Our COLLECTIVE Clergy this week is yet another of our sage, savvy real-estate agents. Candace Mau is a verifiable veteran in the biz, and she’s got some serious skill in ‘sealing the deal’…in the last two years alone, this bird sold over 100 homes herself (look up the yearly average for a realtor, whydontya). Candace comes at you like a ray of indestructible sunshine. In fact, she’s completely won me over, despite my own surly distaste for forging new friendships with wildly optimistic people. Her curiosity knows literally no bounds, and I would wager a guess that her bucket list includes to-do items such as “figure out a way to stuff a double rainbow in my pocket” and “get to know every member of the world’s population on a deeply intimate and intellectual level.” Thanks largely to Instagram, I’ve seen her bounding nude into arctic, iceberg-ridden waters “just for the fun of it,” and as such, I know that she seeks the type of adventure that I actively try to avoid. Candace is the oldest of six siblings, and she used to make her five younger brothers walk chronologically (by age) in a single-file line behind her, but I think that might be as far as her “dark” side goes. The thing I hear from her most often is, “what can I do to help you?”, and she loves nothing more than making people happy. For a potential client, I’d say that’s a an ideal character trait, eh? Read on…

Describe your perfect home or space. What does it look/feel like? A warm and lovely place where everyone feels welcome and loved. Just picture it, an effortless space that caters to creature comforts without even realizing it. Dreamy, huh? Oh, and it’s bright, too, with lots of space to flow easily from one gathering to the next. Wrap-around porch, big windows, butcher block island (I bake sometimes)…the only thing I don’t have right now is an ocean view.

One thing you absolutely cannot stand: Velvet. And olives. I’m sorry, velvet makes me cringe, and olives still don’t taste good. Remember modeling behavior as a kid? I saw a little kid put all of the olives on their finger tips and proceed to eat them. I thought, “Oh, that looks fun!” and did the same. First olive in my mouth I spit back on the serving platter. Little did all those people know, those olives had my hands all over them. Lo siento, friends (I was 6 years old, in my defense).

One thing you absolutely, unequivocally LOVE: People. I just love them. Can I say “everything”? I really do love everything. Something is lovable in everything (the bright side is happy place to be).

You’re an agent here. Tell me why. What lead you to this work? A happy accident lead me to be a real estate agent. I was working as a REO team’s office manager, enjoying the nickname of Mary Poppins, deciding I could do what they did. And decided to do real estate to get me through college. Turned out, I loved it and continued on after my degree. Growing up I always loved looking at houses, both as a window shopper and simply appreciating them from the exterior or exploring the layout.

Give me your take on our little COLLECTIVE. Well, let me tell you, this place is special. Everyone here is a friend you just haven’t met yet. Seriously, phenomenal people striving to make their world (and ours) better. I feel lucky to know so many creative, caring, and compassionate human beings, leveraging their talents in real estate, design, words, space, interactions, you name it. It’s a platform for so many good things. <3 And I work here, how cool is that?! I’m so lucky!

Describe your perfect day. What, exactly, does that look like for you? This is a tough question. It definitely depends on the day. Today, my perfect day starts out lazy. Spend time with a cup of tea, some avocado toast, and random musings. Definitely spend time outside, have friends and family over for dinner perhaps, amazing conversations, delicious food, great drinks. Basically, any equation that involves people, the outdoors, deep conversations, laughter, and fun…that’s my answer to a perfect day.   

Favorite read/watch: Any and all books. Give me a book and some time, and I’ll be finished. I’m not as caught up on pop culture (a.k.a. watching things) but I enjoy any happy show. I can’t watch shows like The Office…it’s too awkward.

When I was a little boy, I was best friends with spiders, but now I’m scared to death of them. Any weird fears for you? No real fears. I haven’t been bungie jumping yet, and I imagine it will be scary. I do like trying things that make me uncomfortable. Getting out of your comfort zone is important. Who doesn’t like to grow?

You could be living anywhere, really. Why SLC? Welp, I live in Ogden currently. And isn’t it cool, I could live anywhere, but right now I’m choosing Ogden. It’s a darling little railroad town finding it’s new identity as times have changed. The proximity to the mountains with the view (of the human ocean) and darling downtown make it particularly lovable.

How do you think we can improve this fantastic little slice of our nation? Where are we lacking? The best way to improve this fantastic little slice of heaven (a.k.a. Utah) is more collaboration, caring about the air we breathe, celebrating our differences, and loving each other. We need to work together and learn how to talk to one another while holding different views. We have so many wonderful strengths, what if we set the precedent for a collaborative community here in Utah? Let’s do it!