. Because that is important too. Great staging is not enough, you also have to have a solid business that fuels your passion and serves your purposes, on top of that, you are providing a valuable service to others and helping them sell their homes. We also talk about the design process of pulling a home together, sourcing and shopping, and the importance of getting a great photographer.