For more information on Urban Home Charlotte, please email markh@urbanhomemagazine.com
or call at 704-332-1504.
Contributing Editors
Trent Haston
Trent Haston is the acting Chief Executive Officer and Vice President of Andrew Roby, Inc. and has worked full time in the 61 year family business for eleven years. Trent was raised in the ditch starting at age fourteen and worked his way through the company positions while in high school at Harding High and college at UNC Chapel Hill. Although he has a life-long love of building with his hands, he has used his Economics degree to compliment the business side of Andrew Roby. Trent loves working with his family in the business, as they all welcome the daily challenge to fulfill their own piece of the puzzle that creates team.
Andrew Roby, Inc concentrates on custom residential projects, including custom remodeling, handyman services, and new construction. Its foundation has been solidified in the last decade by increasing revenue more than four times and through the creation of subsidiary companies, Roby Electric, Roby Commercial, and Roby Coastal. “Our goal is to be an advisor and friend with our clients on any of their residential, commercial or vacation properties when it comes to remodeling or new construction.” Helping Andrew Roby last for many generations in the future and building complimentary businesses that share the same core competencies and systems as Andrew Roby is Trent’s lifetime goal. “You build loyalty and success one client and one associate at a time. I think it is amazing that my best clients are the ones that I worked with in my first couple of years, and have since completed multiple projects for and became friends with their entire family. I like to emphasize that we are not just builders, but we add value by helping our clients have a wonderful experience making their house a home. We are professional communicators!”
Contact: 704-334-5477
trenthaston@andrewroby.com
Beith Keim
Lucy and Company opened in 2002. They started as a small paint studio focusing on hand painted residential faux finishes on furniture and walls. Beth and Keith Keim, both artists, wanted to focus on fun, original kid's designs mainly in the form of wall treatments. As their client base grew they expanded to include design work and furnishing, as well as accessories.
They pride themselves on full services design, with the unique twist of in house custom painting and one-of-a-kind pieces. They believe they have found a niche in kid's rooms as there are not too many designers that focus on kids room bringing in all the resources they have. While they work with all ages, kids can be the most fun. They are happy to say, business is still thriving and they are doing well.
Contact: 704-342-6655
beth@lucyandcompany.com
Rene Robaina
Rene Robaina is the President and Partner at Home Technology Solutions, Inc. with 25+ years of experience in business management, computer programming, entertainment and automation systems, just to name a few. Rene is married and has three boys, two of which also work at HTS.
When the opportunity presented itself over 12 years ago, Rene and his brother David parted from corporate America and launched HTS to help existing and new homeowners demystify all of the technologies available for their homes and businesses. Today HTS has a long list of happy clients all throughout Charlotte and many corners of the Carolinas. “We are proud to maintain an A+ rating with Service Magic, Home Advisor, Angies List and the Better Business Bureau,” confirms Rene. Today HTS provides services in four core groups, including:
- Lifestyle and Entertainment: Covers everything for entertainment including Home Theaters, Whole House Audio and other Audio/Video solutions and control.
- Safety and Security: Covers all aspect of keeping a home and person safe including fire and burglary alarm systems, lighting control, surveillance and elderly monitoring.
- Comfort and Convenience: Covers the way we control our homes and businesses. Simple to use remotes, phones and tablets to control lighting, heating and AC, doors, gates, window coverings, audio/video and much more. The Smart Home features of the “Jetson’s” available today to average consumers like you and me.
- Energy Monitoring and Management: Providing the ability to monitor real-time energy consumption for the entire home and/or individual electrical devices. Also the ability to actively and automatically control the electric usage.
For more information, visit HTS at www.HomeTechnologySolutions.com
Contact:
704-708-5126
Rene@HomeTechnologySolutions.com
Style Team
Hade E. Robinson- Personal Stylist for Nordstrom at SouthPark Mall
Laura Vinroot Poole- Owner of Capitol Charlotte & Poole Shop
Melissa Lamkin- Personal Stylist
Dick Pattison- Personal Stylist for Taylor, Richards & Conger
Nancy Atkinson
Nancy joined Urban Home magazine in its 2003 charter year. A graduate of the University of South Carolina with a degree in journalism, she is a freelance writer with more than 20 years of experience in marketing. Nancy’s background includes 13 years writing for and marketing South Carolina’s largest newspaper, The State. She is also a former senior copywriter and creative director for The Adams Group, a Columbia, SC, ad agency. Nancy currently works as an independent marketing consultant for clients that include banks, hospitals, churches, hotels and non-profits in North and South Carolina.
Contact:
natkinson1@sc.rr.com
Ginger Sprinkle
Ginger joined the Urban Home Magazine writing staff as a freelance journalist in 2006. Her background includes 10 years with Gannett newspapers in the US and abroad as a reporter, copy editor, and then news editor. She also has six years of experience with a branding firm in Newport Beach, CA, where she began as a senior writer/designer and moved into the role of Director of Communications. Since 2002, Ginger has lived in Charlotte, NC, where she runs her freelance writing/editing/graphic design/marketing business, Nine Dots Branding & Marketing Company. Ginger holds a B.A. in journalism from UNC-Chapel Hill, with a minor in psychology.
Contact:
ginger@ninedotsbranding.com
Dana W. Todd
Dana joined Urban Home Magazine as a writer in 2007. She also writes for several national, regional, and local consumer and business magazines and is editor of a South Carolina manufacturing magazine. Dana brings a total of 16 years of experience in both the publications management and public-relations industries to Urban Home. She works with local and national editors to place her clients in stories being written in trade and business magazines, newspapers, TV and radio shows. In addition to media relations, Dana specializes in helping start-ups and declining companies who need to redefine their messages to increase sales. She formerly served as CEO of a high-tech public relations and marketing agency and has been editor of a national conservation magazine. Dana holds a B.A. in journalism and mass communications from the SC Honors College at the University of South Carolina.
Contact:
803-463-5278
dwtodd2@aol.com
Mark Ward, Sr.
Mark offers 30 years of experience as editor of six national publications, communications/publications director of four national associations/nonprofits, author of seven nonfiction books, and a freelance writer who has published 2,000 feature articles in more than 50 national trade and professional magazines, including numerous construction, homebuilding, and remodeling titles. In 2004 he formed Message Media Group (MMG) to provide, through a group of freelance writers, editorial services to a growing list of clients. In his capacity as MMG president, senior editor and client liaison, Mark has written for Urban Home Magazine since 2007. He holds a Master of Arts degree in communication with concentrations in leadership studies and professional writing, and is currently pursuing a Ph.D. in rhetorics, communication, and information design at Clemson University. Mark has taught at three universities and been a frequent speaker and workshop presenter at writers’ conferences nationwide. As a freelance voiceover talent, Mark has been featured on daily radio programs syndicated nationally on some 500 stations.
Contact:
864-646-2633
markward@messagemedia.us
