We were lucky to catch up with Lexi Jones recently and have shared our conversation below.

Lexi, appreciate you joining us today. We’d love to hear the backstory behind a risk you’ve taken – whether big or small, walk us through what it was like and how it ultimately turned out.

About a year and a half ago, worn out from the pandemic and ready for more fresh air and less time in traffic, my husband and I decided to make a major life change. We accepted the almost 3 acre lot my parents offered to spilt from their 70 acre farm in Virginia and put our house in Pennsylvania up for sale. We visited a tiny home builder and a container home architect while trying to decide what we would build on the totally undeveloped plot of land. We weighed cost, sustainability and longterm durability and worked with a draftswoman to create a home plan we loved.

In September 2022 we sold our house and bought an RV and a shipping container to store all of our belongings. We moved from a 3 bedroom, 2 bath house to my parent’s driveway in a 36 foot long 5th wheel travel trailer on Thanksgiving Day. We began to prepare the land for a house, having a building area cleared, removing overhead power lines and adding a driveway. Along the way, we worked with a builder around our home plan, eventually coming to the conclusion that a modular home would give us all the house we needed for much less. We shifted gears, met with a few modular home companies and picked a model in April 2022.

We are still in the RV in my parent’s driveway, connected to their water, septic and electric. Our home arrived at the end of August and the finishing touches are being put on now. Every day after work, I walk the 0.2 miles down the road to see the progress. This week a front porch was added and crown molding is being put up. Next week, hopefully the septic tank and well will be installed. Soon, we’ll move into the home, connect our RV to it and unpack all of our belongings from our shipping container! It has been an adventure of a lifetime living in an RV.

Awesome – so before we get into the rest of our questions, can you briefly introduce yourself to our readers.

I went to Temple University, in Philadelphia, and earned my Masters of Social Work in 2010. Throughout my career, I’ve worked for non-profit organizations that serve vulnerable populations. Currently, I work from home for an organization that serves individuals with disabilities. I am the project coordinator for a team that works with entrepreneurs and small business owners, to start, build and grow their businesses. I work full time from our RV and feel so grateful that I can do something to be in service to others.

I am also an artist. I create collages, paint, garden and up-cycle. I love to make anything old look new and to find discarded items a new purpose. Moving to an area where I am surrounded by nature, lately I feel more called to garden and landscape and am learning to grow mushrooms. I have always used art as an escape, to get space from screens, and a way to stretch my creative muscle.

How can we best help foster a strong, supportive environment for artists and creatives?

I think shopping local, using people you know who provide services you need, and giving referrals have more impact than people realize. If you have a good experience, leave a review on Etsy, Google, or Facebook! If you buy a piece of art or piece of clothing you love, tell others where you got it. Be an advocate for the little guy! Target doesn’t need free advertising.

Do you think there is something that non-creatives might struggle to understand about your journey as a creative? Maybe you can shed some light?

Leaving our home in the City to build a house in the woods was risky. It’s far riskier to stay somewhere you don’t want to be! For us, getting fresh air and being able to create from a place of peace was worth the leap. To some it may seem like a drastic change in search of happiness. But I think that being able to envision what it will look like in the end, to be excited about how it could come together, it worth the anxiety of the process. You have to be able to trust your gut and know that your crazy idea is possible, even if not everyone gets the point!

Contact Info:

• Website: https://4storiesup.com
• Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/4storiesup/
• Linkedin: https://www.linkedin.com/in/alexis-jones-msw-lsw-8a28411b/
• Youtube: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCbVa3SbdzgaJztNk2TQJKlw