Eichler 'Companion Piece' - Page 2

A graduate of San Mateo public schools and onetime Eichler Highlander, Morin Pierce, like Smollen, is always happy when a potential client mentions the Directory or the Network.

"I do find that they're usually people who are more creative, more artsy," she said. While Eichlers played a small but important role in her year as a 'top earner' for the Intero Real Estate, she acknowledged last week, "Our inventory continues to be very low for Eichlers."

Nonetheless Morin Pierce enjoys the occasional client insistent on an Eichler, noting, "It's not so much 'I need a 3-bedroom 2-bath'…[as] the feeling that the house instills for them."

"I'm an Eichler geek who gets to work on houses," Smollen admits of his career, fortified by admiration for Jones, Emmons, Neutra, Schindler, Wexler, and other icons he names as inspiration.

The Marin resident, who shares office space in the Dogpatch neighborhood of San Francisco with Curt Cline of Modern House Architects and landscape architect Christopher Yates, says of their camaraderie, "It's really fun. We get to bounce ideas off each other." He relishes his time in the office, spending moments with other professionals of a modern bent.

One remarkable thing for Smollen is when he meets converts to the style on the job.

"At least one eighth of them think Joe Eichler was an architect," the contractor admits about working on scores of homes by the maverick developer. "They're surprised to find Eichler wasn't an architect—he just had good taste."

Fortunately, with clients he reaches through the Eichler Network, and in particular through the annual directory, "They at least know to use people who understand the house." And isn't that all any 'companion' really wants?

So make your modern home happy. Keep a copy of the '2020 Eichler Network Home Maintenance Directory' nearby. Your quarantine companion will no doubt appreciate your good taste and judgment.