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This is owner Kristy Craig Anderson. As a child she refused to play with Barbies, but boasted an impressive collection of homemade Barbie furniture. She was a middle school assistant principal for years, but in her free time would force encourage her friends to let her redesign their houses. So she got certified in home staging and design, filled a shelf in her garage with thrift store decor, and started Dwell Home Staging in 2014. Within months she was staging full time, hired 3 more stagers, and got a small warehouse next door to a questionable massage parlor. She sometimes rented pieces for her projects from a local furniture rental company, where she annoyed the staff with her obsessively beautifully color-coded charts of furniture requests and schedule demands. She was booking jobs faster than her team could fulfill them, and she needed to expand. Fast.
In 2017, Kristy and Jeff joined forces. No, they are not a couple. Kristy is old enough to be Jeff’s mother, or at least a very cool aunt. But they began a business marriage of sorts, marrying Jeff’s flair for business and love of chaos with Kristy’s design and branding talents and love of color-coded process manuals. Within one year of the Dwell Home Staging re-launch, they had built a team of 12 and grown their revenue to $1 million. In 2018, they opened Dwell Villa, their AirBnB/Vacation Home Design division. In 2020, they expanded into a 26,000 square foot South Tampa location, doubled their team, grew to a 3 truck fleet, and opened Dwell Home Market. Humbled by the constant stream of customers, they are ever grateful for their freaking ROCK STAR team that is bringing Dwell’s signature “designer look with a down-to-earth vibe” to all of Tampa Bay.
Why am I legit? According to my parents, my passion for creativity, art & design started around age 3 when I was found painting my sister’s room with my mom’s makeup. So it was no surprise that a handful of years later, I spent many years as a designer for one of the world’s largest restaurant groups.
If I won the lottery tomorrow, I would buy a hybrid VW van, pack up my dog, some art supplies & a guitar and follow Pearl Jam and Brandi Carlile on tour. At the end of my extended road trip, I’d buy homes in Ogunquit Maine, Red Rocks, Colorado & Key West Fl – and live happily ever after.
The best pieces of advice I’ve been given are: “If one is never enough, have none.” and “If you have nothing to be grateful for, check your pulse.”
I am originally from Indiana and have a B.A. in Telecommunications from Indiana University. Go Hoosiers! I have 15+ years of Retail Management/Customer Service experience with companies that include Walt Disney World, Universal Studios, House of Blues at Disney Springs, and the Morean Arts Center in downtown St. Pete. I’m really excited to put my skills to use at Dwell Home Market in this exciting and challenging medium.
1. A few things that make me legit: Being a retail veteran for five years and a pencil/paper artist for even longer mean I have a creative eye and pay a lot of attention to detail. My years in college granted me a good memory and greater people skills.
2. The most inspiring part of my job is: Being able to go from strangers to friends in an afternoon. In particular, helping people who are furnishing their very first residence is truly heartwarming.
3. The most important thing I learned before high school was: That intelligence is the ability to adapt, and that knowing how to learn is more important than what to learn.
4. My favorite word that has no direct English translation is: Wabi-Sabi, a Japanese phrase for “finding beauty in imperfections.”
A few things that make me legit:
In another life I’m pretty sure I was a food critic.
If I could invent a holiday, it would definitely involve Disney.
If I weren’t so damn good at my job, I’d probably be a Hollywood movie star.
A few things that make me legit:
A few things that make me legit:
This is owner Jeff Kale. He owned the furniture rental business where Kristy rented her stuff. A Tampa native, he grew up playing football and moonlighting on the middle school math league team. He studied business and finance at UF, then his over-achieving aS$ started building a business. After helping grow Happy’s Home Centers into 14 locations in 5 years by the geriatric age of 29, he was ready for a new challenge. He was also intrigued by the idea of learning to coordinate throw pillows running a creative endeavor. Alas, his artistic career highlight was a 1st grade finger painting still hanging on his mom’s fridge. Lucky for him, he knew someone who could teach him the nuanced difference between magenta and fuchsia.
In 2017, Jeff and Kristy joined forces. No, they are not a couple. Kristy is old enough to be Jeff’s mother, or at least a very cool aunt. But they began a business marriage of sorts, marrying Jeff’s flair for business and love of chaos with Kristy’s design and branding talents and love of color-coded process manuals. Within one year of the Dwell Home Staging re-launch, they had built a team of 12 and grown their revenue to $1 million. In 2018, they opened Dwell Villa, their AirBnB/Vacation Home Design division. In 2020, they expanded into a 26,000 square foot South Tampa location, doubled their team, grew to a 3 truck fleet, and opened Dwell Home Market. Humbled by the constant stream of customers, they are ever grateful for their freaking ROCK STAR team that is bringing Dwell’s signature “designer look with a down-to-earth vibe” to all of Tampa Bay.
In another life, I’m pretty sure I was a detective.
If I could invent a holiday, it would definitely involve binge watching Forensic Files in my PJs eating Indian food.
My favorite word in the English language is delicious.