About
Background:
Bend Originals was started by Ed Arnold, who has been involved in the residential homebuilding industry for over 30 years in various capacities. He comes from a long line of east coast home builders, and at the age of 10 would “help” his grandfather Pap on his jobs in Pennsylvania. Also while still young, his mother would take him to tour model homes and construction sites to satisfy his early desire to be around the industry. During college at Arizona State, he worked as a framer and as an assistant superintendent for a track home builder. While his degree is in logistics, he never lost the desire to continue in the home building industry. His first big break came when several friends invited him to join their residential and commercial firm in Scottsdale to run the residential custom home division of Epic Design and Build. After 4 years with Epic, Ed left to start his own spec home company in Scottsdale, Signature Homes. Marriage and children took him away from the building side, but along with investing, Ed developed a knack for finding land with problems, resolving the issues through the regulatory process, and once the entitlements were secured, sold them. After 20 years of marriage and a divorce, the decision was made to move to Bend for the climate and a change. Ed worked for Sun Forest Construction as a senior project manager of remodeling for several years before being offered the remodeling manager position at Pacwest Homes. After few more years at Pacwest, Ed was encouraged by numerous past clients to start his own firm, and Bend Originals was formed in early 2020. Ed has been fortunate to develop a very solid and quality team of subcontractors and vendors, and it is those around him that have allowed him to be successful doing what he loves.
The Process:
When a potential client contacts Bend Originals, Ed and his partner April will meet onsite to discuss the scope, listen to the clients needs and wants, ask probing questions, take photographs and measurements, and then propose a preliminary budget and timeline. If both sides come to an agreement on scope and budget, the clients will be taken to all of the relevant vendors and suppliers to select materials and finishes. Unlike most other builders in Bend, there is not a handoff from sales person, to estimator, to project manager. The client will only be dealing with Ed, so there can be no passing of the buck. It is very unusual for the initial scope to be the final scope, and Bend Originals and its subs are very adept at making changes on the fly. Additionally, Ed has the philosophy that no idea is a bad idea, and “warns” his clients that he would rather propose a bad idea then to self-sensor and possibly miss out on sharing one that the clients ultimately love.
The End Results:
It is always the goal of Bend Originals for the clients to love the final results. When that happens we have done our job correctly. Good enough is never good enough. Remodeling can be a complicated process, and it is Bend Originals responsibility to make sure it is as painless and fun as absolutely possible.