Charlene Storozuk - Burlington Ontario Home Stager

The Halton & Hamilton-Wentworth Real Estate Staging Association is on the move for their next meeting. What do I mean by on the move? Well, things will be a little different for our next local chapter meeting. We are going on a "field trip".

Here are the details:

• Date: Monday, January 12th
• Time: 6:00 p.m. - 8:00 p.m.
• Location: Hamilton Carpet & Flooring - 2799 Barton Street East, Hamilton
• Speaker: Mark Tomlinson

Mark Tomlinson of Hamilton Carpet & Flooring will be speaking about various flooring options available in the industry and how they can be applied to real estate staging. Hamilton Carpet & Flooring is one of the largest flooring warehouses in Ontario. Our learning session will take place right in their warehouse.

Mark is very familiar with the concept of staging and has worked with many real estate stagers in the area. He is aware of the specific needs of a staging project and how they differ from those of a design application. Mark will explore various flooring options that can be installed over top of existing flooring. (A cost effective and time saving approach for a client preparing their home for sale.) We will learn when such an application is suitable and when it is not. Mark promises to impart lots of other tips that will help make our lives as real estate stagers just that little bit easier.

This will be an evening that you definitely don't want to miss! I will be confirming the number of attendees with Mark a day or two in advance, so if you are planning on attending, please R.S.V.P. to me by January 9th. In order to attend, I will need to have your name in advance.

I look forward to seeing you there!

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Dezigner Digz is a home staging and interior decorating company located in Burlington, Ontario. The owner, Charlene Storozuk, is a member of the Real Estate Staging Association and is the founder and current President of the Halton & Hamilton-Wentworth Real Estate Staging Association. For more information about us, visit our website at www.dezignerdigz.com

‘Twas the night before staging and all through my head,

danced visions of accessories in my favourite red.

The only one awake, just me and my notions,

whirling round my head, stirring up emotions.

If only I could sleep, for the alarm will soon ring.

But I'm wondering what tomorrow will bring.

On staging eve, a sleepless night.

I want to make sure the job's done just right.

~ ~ ~ ~ ~

The alarm goes off, now staging day is here.

Will I be too tired? Of course not - never fear.

The weather man threatened to dump lots of snow.

Looking out the window, we're good to go.

I laugh at his prediction, clearly it was a guess.

I'm glad he was mistaken, winter staging is a mess.

~ ~ ~ ~ ~

The van is now packed, it's jammed to capacity,

We're ready to roll with a ton of alacrity.

Arriving at our project, full of vim and vigour,

It's time to unload, now it's snowing - that figures.

There's nothing we can do, the weather we can't fix.

So we throw a few snowballs first, just for kicks.

~ ~ ~ ~ ~

We let ourselves into the house and stand still,

Thinking of how we'll transform it, oh yes we will.

Oh the glamour of staging, but only on the telly.

They don't show you the bad, the ugly and smelly.

We start working our magic, the house is looking great,

When what do I hear - the snowplow - it's fate!

He drives up the street, a sick grin on his face,

Getting jollies from this turmoil, what a disgrace.

~ ~ ~ ~ ~

For what are we left with at the bottom of the drive?

Two feet of snow to be shovelled by five.

For that's when we'll finish and be ready to go.

But the work won't be done ‘til we dig out the snow.

~ ~ ~ ~ ~

Dragging ourselves home at the end of the day,

Exhausted, but we wouldn't have it any other way.

For doing what you love and getting paid for it too,

Is as good as it gets, so very true.

Hunger approaches, granola bars go only so far,

Searching the cupboards, I raid the peanut butter jar.

~ ~ ~ ~ ~

Then off to bed I go it's late,

For tomorrow I just can't wait.

I get to do this all over again,

When will I sleep? When, when, when?

Dezigner Digz is a home staging and interior decorating company located in Burlington, Ontario. The owner, Charlene Storozuk, is a member of the Real Estate Staging Association and is the founder and current President of the Halton & Hamilton-Wentworth Real Estate Staging Association. For more information about us, visit our website at www.dezignerdigz.com

I'm just home from today's roundtable meeting which was open to all home stagers across Ontario. I wanted to write about it while I was still so pumped up. [A big thank you to Karen Hubert who car pooled with me. She had to put up with my talking the whole way home ;-).]

There were 26 attendees registered for the event. Although not everyone was able to make it, we ended up with 21 home stagers in attendance. Everyone had such a good time sharing information and chatting about our common passion - home staging. The main thing that I took away from today was the unanimous agreement that we're colleagues, not competitors. What better way can we move the staging industry forward than to have that attitude!

Our meeting lasted 4 hours as there was a lot of information to cover. Michelle Finnamore was kind enough to be our Secretary for the meeting. She brought her laptop and typed away furiously to catch all of the information. She assures me that I'll have her notes by tomorrow - talk about efficiency! Karen Hubert was appointed our official Timekeeper and I was the Moderator. Although Karen gave me the heads up when our 10 minutes per question time limit was approaching, we managed to go over on some of the more important topics.

I would like to thank Mark Miller and the team at Executive Furniture Rental for making the day possible by opening up their doors to us. Their showroom is beautiful and the furniture absolutely gorgeous. Executive Furniture Rental was also kind enough to put on a fantastic lunch for everyone.

Here are a few photos from the day:

Front Row (left to right): Patricia Hutchinson, Karen Hubert, Kimberley Hawley, Charlene Storozuk, Lori Howard, Michelle Finnamore, Susan Crema-Martin, Janet Raynor

Back Row (left to right): Sandra Garland, Rosina D'Ardis, Kathy Booth, Sandra MacLennan, Alison Overington, Sheryl Koss, Karen Bates, Stacey Larocque, Duncan Scott, Mari Blair, Otilia Biondi

[Two attendees escaped before the group photo]

A big thank you to everyone that attended. Your contributions made it such a valuable day for all.

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Dezigner Digz is a home staging company located in Burlington, Ontario and servicing Ancaster, Hamilton, Aldershot, Burlington, Waterdown, Stoney Creek, Bronte, Oakville, Milton and surrounding areas. The owner, Charlene Storozuk, is a member of the Real Estate Staging Association and is the founder and current President of the Halton & Hamilton-Wentworth Real Estate Staging Association. For more information on us, visit our website at www.dezignerdigz.com

In celebration of Home Staging Awareness Month, the Real Estate Staging Association (RESA) and Stage It Forward are holding various round table meetings across North America. This is a great opportunity for home stagers to meet their peers and help mould the future of the home staging industry.

I'm pleased to announce that details of the Ontario RESA/SIF roundtable have now been finalized.

Date: Saturday, November 29th

Time: 11:00 a.m.

Location: Executive Furniture Rental - 81 Tycos Drive, Toronto (near Eglinton Ave. & Dufferin)

Click Here to Register

Seating is limited and on a first-come, first-served basis, so register early to avoid disappointment.

A huge thank you to Mark Miller of Executive Furniture Rental who has graciously agreed to host our event. I'm looking forward to meeting everyone!

Charlene Storozuk, Ontario RESA/SIF Round Table Facilitator

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Dezigner Digz is a home staging and interior decorating company located in Burlington, Ontario. The owner, Charlene Storozuk, is a member of the Real Estate Staging Association and is the founder and current President of the Halton & Hamilton-Wentworth Real Estate Staging Association. For more information on us, visit our website at www.dezignerdigz.com

[Photo from HGTV's website]

Great news for those that love HGTV's The Stagers. I just wanted to share with everyone that it has been picked up for Season 2. It's official!!! For my fellow Stagers on Active Rain that contacted HGTV with your comments and support for the show, I'm sure you helped make it happen.

Check out The Stagers' Facebook group. They are looking for homeowners for Season 2. Are you a homeowner in the Vancouver area that is planning on selling your property? Give them a call. You might be one of the lucky chosen ones.

Dezigner Digz is a home staging and interior decorating company located in Burlington, Ontario and servicing Ancaster, Hamilton, Aldershot, Burlington, Waterdown, Stoney Creek, Bronte, Oakville, Milton and surrounding areas. The owner, Charlene Storozuk, is a member of the Real Estate Staging Association and is the founder and current President of the Halton & Hamilton-Wentworth Real Estate Staging Association. For more information, visit our website at www.dezignerdigz.com