TV writer April Shih and producer Jen Goyne Blake, co-founders of production company Diversity Hire, have transformed a mountain house into a creative gathering space.
In 2021, Shih and Blake moved from daydreaming to doing. They formed a production company, Diversity Hire, and used some of the money Shih earned from an overall deal at FX to buy a $435,000 house in Lake Arrowhead, California, for hosting creative retreats.The 1,600-square-foot, three-story A-frame is set on more than half an acre in the San Bernardino Mountains with little view of neighbors.
For furnishings, the women added objects that feel structured but easy, a metaphor for the goal of a good script. They chose a copper soaking tub sold by an artisan on Etsy, a Hallman oven, a vintage Borge Mogensen easy chair and a Royal Quiet Deluxe typewriter.Even before the house was completed, Shih and Blake began hosting creative getaways.