From HGTV to Homeschooling: Erin Napier on Building a Life, Not a Brand

0:05Jon McLaughlin:Hi, I'm Dave Barnes and I'm Jon McLaughlin and welcome to Dadville. Dadville is a podcast where we talk about life, love and the pursuit of awesome dadding. It's funny thoughts and deep talks. So please enjoy your time here in Dadville and enjoy this episode with Erin Napier.

0:28Jon McLaughlin:Good energy in. Good energy out.

0:37Storm. Zero sugar, 200 milligrams of caffeine, and immunity support. Storm. Energy for life. Okay, so Aaron, we're going to start with your brag sheet like we always do. Just to give people a scoop of what's going on, because everybody is clawing at us. Just like, what's going on? Okay, so here we go. So today on Dadville, we've got our friend Aaron Napier with us. One half of the team behind Hometown, which is 10 seasons in. Is this true? Number one on the network. Look at it in our hearts. Come on. And all built out of a small town in Laurel, Mississippi. Aaron and her husband, Ben, who we love and is massive, 6 '6", and handsome, have this way of not just renovating houses, but actually helping bring whole communities back to life.

1:15And now they're taking on what might be their biggest project yet with a new series called Hometown, In This Together. And I want people to know that's I-N-N. And I have a lot of respect for that. It's a four-part spinoff where they're restoring this massive, nearly 100-year-old building in downtown Laurel. 25, is it right? 25 ,000 square feet? Yes. Good gracious. A project that's been sitting empty for decades and trying to turn into a hotel and gathering place for the town, all while dealing with, you know, minor things like seven-figure budgets and fires. We'll get to that. But what's really interesting about Erin is that all of this started way before TV.

1:51She's an artist, a writer, and entrepreneur, co-founded Laurel Mercantile, started her own stationery company, and she's written multiple books, including the New York Times bestseller children's book, The Lantern House, if you don't know. In a circle. She's also helped create spaces in Laurel at Atlas' show like the Visitor Center and even has a design school at her alma mater named after her. It's your alma mater, right? Or both of y 'all's? Yes. Yours. Both of us. Both of us, that's right. I always think y 'all went to State Ole Miss, but named after her and Ben that's training the next generation of builders and creatives.

2:25And in the middle of all of it, here's where we wrap it up. She and Ben are raising two girls and trying to build a life that actually feels like a life. Not just a brand. Not just a brand. That's the hard part. Yeah, no. We're so glad you're back on Dadville. So tell us, this seems like, you know what I sort of love about y 'all? It's this sort of commitment to take on things. just like this posture of living that's like why wouldn't we do 25 000 square feet and just and then let's record it let's just put it out into the world so what what makes you with this project especially what made you want to do that the thing is the hotel is 100 our best friends project so they like went out on a limb invested every penny they had to save the crest building and they were like, do you guys want to own a hotel with us?

3:19And I was like, I'm homeschooling. But you could answer every question. That could be your answer.

3:27Jon McLaughlin:You want to have dinner tomorrow night? I'm homeschooling. I'm homeschooling, guys. I have such limited capacity for anything outside of everything we're doing and homeschooling, which I think is just like parenting. It's just an extension of raising the kids. And so Ben and I were like, We don't have the capacity to help you own a hotel, but we do have the capacity to just help you however we can help you as you renovate this building. I think they're so brave. My friends are the bravest people that I know. Wow. And they went for it. These are really good friends of yours who they just bought this vacant building.

4:06Jon McLaughlin:It had been sitting vacant for years. It had been like off and own, rented on the first floor only for like the last 20 years. But I've been alive for 40 years and I don't remember it ever having any sort of life upstairs. So when they buy it. Which is what people say about me, by the way. Yeah. I was going to say. Not much life upstairs. It's okay. I'm doing my best, guys. Only the first floor is operating. I think you're all right. Only the first floor is operating. I don't even know what that means. he's like moving around he's walking but the upstairs isn't working god it's gone are you like are the two of you you and ben like i can see where this is headed we've done so many things together already like i'm sitting in a really beautiful room that's in our office spaces that's in an old warehouse that we as partners bought and they we've renovated together we have three businesses together already and a factory.

5:08And so, you know, we've been friends since, well, Josh and I have been friends or known each other since we were young kids. And then Jim and Mallory, he's my first cousin. She was my roommate at Ole Miss. So she's really more like a sibling to me. So you didn't even get to decide this. This was, the die had been cast many years ago. Yeah. Totally. Like we're framily and we're in this together. Did you just say Framly? We are. Oh, I've never heard that. You're welcome to hear that. It's also to me like, yeah, thank you. Dadville will completely take that into our lexicon. The other thing I feel about y 'all is it's kind of like, I mean, you know this, live in a small town, but growing up in Kosciuszko like I did, it's like, if you are a really good guitar player, it's over for you.

5:52Because any band that ever starts in that town is like, you know, as we recall, and you guys are sort of like the great guitar players in town. And somebody's like, I'm thinking of doing this right now. Oh my gosh, you know,

6:02Jon McLaughlin:we should go it's like yeah how do you guys feel going into i guess maybe every new like project before you've started it does it feel the way dave and i feel about uh starting a new record that doesn't exist yet you know it's it does it feel daunting and yes so even though you've done it so many times yeah well that's a 25 000 square foot commercial property is very different yeah From a 2 ,500 square foot house. How is it different? You have to go somewhere different mentally, I think, and try to think of the bite-sized pieces of it. Well, first, let's take out what is here that's no good. And then, like you can't, for me, that's the only way mentally I could have done it if I was my friends.

6:56And I mean, the contributions Ben and I made are things like, what do you think about building a prototype bed? for the hotel and then we'll mass manufacture yeah and things like that and so Mallory was like help me figure out the color scheme of the hotel those are the kinds of contributions we got to made and then they actually executed all of it yeah it was just it was unbelievable to watch it has to be fun to be on the ideation side of something and not necessarily like the boots on the ground where you can go yeah I'm going to give this to you and then I literally hand this off to you and I'm not running it down the field.

7:32That was the fun part. It's the part we got to do. And they got to shoulder the very hard part of actually doing it all.

7:44Jon McLaughlin:And you guys probably have the pressure or the responsibility of like, you couldn't just level this thing and build something new. You have to preserve what is there. You can't do that. Exactly. John, how dare you, John. That was a question from a caller. Sorry, that's not mine. Not yours at all. If the building had been very ugly and unfortunate, I think the answer would have been, tear it down and build a new hotel there. But because the building was so beautiful. I want unfortunate to be a term. Give it a Google. I want unfortunate to be a term that is relegated. I want you to tell me like, oh no, builders use that all the time.

8:25You'll see a property and think, that's unfortunate. What do we think about it? It was an unfortunate property, which is code for ugly. I've seen the unfortunate properties in my. Touche. Touche. So can you tell us about this fire? Because this is fascinating to me. Did you, did it? Yeah. When did that happen? It happened just weeks before the hotel was about to open.

8:47Jon McLaughlin:Oh my gosh. Yes. Devastating. Like it's still very raw for them to talk about, for us to talk about. But, yeah, it was a fire that started somewhere around the roof, and they're still looking for answers. Oh, so you guys still don't know exactly what happened. Yeah, the damage is very extensive, and so now it's a waiting game, and the hope is to just keep building. Hello. Man, oh, man, oh, man. That sucks. How much damage? So much. Oh, really? So it burned for a while? It did. Was it like a night thing and nobody didn't know? Yes. I think people became aware of it around 5 a.m. Oh, so it had been going.

9:35It had been going. And it took many hours for the Laurel Fire Department to finally get it under control. It was really sad.

9:47Jon McLaughlin:And this is all in the show? It is. Yeah. and so how far how far removed real time was that from today like from now it's only been a few months geez and it's still like raw yeah yeah i mean it feels it feels a little like a death in the family yeah but also like um hope isn't lost by any means it's just um you know wait they have to just wait wait and wait and wait and see what happens next um yeah and this was after how how long had you guys been working on it two years oh my gosh i know when you see the first like um scenes regarding the hotel that was two years ago wow man oh man oh man i know this is such a downer for now, but we don't know what the future holds.

10:43You know, I think the hope is they want to rebuild. And so they're going to every effort possible to get there.

10:53Jon McLaughlin:And it'll just be, you know, the community will just be all the more invested when it opens again. I think so. I think community will be extremely excited to do anything to make sure it happens. You know what that makes me think is that it's just such a real world reminder of the risks. Cause I think, I mean, obviously you know this intimately, but you know, when you're working in the industry, you are, there's always risks to it. I mean, duh, right. To anything, but that's, you know, that kind of thing, maybe not fire, but something where you get so close to the finish line, then a pipe bursts and it floods overnight, you know, whatever that happened.

11:29You'll see that happened also in the process of fixing the hotel. Yeah. It's in there. But, but, but it's just a reminder that the, you know, for as fun as watching a show like that is, because you think like, oh, everything always works. Look, they always work it out. And, you know, a lot of times you do. It's a real risk. It's like a real life risk for the people involved. It's not just a TV show. It's not just, you know, this thing that looks super curated. It's like, no, these are real people being videoed, but it's a real world situation and these things can happen, which is just so hard, you know?

11:59So are y 'all thinking like a season two with it kind of thing? Or was it really like, hey, watch this sort of, you know? Who knows? Yeah, so much waiting. I mean, we didn't even know if the series would air at all. Wow. Because of that. Jeez. Yeah. So. That is such a bummer. It's going to be so complicated answering people's questions because they saw in the news where the fire happened. And so they're like, amazing. They rebuilt it. We can't wait to watch the series about. No, no, no. Yeah. I know. It's very confusing. but I think it's going to anyone who watches it is going to walk away feeling like the human spirit is unstoppable like we are capable of so much more than we might think we're capable of at least my friends are they are I mean superhuman in the way they're handling it now they still have their chin up and they're facing it with so much optimism and so much determination and man.

13:01I'm so proud of them.

13:03Jon McLaughlin:Good for them. Well, it makes me want to watch it all the more. For whatever that's worth. I think people will want to watch it. It's interesting knowing something like that and watching it. I imagine how that would temper the way you think about the series. You're kind of watching it going, I kind of know what's going to happen. A huge part of the I haven't seen the series, so I really don't know how much is a part of it in this way but josh our partner um it was really his baby most of all as far as construction goes and design of it and he is adopted and so like the hotel is called the heirloom and it's like for him him being an adopted child he feels like there was some part of his life where he now has four children and he and his wife do and the the concept of leaving an heirloom to your children is so important to him because and it has it's all tied up in his like his life story and everything that he overcame to be the adult that he is today um that's really like i think you're going to find so much heart there in that story you definitely will cry like The night the sign was lit on the rooftop, it was really big.

14:30Big, big, big. Especially for Josh. It meant a lot more than a sign. Yeah. Yeah. Which isn't it funny that for me, you just think, well, it's like a building. Isn't that interesting? But these things matter. They're things we create. It's the same with us writing a song as you guys building and working on a place like that. It's who you are put into something. Yes, it was the Crest Department Store, and our grandparents worked there. Oh, my gosh. That's crazy. Our grandparents stopped there. They worked there. It was a landmark building in downtown where everybody got everything that they needed, and then one day it was just empty.

15:09Yeah. It stayed that way. And so for us, I think the whole concept was really about honoring the things that the generations before us had left in the hometown. That's great. Where our grandparents grew up in this town. and so we did too and our kids will too and like what are we leaving them and that generation left us beautiful architecture should we leave it just to rot to be vacant forever yeah that's really what the spirit of the whole series is about

15:47yeah i don't i just don't want to play tag that's it we can it's just it's one of those days real quick. No, we got to read the ad. John, please read the ad. Okay, then we'll do it after.

15:55Jon McLaughlin:Okay, Dave, this time of year, just a quick Amy Tech. This time of year, with weather going from hot to cold and then back again, I'm always thinking about layers. Like, what am I wearing day to day? I have the layers. I've been trying to keep it simple. That stuff's comfortable, easy, but still looks put together. Dave, that's why I keep going back to Quint. I knew you were going to say that. You knew I was going there. They have all of my staples. Think 100 % European literature. And shorts starting around$34. Ridiculous. And their Pima cotton tees. Don't get me started. Those are next level socks.

16:32Jon McLaughlin:Like whatever level you're thinking of, it's the next one. Maybe two up. Maybe two up. Yeah. Like you're putting on and you immediately notice the difference. You love it so much it's hard to say. Once his pants hit that same balance too. Comfortable enough to wear all day, but still nice enough to go pretty much anywhere. Look, I picked up one of their linen shirts recently. It was mine. It was mine. I took it right off your back. You did. And it's been a consistent rotation of mine. Yeah, you love it. It's super lightweight. It's super breathable. Yeah. But it looks put together. And it didn't cost what I thought something like that would cost.

17:04Can I tell you the craziest part? Tell me. And people think we've already said it. I know. Everything's priced around 50 % to 80 % less than similar brands. That's right. Dave, that's because they work directly with ethical factories and cut out the middleman.

17:16Jon McLaughlin:Get rid of the middleman. So you're getting premium materials without the markup. Refresh your airy day with luxury you'll actually use. Head to quince.com slash dadville for free shipping on your order and 365 day returns. That's right. Now available in Canada too because we love the Canucks. We love the Canucks. We're not about to keep them out of this deal. That's quince.com slash dadville for free shipping and 365 day returns. Quince.com slash dadville. which is so interesting because that's such a particular thing to small towns because in nashville you know where we live it's like the minute something like that doesn't work you either keep doing it until it doesn't or you raise it i mean there's just not it can't sit there for that long and so i think something that's so unique to smaller towns is you know that those buildings can really sit there for a while and you have the choice then as someone who lives here to go hey we can either or you know we but there's just not the turnover over quite like a big city so then you are sort of driving by those places every day and you're thinking about god what happens to that place do we want to do something yeah and you just become used to it also you just yeah yeah that's right there's that that corner is just a dead corner and we just stopped thinking about it and that's where it was for so long and then one day it started to look like i mean it just had the vibes of like the industrial era in new york city when And you start seeing like, it just felt like the 1920s coming to life on that corner.

18:48It was incredible. The day like the signage came on the street level. Like, I can't explain it. I heard, ooh, who's the composer? Helen and I just studied about the composer that did all the music that makes you think of like New York City in the 1920s.

19:08Jon McLaughlin:Gershwin? Gershwin, thank you. Yes, Gershwin. I said that, but it didn't. As the signage was going up, I could hear Gershwin. Yeah. Yeah. Yeah. That's cool. So you mentioned that you yourself have not seen the series yet. Do you watch your show at all? When it's live, yeah. You do watch it? Yeah, but not before and not after. We watch it once live and then... You're done. Uh-huh. Yeah. because I find it very it's difficult for me to listen to or watch or like the podcast or my shows or but but it's it's really helpful I mean if I were like coaching myself I'd be like you should go back and like that show that you just did in you know Memphis you should watch the tape of the show see what you're doing that's like not working you know but it's so hard for me to do it how do you feel about watching yourself don't love it but also like the older i get like i care less yeah yeah yeah like there are things that matter and there are things that don't matter and things that don't matter are like oh i looked kind of frumpy in that outfit my hair was really flat in that scene like who cares yeah yeah yeah and so um that's been nice It's been very freeing.

20:36The older I get to just... Look at this. Look at that. You see this? See that? Look at that. That's just wisdom. Season one, two, three, four. That wasn't there. Season five, I don't think it was there. Season 10. Oh, yeah. It's there.

20:51Jon McLaughlin:For the listener, we're looking at... Wrinkles. I can do it for you, John. It's wrinkles on my forehead. Yeah. That only comes up when you do this, which you never do this. Are you sure? Well, you hadn't done it until right now. I call that the wife look. What are you doing? I find when I'm watching the show that when I'm listening to someone. Yeah, you're kind of. That would be. And my friend Allie calls it the 11s. Yeah. Oh, yeah, the two little lines right above the nose. Yeah, I've got the 11. That would be the thing that would be intimidating. Like John said, we know that from a listening.

21:27We don't know it from watching this because, you know, I mean, like, you know, you can look at your Instagram or whatever and be like, oh, 10 years ago, whatever. but that would be something that would be really tricky is going at what point you just go like

21:38Jon McLaughlin:look this is just how i look and how i do my face in that situation my voice always goes hi there why do i do that and you're just like that's just it is what it is yeah it's just you know because nobody else is thinking that well nobody else is thinking that it's just you going well and you're you're finally seeing the version of yourself that everyone in your life that's right that's right that's right yeah i always think about that when i see the left side of myself like it like we put some mirrors in the basement for the my daughter she can you know she loves to dance and ballerina stuff whatever ballerina she hadn't done ballerina anyway but you know we put up like the big kind of full-size mirrors mostly hip-hop that she's doing yeah she's doing a lot of it and i do it with her um but like i will walk by that when i walk downstairs and every single time every single time i stop and i'm like is that what i look like this this angle my hair looks so weird you know it's like you're just not there's nothing there's no way you can get used as a human these angles of yourself you're like oh my gosh thank god i'm married why did she do that you know it's like uh just getting used to sort of the the angles that in a show would be a nightmare for that because all it is is like you walking away you walking to the side you know um yeah i'm happier with how i look in motion than i do in a static photo like i'll pick that apart i'll pick that apart so hard but at least in motion it's pretty forgiving because like i look stupid right there but now i'm okay now it's gone do you feel like there's a pressure to scale what y 'all are doing do you feel you know this as you've done it for 10 years and y 'all are building this thing out um you know do you feel that at all are you like this is i love this it's just the level we want yeah that's like I'm so when I tell you I'm so so so content and happy with what our life is like to me it's extremely important that work is not the most important thing about my life at all and it's not even close like maybe that's another part of becoming 40 but like I know what matters and it is how like tight and good our relationships are and our family with our kids and how everything is on such solid footing there.

23:54That's priority number one. And then work, I will go to work when I'm done with homeschool and I will come home right at five and I will never work on a weekend. And that's just my rules. I'm sorry, hit that. Those are just my rules. And so I don't see, you know, like we're just so happy with what we have exactly the way it is. And is that bad to say? Yeah, it's working. No, no, no, no, no, no. I don't want to take on the world. I don't want to own an empire. Like, I'm very happy. Well, I wanted you to say that. And that was the thing. I think that's, so practically, because I can't imagine the opportunity.

24:31I think that's something that people don't understand about where y 'all are in your career and being on TV is that, you know, you guys are being presented opportunities, or at least maybe for a while or until people clocked like, oh, they're just not interested in these kind of things. But I think that's what a lot of people that don't know that world don't realize is that it's not just living your life in front of people. It's not just having success. It's not doing the things you're doing. It's that all of those things invite other possibilities and people going like, hey, we'd love for you to partner some really cool thing in L.A.