Embracing the Changing Terrain

Born in Paradise, Laura Eckstrom tackles life like she snowboards, full force and without fear. Her life experiences have shown that you shouldn’t be afraid to shift course and move into unfamiliar fields. “I’ve made switches in my career a couple times, and every one was worth it. I feel like I learned so much in each field.”

Laura took her first job as a sophomore in high school working in childcare at a Paradise health club. Holding down a job while participating in three high school sports required a lot of planning and dedication, but her strong drive kept her focused. She then went on to work at the Tea Bar & Fusion Café in Chico for seven years where she moved from a dishwasher position all the way up to management. Laura credits Tea Innovations co-founder Shelly Blanshei with “teaching me pretty much everything I know as far as my work ethic goes.” Laura enrolled in beauty school and spent time as an esthetician doing lash work, which then evolved into working in the medical field with a local dermatologist. It was during this time that she met her husband, Ben, who later introduced her to a career in the construction business.

That career change took Laura to sales and design at Proframe Construction and PatioPros. Proframe has been headquartered here, in Chico, for more than 12 years. They build residential and commercial projects ranging from decks and additions to entire custom homes. Laura’s experience at the company began with designing the interiors of the spec houses Proframe was building. She would select tile, flooring, and paint along with helping to develop the interior layout of the home. Early on, as Proframe elected to market their homes themselves, Laura also began to work on staging. She says, “Through everything I’d read, I learned that staging sells, so I decided we need to get the items needed to do it, and learned I really loved it.” She enjoyed being able to create something beautiful that people loved and felt at home in. Even though they now have real estate agents helping with the sales, Laura says the artistic side is still one of her favorite aspects of the job.

In addition to her design work with Proframe, she also works with PatioPros. As you may have read in our previous issue, it began as a branch of Proframe Construction and evolved into its own entity. PatioPros builds custom shade covers designed specifically for each client’s home or commercial property. Whether it’s building a pergola, a louvered patio cover, or a light-filled sunroom, PatioPros’ quality craftsmanship and personalized customer service are well-received in the community. Laura’s main focus at PatioPros is developing and designing their Instagram and Facebook accounts while assisting with sales when needed. She’ll meet with clients at their home, discuss what they’re looking for in a shade structure, take measurements and photos, and then meet with the PatioPros team to develop and deliver an estimate for the customer.

Spring just happens to coincide with the Chico Home & Garden Show, bringing in a wave of new clients looking to prepare their home and patio for months of outside activities. This busy season finds Laura out in the sales field more frequently. “I love going out on an appointment and spending time with clients while learning and figuring out what they want and need for their space. It’s so fulfilling to be able to provide that service for them, and watching it all come to life is so exciting.”

Laura was new to construction when she first started with the company, so she says she’s always learning something new, which is exciting. “It keeps me busy and on my toes.” She shares that the most challenging aspect of the job goes hand-in-hand with that, “My knowledge is still growing. Coming into a world that was completely new to me was difficult, with a learning curve around every corner, but with each curve has come a new feeling of confidence.” As far as advice for others considering a foray into a new field, she says, “Don’t be afraid to do it. Even if you’re scared, you’ll always learn something. Good or bad, at least you’re learning from it.”

That proclivity towards embracing the lessons learned from each experience, be it positive or negative, can also be seen in Laura’s personal life. During the COVID pandemic, she and her husband Ben decided to renovate their home. However, this remodel relegated the couple and Ben’s two children to living in tents in their backyard for 12 weeks throughout the construction. She says it was definitely interesting, but she doesn’t need to ever do it again. “I think we found that if we could endure all of that, then we can make it for the long haul.” They recently married, starting their journey as a family together in a snowboard wedding ceremony on top of Heavenly Ski Resort in Tahoe. Laura is ready for whatever comes next. She continues to embrace the curves and learns from the changes in terrain as she cruises down life’s mountain.

You can connect with Laura Eckstrom at Proframe Construction by calling (530) 636-4574 and PatioPros at (530) 924-6400. You can also visit them online at www.proframeconstruction.com and www.PatioPros.com.

A Chico native, Hayley grew up with a love for fashion and fell in love with the idea of pursuing it through the Fashion Institute of Design & Merchandising (FIDM). Passionate about owning her own store someday, she worked in retail for years before moving back to Chico and later opened her own boutique on Cohasset Road. Small and quaint, the boutique specifically carries items that everyone else doesn’t. Her offerings are in fast fashion, with styles and inventory constantly changing. Most importantly, she has something for everyone including clothing, shoes, jewelry, and accessories. Stop by and see why we love her shop!

ShopPinkWillow

@ShopPinkWillow

169 Cohasset Road, Suite 3, Chico www.shoppinkwillow.com

Real Food. Real Butter. Real Good Home Cooking. It's been the motto of The Roost Cafe since they opened their doors in 2004. Linda Juanarena has remained committed to providing exactly that at their new, larger location on Main Street in Downtown Chico, and the countless rave reviews prove it's not just a delicious recipe, but also a perfect one for success. The Roost Cafe is known for their eggs Benedict, but they also offer a delicious menu full of breakfast and lunch items for everyone to enjoy.

The-ROOST-Cafe

817 Main St, Downtown Chico www.toasttab.com/roost-cafe

(530) 892-1281 www.mountainviewgardencenter.com | (925) 209-7702

A highly-creative landscape designer and small business owner with over 40 years of experience, Kathleen Elliott specializes in family-oriented and environmentally sensitive landscapes for commercial and residential properties. She has expert knowledge of environmental sensitivity, erosion control, drought tolerance, fire safety, sustainable landscape design, and horticulture, including healing gardens. There are few in our community who have the breadth of knowledge or experience that she brings to each and every one of her landscape projects, and as her customers will be the first to tell you, you couldn’t be in better hands when it comes to landscape design.