With several sibling connections and a bit of shared history, the spirit of family runs strong between cityhomeCOLLECTIVE and Jeremy Chatelain. Once upon a time, this native musician left our land of Zion for New York to make his mark as a touring musician and songwriter. Throughout his career, Jeremy worked hard at his craft, writing, producing and performing many of the albums you just might have heard. Eventually returning home to put down roots and to raise a family, Jeremy leapt into the role as teacher at Spy Hop helping others with the craft of songwriting. Now, here with us as Office Manager, Jeremy brings that can-do attitude and friendly smile for agents, clients and anyone else who happens to set foot inside our humble shop. Stop on by and say hello. He’s got the coffee on and the puns at the ready.
Now that you're established in your career here at cityhome, in this collective, what is your real ‘why’? Good question! I was at my previous job for 14 years and had begun to think that I needed a change of scenery. I described it as needing a new hill from which to look out on the world. I wanted to learn a new professional language, meet new people, and see how my skill set could transfer out of the non-profit world. I don’t think I had a deeper why at the time I was searching. However, after landing here at cityhome, it became more clear to me as to why I’m here. The ethos that is practiced here, and the care that is put into everything from mental and physical health to homes and personal spaces is something that I also care about. I really love to help design new systems to make work smooth, to take care of the day-to-day maintenance of this incredible building, and to help ensure that people are comfortable coming to the office and utilizing the spaces. It scratches my empathetic itch! Plus, who wouldn’t want to hang out in this space all day. It feels good!
You could be living anywhere, really. Why SLC? For years I lived in hotels, clubs, and studios all over the place. I really used to crave a traveling lifestyle and moving around made me really happy. My wife, Kathryne, and I lived in a few different cities across the US. We loved moving and discovering all the new things in each town like coffee shops, restaurants, record stores, etc. At a certain point I could feel my priorities change and I think she could too. We made the decision to come “back home” to be closer to family, buy a house, and have kids of our own. We wanted to put down roots, as the saying goes. Salt Lake is quite an easy place to live. Weirdly I never appreciated the landscape or outdoor aspect of it when I was younger. I was so used to those mountains that I didn’t even see them anymore. I love the outdoor spaces now, and I crave the desert. I have an entirely new appreciation for our landscape. I do dig the underdog vibe here and I’ve found a strange soul to the place that is interesting too.
What is your definition of home? Home for me is the place that I can go to take shelter, to hang out with my family, to work on creative pursuits, and to be myself. I feel lucky that my wife has great vision for our spaces and that I get to help craft and build our house to be what she sees. I do love to remodel spaces and to know the home inside and out. My Dad and I remodeled my last house from top to bottom. You really get to know a space and all of its idiosyncrasy when you do that. I think my definition of home is a safe, comfortable space that feels like you.
What does ‘ brave space’ feel like to you and how do you create that for others? I spent hours and hours talking about the creation of “brave spaces” at my former job. I think a brave space relates back to this idea of home. It is somewhere that you feel comfortable being yourself, expressing yourself without judgement, surrounded by love and support, in light of the fact that everyone has a unique perspective and wildly different life experiences. Brave space allows people to bring what they have to the collective table and celebrate their differences at the same time. I think you can help create it for others by being an open person, listening to those around you and attempting to empathize with what you hear.
What is something you wish people knew more about you? (passion, hobbies, personality) I’m an introvert! I love to accomplish things. I have two stunningly awesome kids. I have a singular passion in this life: music! I make production music for all kinds of media in my spare time. I have a company called Timber Music Supply and we write, produce, and record songs every week. I never get tired of it. I feel very lucky in that respect.
