Notes from the Second 2009 Home Tour Planning Meeting

Narrowing Down Ideas

We reviewed the home tour ideas and themes developed at the last general meeting. They were placed on an affinity diagram for simplicity. There were over 29 distinct ideas, so to reduce the number of ideas we were working with the group utilized a multi-vote technique. Each person had 8 votes and could not place more than half on any one item. The reason for the exercise was to see where the energy was in the room and be able to eliminate ideas that were not of interest quickly. The top vote-getting ideas were as follows:

1. Architectural Details
2. Historic Events
3. Designer Show Home
4. Art Open House
5. Going Green
6. House Detective.

Deciding What Is Important to Making the Decision

The group utilized a Solution Selection Matrix to determine what is important to our decision making process and what theme best meets our needs and objectives. A solution selection matrix is a tool to objectively make decisions, remove personality, and expedite decision making. We determined the following were important to our decision making in selecting a theme:

1. The theme fits our home tour objectives
2. The theme fits HMP’s “brand” or core competencies
3. Resources to accomplish the theme are relatively easy to get
4. We have homes in the neighborhood to support the theme
5. The theme draws people to the tour
6. Freshness of theme.

To rank the themes on the above, we listed our tour objectives and also outlined HMP’s brand. We then decided how important the decision making criteria were relative to each other and gave them a score since all decision making criteria are not of equal value.

Selecting a Theme

The group discussed the merits of each idea vs. the decision making criteria outlined above. We gave each idea a score on the matrix and then scored the ideas in total. “Architectural Details” came out as the winner followed by “Historic Events.”

Challenge to the Group for the Next Meeting

Even though our answers on the solution matrix suggests that we should focus our efforts around the “Architectural Details” theme, “Historic Events” was a close second and was strong where the Architectural Details was weak (i.e., freshness of theme). The challenge to the team is how we can utilize the Historic Events concept to strengthen the Architectural Details theme and make it more fresh and easier to market to media sources.

Notes from the First 2009 Home Tour Planning Meeting

Below are the notes from the first 2009 home tour meeting. Some exciting ideas were discussed, but now we have to try to narrow down our options and figure out what motivates us the most and what makes the most sense to pursue. It may be a bigger idea, breaking from what we have done in the past, or it may be a smaller idea, building upon what we have done in the past. So, we need your help, your input, your buy-in …

Here are examples of scenarios (big and small) that might be fleshed out from the above (attached) list:

Green by 2015

This idea starts with a challenge and announcement, which in itself could get media attention. We challenge ourselves as a neighborhood to become more green by a certain date. We attempt to get city and community buy-in so that we can become an example. Perhaps there are federal/city/state incentives and/or initiatives that can play a role. We get vendor buy-in, so that they not only get exposure through the challenge, but they agree to provide discounts and incentives to residents. We partner with KIB and others to create neighborhood and possibly citywide seminars, learning experiences, lectures, hands-on activities, in-home demonstrations, etc. We challenge ourselves to pitch in our own green to raise money to help others, create a resource or whatever the goal might be. We highlight how purchasing a historic home is a green thing to do. We highlight some of the green designs that were built into historic homes. We incorporate “green” into the upcoming home tour in either a small or big way as a way of promoting the challenge and as a way of showcasing how baby steps toward green could be achieved. We culminate in a home tour that has more impact.

Built to Last: Details and Built-ins

Fine woodworking and built-ins create beauty and function that lasts, highlighting your home’s architectural features, eliminating the need to buy furniture and providing showcasing opportunities for cherished items as well as storage space for clutter. This tour focuses on woodwork, architectural details and built-ins, their history and current use. Homes are selected for original woodwork, recreated details and built-ins and details and woodworking inspired by the home’s style and spirit. The walking tour highlights exterior details of some homes not on tour. Professional photographs are taken for media purposes to supply to newspapers and electronic media. Woodworking vendors are engaged in the tour for exposure and/or demonstrations including in-process projects. Uses for recycled wood is included.

Art Inside and Out

Invite artists, traditional to contemporary, to show their works inside and outside homes as part of the tour. One room selected per house as a “gallery” for that artist and/or style of art, including gardens for outdoor sculpture. Have the Pre-Tour event become a ticketed, evening event that includes home tours as well as art openings for the artists, with a focus on local artists, and including wine, beverages and appetizers (either provided complimentary or by the owners/neighborhood). Perhaps partner with the IMA or Contemporary Arts Society of the IMA. Raise money for a future public art park on a vacant lot.

Pure Vintage

From turn-of-the-century homes and vintage automobiles to vintage wine and clothing, this home tour is all about vintage, including vintage items for sale and booth spaces on vacant lots for antique, vintage and retro vendors of all kinds. Church sales also welcome. Vintage wine is a feature of the Pre-Tour experience. Heirloom gardens also highlighted. Historical Society members receive special invitation. Vintage scenes or stories re-enacted.

Barn-Raising

According to the community-organizing Web site Meatball, “Barnraising occurs when a community actively decides to come to the same place at the same time to help achieve some specific goal. The goal may be of direct interest to a subset of the community, such as raising a new barn for an individual community member, or it may be a superordinate goal, of interest to the entire community, such as a new school.” Whether it is an actual barn, a home addition, home improvement, whole-home makeover or garden/landscape redo, our neighborhood comes together to accomplish a project for an individual or family in need, wanting to make an improvement on their home or building a common resource together. Projects will be identified and agreed upon, expertise within the neighborhood and community located, supplies and workforce donated. Churches and vicinity businesses and neighborhoods welcome to help. Project is the highlight of the tour.