Tiny House Conference » Charlotte 2014

Welcome Hari and Karl!

Ryan Mitchell — Tue, 12 Nov 2013 20:59:27 +0000

We have finally rounded out our speaker list for the 2014 conference and we did so with Hari and Karl. They are better know as “The Tiny House Family” that were featured on Anderson Cooper’s show. Hari and Karl along with their two kids live in a tiny house they built themselves for $12,000.

Karl designed and built the family’s tiny house and outbuildings using salvaged, found, donated, and craiglisted items. Karl has consulted with several folks helping them dream up and design their perfect space. He is currently building his family’s mortgage-free bigger house utilizing the advanced framing technique for stick-built homes, allowing for more insulation and fewer materials. He has developed innovative building techniques that allow him to work inexpensively and almost single-handedly.

Come join us in Charlotte to see Karl and Hari’s talk on their experiences. See you in Charlotte!

New Tiny House At The Conference – John’s Housetruck!

Ryan Mitchell — Wed, 30 Oct 2013 17:17:35 +0000

Today we are happy to announce we have added a new tiny house (actually a house truck) to the line up of houses that will be at the conference. A house truck is essentially a tiny house, but instead of a trailer, it is build on a truck bed. In this case it is built on a commercial Isuzu truck and has a lot of tiny house flair.

I am personally excited because this is one of the first house trucks I ever found and I followed it ever since.

See this house truck and many more at the conference! See you in Charlotte!

Tiny House Building Work Bench

Ryan Mitchell — Fri, 18 Oct 2013 04:00:19 +0000

Working on my house for the upcoming conference, I thought I’d share a quick video I shot about how I setup my workspace while I’m building. For me this is the most efficient setup that allows me to get a lot done. Things like this are the interesting tips you will hear from people who have built and lived in tiny houses which make up our amazing speakers.

Last Day For Early Bird Tickets

Ryan Mitchell — Mon, 30 Sep 2013 18:43:27 +0000

Today is the last day for you get your tickets and save $50! Sign up now and save!

Q: Where & When is the conference

A: The conference will be in Charlotte, NC April 5th & 6th, 2014

Q: What will happen at the conference?

A: We have 12 tiny house experts that will teach you everything from building to living in a tiny house, plus a ton of tiny houses to tour in person, plus so much more! Our schedule

Q: How much are tickets?

A: $250 for early bird, $300 for regular

Q: Where will I stay? Are there campsites? hotels?

A: We are holding our event a McDowell Nature preserve, they have 60 campsites and there are 3 hotels within 5 minutes drive. Reserve your site today, details here

Q: I can’t afford tickets, can I volunteer?

A: Yes, we have 15 “pay what you can” volunteer tickets. These are reserved for those who truly can’t afford full price, they pay what they can afford and then volunteer their time to make up for the rest. More info here We also have a carpool forum.

Building A New Life With Tiny Houses

Ryan Mitchell — Thu, 19 Sep 2013 17:38:11 +0000

Tiny houses have long been known for their many benefits such as financial, environmental, and simple living, but even after blogging about it over at The Tiny Life for years it surprised me when I realized how dramatically it is going to change my life once I move into my tiny house. It’s already making a difference and my house isn’t done yet. I have paid my last month’s rent and looking at this coming paycheck, I know almost all of it is going straight to the bank.

Sure I have to buy food, gas, and utilities, and other things, but these expense are pretty small and with the tiny house I expect some of them to get even smaller (utilities). Once I move into my tiny house the financial situation changes so much it means that my job situation can change so I can spend less time working and more time doing things I love.

As I’ve said, even though I knew this impact in my head, the realization that I’ve achieved it is something that has had an unexpected effect, it is a new level that I never really understood until now. It has reaffirmed that what tiny houses bring to people’s lives is magical.

See you in Charlotte.

Making Connections

Ryan Mitchell — Mon, 16 Sep 2013 17:00:14 +0000

One of the most powerful things about the tiny house movement is that it is a community. Meaning we are not only building tiny houses, but we are building community around those houses. There is nothing more inspiring than connecting with people who have done what you hope to do and to meet people who are on the same journey you are.

At events like this conference we are able to find great connections with people that are not only interested in tiny houses, but we often find people who are interested in tiny houses from where we live. This is big. When I started my journey of building my tiny house I was able to find a few local people who loved tiny houses and even one couple who was building a house themselves. This was a huge help to my own process because we could talk about what we were doing, where we found certain materials and tackle problems together.

The connections you can make at events is really amazing because you’ll never find more tiny house folks in one place. So we welcome you to connect with the community. We’ll see you in Charlotte.

Food Trucks For The Conference

Ryan Mitchell — Thu, 12 Sep 2013 21:21:22 +0000

We are going to be inviting some food trucks to the Tiny House Conference and we wanted to see what you all thought about who we should invite! The event is near the edge of Charlotte and pretty close to some decent restaurants, but we thought why not bring the food to us!? Many of these places we have eaten from and we love to support local business while we delicious food. So it seemed like a no brainier! Feel free to recommend other food trucks in the area!

The first one up is a personal favorite, I eat from them every time I go to the farmers market. They always have amazing food. Check them out at: Roots

These folks are another local favorite that many people rave about. Check the out at Pig & Cow

The Tiny Kitchen also pushes out great food around the Queen City, check them out here

So what truck do you think we should invite for our conference?

Several Workshops Rolled Into One

Ryan Mitchell — Tue, 27 Aug 2013 17:41:41 +0000

When we asked tiny house folks what they wanted in an event they very much liked the workshop format, but felt that most workshops didn’t have enough speakers and they wanted to see more tiny houses in person. So we set out to gather great people who live in and build tiny houses to be our speakers. We also wanted to be sure that there were going to be a lot of tiny houses so you can get a feel for what it is like to be in them.

So we had to figure out how we were going to cram all of this into one weekend so we decided to do two tracks to double the talks we are going to have. Now we know you can’t be in two places at once so we came up with a solution to that too.

We are going to be video recording each session so that you don’t miss anything. Each session will be available for you online after the event along with any power points and hand outs. It is included with every ticket and only attendees will have access to it. This way you can see the sessions you didn’t get to and no more worries about taking notes or missing something, each will be there for you to view as much as you please.

Did We Mention There Are Going To Be A Lot Of Tiny Houses?

Ryan Mitchell — Tue, 20 Aug 2013 00:03:05 +0000

We have been to quite a few events for tiny houses, everything from workshops, panel discussions, presentations, informal coffee chats and we realized one thing. Talking about tiny houses is great, seeing them in person is awesome! There is nothing like stepping into a tiny house for the first time… Except maybe stepping into a whole bunch of them! That’s why when we set out to make this conference we wanted to pair our awesome speakers with tiny houses you can tour in person at the event.

We have about a half dozen tiny houses already signed up to be at the event and a few more in the works. We expect that by the time the event kicks off we’ll have the most tiny houses in one spot ever! So if you have a tiny house, check out our free tickets if you bring your tiny house to the event! (let us know by submitting a house to get ticket)

Five Ways To Save Money On The Conference

Ryan Mitchell — Mon, 19 Aug 2013 23:41:33 +0000

When we set out to make the first ever tiny house conference we wanted to be sure that it was going to be as affordable as possible. It takes a lot to pull off an event like this, but we were smart about the decisions we made. The biggest thing was the venue we have chosen. We got a lot of quotes for spaces of $10,000 and up for this event and that was bare bones! We knew that wasn’t going to work for you all. So Instead we found a nature preserve that is more the speed of tiny house folks anyway and meant we could charge a few hundred dollar less for folks to come! On top of that we have these tips for you:

If you are not able to afford a ticket, try applying for one of our 15 “pay what you can” tickets and volunteer in lieu of payment. Get details here
Bring a tiny house! Have a tiny house? You can get a free ticket if you’re house is accepted, details here
Hitch a ride, make new friends. Our car pooling section will help you find people to share the ride with and save on gas money Check out the forum here
Camp or couch surf instead of staying in a hotel, don’t forget that camp sites allow for 5 people per site, so if you have a group you can save big. But note one car per site Check out the forum here
Bring your own food. There is a grocery store not too far from the event, grab your food at a grocery store or bring it with you.