Maggie interviews Adam Hunter & Julien Buckner
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00:00In light of the devastating wildfires in the Palisades and Altadena and Pasadena and beyond,
00:06we are talking with two people who are making a difference and making it fast because people
00:11who are displaced need help now.
00:14So today joining me is Adam Hunter.
00:16He is a Palisades resident and a designer who started L.A. Can Do, a nonprofit.
00:21He'll tell us more about that.
00:23And also Julian Buckner, who is CEO and founder of Vesta Home.
00:29And we are thrilled to have you both here.
00:31We know you're so busy, so we're not going to take too much of your time, but let's just
00:35start with you, Julian.
00:36Tell us what Vesta Home does normally before the fires.
00:40Yeah, absolutely.
00:41Thanks.
00:42Thanks for having us both on, Maddie.
00:43Really appreciate it.
00:45So Vesta Home, I started this business about seven years ago in Los Angeles, and since
00:50then we've expanded around the country.
00:52But we are the largest home staging and design firm in the United States.
00:56So we design and contract manufacture our own furniture, and we provide that furniture
01:02to help homes sell faster when they're being listed.
01:06And then we also have a very large rental side of the business, which has come in particular
01:10handy kind of with this disaster, where we offer furniture rental to folks on a temporary
01:16— very high-end furniture rental to folks on a temporary basis.
01:20So tell us what you're doing.
01:22You have two projects going on.
01:24Tell us, first of all, how you're helping the victims of the fires.
01:27Yeah, absolutely.
01:29So we feel, in kind of spite of all of this tragedy, we feel really fortunate because
01:34we're in a place to be able to help.
01:37And LA is so deeply embedded in our DNA as a company, and often when these things happen,
01:44there's not anything you can do.
01:45You write a check, and you sit back, and you feel bad.
01:49And in this case, very quickly, we realized, hey, we're in a spot where we can help out
01:53here.
01:54And it's kind of Maslow's hierarchy of needs.
01:59Shelter comes first.
02:00But shortly after shelter, people can't live in these empty spaces.
02:04And what we pride ourselves on is — in kind of our tagline for the business — is turning
02:09houses into homes, and taking this real estate and giving a sense of belonging, creating
02:15a sense of belonging for the people that live in it.
02:18And so our first program is our direct aid program, where we've made up to $500,000 of
02:25furniture available for people who need aid.
02:28And we've partnered with Adam's organization as the distribution for this, to provide that
02:34furniture and connect people and allow people to select that furniture and redesign their
02:40new spaces to try to recreate a sense of normalcy from everything they've lost.
02:44That's the first program.
02:46Then the second program is our residential rental program, where we have made a huge
02:52amount of furniture available and reprioritized and are bringing in furniture from our other
02:57markets across the country to provide rental product for folks on a longer-term basis — 6,
03:0312, 18 months — while they're rebuilding their new properties, and really working with
03:08folks on the full design experience so that they can take all of that furniture and really
03:15create those wonderful spaces again for their families and kind of bring them back to at
03:19least a feeling that this new space is close to home and a place they can be comfortable
03:23in.
03:24And the first project you were talking about, or offering, that is open to anybody, right?
03:30To the public, not just your clients.
03:31I mean, whether it's a private Palisades Fire or Pasadena, Altadena, anybody.
03:37To everyone, yeah.
03:38We're both providing direct furniture to folks.
03:41And then what we pretty quickly realized was, especially on furniture where these are larger
03:46items, distribution is so important.
03:50We've got large warehouses, but we don't have showroom space.
03:53They're not, for lack of a better word, they're not customer friendly.
03:58It's furniture stacked 32 feet tall.
04:01And so what we realized is, we need a better way to distribute this furniture and have
04:06— I hate using the word customer.
04:09You know, give these people who are in need of furniture, because none of us are charging
04:14for this, but give these folks who are in need of furniture the ability to interact
04:18with it and see what they want.
04:20And our business is about creating these elevated spaces.
04:23And that's really what drew us to Adams Organizations, is their focus on kind of bringing
04:29dignity back to the aid process and really allowing people to design their homes.
04:34And so Adams worked really hard to kind of create these retail centers where folks can
04:39walk around, see, touch, feel the furniture and select.
04:43So it feels like a more elevated design process.
04:46Exactly.
04:47And that's what we do.
04:49That's beautifully said, Julian.
04:50That's great, Julian.
04:51Adam, tell us about L.A.
04:53Can Do.
04:53And how long — did you just create this for this purpose?
04:58Yes, it's nine days old.
05:00L.A.
05:00Can Do is creatives aid in natural disasters.
05:04And the idea started off with interior designers and architects who usually have our own
05:10supply of furniture, things that didn't work out for clients, things that are one-offs.
05:15Or for whatever reason, we have these resources.
05:18I thought if we pulled them together, then we were able to team up with Julian, who
05:22honestly, Vesta is absolutely the best at what they do.
05:25It was a thrill to team up with you.
05:28I haven't told you that yet.
05:29So I'm telling you that right now.
05:30It's a real honor.
05:32And I think what you hit on is it's important that these people still feel like it's their
05:38home, not just shelter.
05:40There are so many levels of shock that's going on.
05:43And we're all still in it.
05:45We're all still in the — I haven't been home yet.
05:47And my home, like I said, is red-tagged but not burned down.
05:50But I live up a giant hill, which is like Hiroshima, I heard.
05:54So just the idea of I'm trying to mentally prepare for that.
05:58So think of all the mental preparations that you have to do, right?
06:01For example, a dear friend of mine, The Champions, who lost a couple of their homes
06:05because he owned some recovery homes that helps people.
06:08That was his job and his personal home.
06:10And I took their three daughters yesterday because they were graciously getting things
06:17that you would give to the Salvation Army, which is wonderful.
06:21And we're thrilled.
06:22And that's very kind.
06:23But eight-year-olds don't necessarily understand that.
06:26They want to go to just whatever, you know, the regular things that they're used to,
06:30the sweatpants that they had on before.
06:32You know, we're not talking about luxury items, but we're just talking about things
06:36that are familiar to them.
06:37So I think what our mission is, is get back in your home with the basic things that you
06:41need besides beds, mattresses, cribs are a big one right now.
06:45But like Vesta, the staging company, and Adam Hunter, the interior design firm, elevate
06:52your space so you feel better in it.
06:55So if somebody wants to find out where they go to see this, and also how do you transport
07:03it to their new or temporary dwelling?
07:06Some of these logistics are still being worked out.
07:09Right now, we're teaming with CRCS, who is an amazing delivery firm and a storage place.
07:15We've also just joined with the Pacific Design Center, which is amazing.
07:18So we now have the retail spaces that Julian was talking about.
07:22He has the furniture.
07:23We are now going to provide the space.
07:25With some of these processes, we're seeing that there is a small delivery charge, but
07:30we're trying to raise money in addition in order to cover those charges.
07:35But again, we're applying for our 501c3 as I'm on this call with you now.
07:41So everything is just in motion.
07:44And of course, all the calls we get are right now, now, now, now.
07:47They don't care about our logo.
07:48They don't care about if it's white or black.
07:50They just need something.
07:52So is it in process?
07:54Are people showing up at the design center or are you still organizing?
07:57We are not yet open our doors.
07:59We're hoping Thursday.
08:01We're hoping Thursday.
08:02So, yes, we have the space and we're getting volunteers, amazing designers from the community
08:07here in Southern Los Angeles and actually all around the country, Arizona and New York.
08:12People have come in with volunteers besides bringing trucks full of furniture.
08:17They just want what we need right now, which is a little bit of logistical administrative
08:20help. People who will walk the clients with it, gather their information, intake what
08:25they need, do our inventory.
08:27What do we have to give you?
08:30And, you know, so those are the things we're ironing out right now.
08:33Adam, two things.
08:34If somebody wants to donate, like you said, you're trying to raise money for
08:38transportation. Is there a website for that or?
08:41There is right right now.
08:42It's LAKando.org.
08:44And again, that's, you know, L.A.
08:48Creatives Aid and Natural Disasters.
08:49My aunt came up with that.
08:51I thought that was pretty cool because it gives an umbrella to people like Vesta and
08:56architects and people who are also in who are also considered artists.
08:59You know what I mean? But it doesn't necessarily restrict it to designers.
09:02And yes, you can go there and find out all the information for right now.
09:05It is up and running. And then a person who has been displaced, such as yourself, if they
09:10want to go Thursday or whenever it opens.
09:13Yes. If you go to the website, there are two different forms.
09:16I don't mean to cut you off. One is more of an intake and one is more of a donation.
09:20So it should be pretty clear on the two links.
09:24But that's a really good question.
09:25And thirdly, if somebody has furniture to donate to this cause, are you accepting
09:31that? We are accepting that we would like to keep it new if possible, because people
09:38have different opinions of gently used.
09:40And again, while the heart is so lovely in that, I think people just would like living
09:48spaces is giving out free mattresses.
09:50We're hoping to go to Ikea and big box stores.
09:53Hopefully maybe someone will hear this from CB2, Creighton Barrow, West Elm, Williams
09:57Sonoma and help bring on more furniture.
10:01Vesta has been just incredible, though.
10:03That's been our big first partnership.
10:06That's amazing.
10:07And you're so right about the gently used opinion, because if you've been to any of the
10:12distribution centers and seen what's there, mostly it's nice.
10:15But some are like, come on.
10:17It makes you sad.
10:18No, it makes you sad.
10:20We're sad enough.
10:21Yeah, people don't need that.
10:23They want new. I mean, what if it was you?
10:25It is you, you know.
10:27OK, and so would you like to add anything else, Julian?
10:31No, I think it's spot on.
10:32I think it's really about how do you create the best possible environment in spite of
10:37all the tragedy and the misery that people are going through right now?
10:42And what I loved about partnering with Adam's organization is, you know, it's back to
10:47kind of all of our roots as design first organizations and kind of bringing that to the
10:54forefront of this process.
10:56And that's where I think it, like I said before, it brings dignity to an otherwise
11:01pretty, pretty terrible, pretty terrible set of circumstances.
11:05And it's a little silver lining, right?
11:06You get to go shopping for free and pick some nice things.
11:09Yesterday, I took my friends to Aloe and I bought them all this stuff.
11:11They were so excited, these little girls, to have some new Aloe clothes, you know, which
11:15we graciously donated.
11:17You know, we had we had someone reach out to us.
11:20I mean, you just hear these just terrible stories.
11:23But this mother reached out to us.
11:26She's got an 11 year old daughter.
11:29She lost her husband, the daughter's father, two years ago to cancer.
11:32Now they just lost their home.
11:34And this 11 year old, it's terrible, this 11 year old had put together a mood board of
11:40her dream bedroom for her new space.
11:42I know we're looking to, I know, what 11 year old is putting together a mood board,
11:47right? I was like, we should hire this girl.
11:49I love it.
11:50And that's why we're doing it.
11:51Let's tap into something that goes more in the dream, not just the recovery, but let's
11:55dream a little bit right now.
11:57Right, right.
11:58You've got to look forward.
12:00I mean, easier said than done, I'm sure, when you're so overwhelmed with all the things
12:04you have to do. But thank goodness for organizations like you.
12:09Do we need to also send people to the Vesta Home website for any reason?
12:15Yeah, it's VestaHome.com.
12:17We've got we've got both of our programs directly linked there.
12:20So the direct aid for the furniture and design services, as well as, you know, a lot of
12:26folks as we're working through the recovery and figuring out where insurance is going
12:30to pay. You know, we've got an adjuster that we've got kind of on retainer, helping
12:36folks out who reach out to us.
12:38So we've got both programs, the recovery side of it and then the rental side of it.
12:42And so anyone who's looking for either of those can come to VestaHome.com.
12:46OK, VestaHome.com and LACando.org?
12:49Yes, Adam Hunter, LACando.org.
12:52OK, great. Thank you both so much for sharing this information.
12:56Because I'm sure it's going to help a lot of people and good for you for doing what you
13:00can. And Julian, find me, text me, Instagram me.
13:03Yes, I will, I will.
13:06Thank you so much, Maggie, for having us on today.
13:08It's really lovely. Thank you.
13:09Of course. Thank you.
13:10Thanks, Max.