Our Invigorating Journey, Bird's Eye View | 001
It all began when we sold our couch.
Standing at the doorway of our home, 4 blocks north of 8 mile, we looked at each other with wonderment, but also with a slight bit of shock. There was a difference in color of the rug, a coffee table that now looked out of place, and a wall that was oddly exposed. Yet, the space vibrated with the possibilities of change. The only way to solve the new dynamic, in our most used living space, was to conjure up a new set of rules to live by.
In that same chasm, that now held a fascinating endeavor, was where we cuddled up watching what seems like every episode of Tiny Houses on YouTube. We thought about how cool it would be to design and build a tiny home of our own. Just the way we like it, clean, organized, warm, and clutter free. The opposite to our current circumstances with our drafty, storage-less, and nearly unfunctionable 1926 house afforded us, but which we had grown accustomed to. Betraying our disposition of settling in a bigger house on the nicer side of town, we headed to Craigslist.
This doorway would be where we would watch our couch get loaded up in the back of another persons truck, and 8 months later, we would walk out that same front door for the last time.
Creativity Blossoms When Space is Made - February 2021
The sale of our couch signified a turning point in our life. Until then, we had settled on the notion that we were going to live a normal life in Detroit. Selling our couch, not only opened space in our home, but it opened up a creative space in our minds. It was different, to have a home without a couch. That difference made us realize that there is much more to life than what we are meant to believe.
Further more, is was an intention to abandon the mundane blueprint, and with childlike wonder, taking our first step into a more invigorating life.
Our Biggest Move Yet, Forest Bound - October 2021
That simple, click of a mouse decision, led us to our boldest move ever. Handing over the keys of our home to a new owner, and scraping out of our driveway with a loud SCREEEECCHH. With all of our well-researched and newly acquired camping gear tied down on the roof and our entire belongings organized in boxes on the back cargo carrier, while the rest of our items were meticulously placed inside our red Jeep Compass, ensuring there was enough space for our 80 pound dog and our 2 year old son. Meanwhile, the two of us were in the front seats smiling with elation that we were well and truly on our way.
One full year, we lived in the forest, sleeping as close to the ground as a tent allows. Starting out in a 3 seasons, 6 person tent for the first 3 months. Then graduating to a 16’ canvas bell tent as winter abruptly arrived along the shores of Lake Superior, in Michigan’s Upper Peninsula. Our decisions to weather it, synonymous with the grit and hardiness we had developed.
That Bold Move Became Our Guiding Spirit
To begin with, living in the forest scratched at our urban upbringing minds. However, once we found peace with not knowing everything that surrounded us in this vast space, we became explorers of discomfort. Venturing further and further into the edgy parts of life.
There is a rhythm to living a minimalist outdoor life. Chores shape shift with each location, and each daily activity, while constantly rearranging our spaces to accommodate the change of the seasons. This has led to becoming more actively engaged in our lives and our environment.
The camera nearly entered our space on its own accord, and the process of documenting began before we knew it. Learning how to physically adapt and mentally strengthen ourselves, the camera is constantly being called into action.
Getting Paid For Making Films - April 2022
After vlogging our experiences in the forest (and sharing the first 3 months on Youtube), we’d become comfortable with the camera in hand and confident enough to approach a prominent Indigenous Agricultural Non-Profit about capturing and telling their stories. This bold move would become the start of our filmmaking career. Jolted with exhilaration, we knew we had found our calling. Absorbing this new knowledge of self, our mission now was to become great at it.
The Tiny Home Dream Came to Life - September 2022
A second winter we would spend up North, (this time on the White Earth Reservation, Minnesota), and with the arrival of our second son, we set our eyes on warmer climates. A chance check on Craiglist showed a 1976 Coachman Cadet camper, not too far from our remote location. All the ideas that we had gathered from watching tiny homes, mingled in our imaginations. This camper, which we took down to its skeleton, became everything that we could have asked of it. Construction often went into dark as our self imposed departure date gradually drew near. Designing it to be minimalist, and highly adaptable inside and out, continuously tickles our rebellious spirit.
The Camper Starts It’s New Life - June 2023
Over the next year, we devoted ourselves to the continued documentation of our lives, this time with a honed skill and professional camera equipment. Setting out as traveling filmmakers, we headed south. Traversing back and forth between Middle Tennessee, Asheville, North Carolina, and the Coast of South Carolina searching for the stories worth sharing.
The Frustration of Share Our Story Started and Ended
It got to a point on our journey that we were crippled with a creative plateau when it came time to tell our own stories. After each painstaking attempt, no matter how hard we tried, the many finished films never hit the mark for us. We knew we could do better and it was worth the patience and continued effort until we figured out how. This would change when we moved to Nashville to work with a couple of musicians for their album launches.
Captivated by the town’s creative energy, the cobwebs that had haunted our ability to tell our story began to blow away. Stirring up a vast well of creativity that we were previously unable to recognize. Accepting that we too are Artists. This fresh view of ourselves was like becoming our own superheroes, smashing through that suffocating glass ceiling, seeing for the first time, with absolute clarity, a whole new world that exists for us.
It was a change in approach, a new set of rules, just like selling the couch.
Beginning our largest and most personal project - January 2025
Our inability to tell our story did not hamper our documenting. Instead, this burning desire to do our story justice improved our documenting immensely. Becoming more prepared and skillful in an attempt to rise above our creative plateau. By this, we created for ourselves an entire body of work that we can shape, mold, and refine, like clay to a sculptor.
On January 1st 2025, we headed back to the forest, this time only an hour and a half away from Nashville. With few distractions, and with more clarity than we ever have before, we’re beginning our very first project that encompasses everything we have to offer, The Firestarter.
It’s our story of living in a tent along Lake Superior in Michigan’s Upper Peninsula for 3 months of the winter, with our 2 year old son and dog.
