6 JUStpUt, JANUARY 1Ç)^2.Q7
northwest
You Say Goodbye, I Say Hello
working with her daughter, whom she said would
Change isn’t inherently gixxl, but for the own­
bring a fresh outlook and younger attitude to the
ers of Bella Casa Realty, the parting of ways is a | company, Lyon kxiks to a future of being out on her
welcome change. About five
own. “I’ll he able to give 100
years ago, Oregon natives Terri
percent on both the buying and
Popejoy and Celia Lyon left the
selling ends,” she said.
world of corporate real estate to
start their own business. This
Whip It Good
month Lyon left Bella Casa to
“Many days 1 stop and
work for Meadows Group, while
think, '1 can’t believe I get paid
Popejoy brought her daughter,
to do this.’ It is so much fun,”
Niki Robins, on board as her new business partner.
said Christian Messer of Whiplash Design.
“It was time for a change,” said Lyon, who has
He said he had been waiting tables for 10 years
worked in real estate since 1990. “I gained the expe­ when he happened to pick up a Portland
rience of being a principal broker and learned about
Community College catalog and decided to join
managing a real estate company, but 1 also learned
the Sylvania graphic design program. He opened
that I don’t want to be a manager—I want to be
Whiplash Design around September 2001. “It was
working and giving all my attention to my clients
one of the worst times to start a business,” said
and get back to the business of selling real estate.’’
Messer, who works solo hut hopes to bring an
employee on to do prixluction work in 2007.
Despite the <xlds, Messer is able to offer clients
what he calls “sophisticated and fierce design.” He
attributes his sophistication to his fluid style. “If a
client wants soft anJ calming or dynamic, thax’s
what they get," he said. Fierce refers to his passion
for rhe work. “I don’t let a project leave my hands
that I’m unhappy with.”
Messer believes g<xxl design is important, espe­
cially for small, gay-owned businesses like his own.
“With me you get one-on-one personal attention
and someone that’s on your team that’s kxiking at
the bigger picture,” he said. Thinking ahead,
Messer works to make his designs compatible. “For
example, if someone wants a logo, 1 make sure it’s
compatible with anywhere it could he reprixluced,
whether on a billboard or painted on a football
field or quick and easy on a Web site,” he said.
New to Whiplash is a marketing element.
Celia Lyon has left Bella Casa Realty, which she
“A year ago I had a [Portland Area Business
started with Terri Popejoy nearly five years ago.
Association] colleague, an independent travel
Popejoy, who has been in realty for 35 years,
agent, frustrated with the Internet bixim and
said she started Bella Casa because she prefers
people not using travel agents anymore. I knew
doing more personal rather than corporate real
there was a way they’re surviving," said Messer. In
estate. “We’re more hometown," she explained.
honing his marketing research skills to help her,
Popejoy said Bella Casa’s biggest success has been
Messer found that most agents survived by fixiusing
“our ability to put more support into our communi­ on a particular niche. “So then 1 started doing that
ty because of owning our own business."
for my own business,” he said. “The whole reason
Together, Lyon and Popejoy have contributed
why I went into marketing is that 1 would produce
to several queer organizations. Basic Rights so much work hut never know if what we were
Oregon, Human Rights Campaign, Our House of doing was working, since there was no way of gaug­
Portland, the Portland Area Business Association,
ing.” Messer adds, “To me, marketing and graphic
rhe Lesbian Community Project, the Hambleton
design go hand in hand.”
Project, the Bella Boys baseball team and Portland’s
For more information visit www.whiplashde-
Gay and Lesbian Community Yellow Pages have
sign.com.
benefited from their support. Lyon
and Popejoy have also provided sig­
nificant sponsorship to the Portland
Lesbian and Gay Film Festival.
“I’ve supported the film festival
since its inception," Lyon said. "My
ex-daughter-in-law is a lesbian, and
she and her girlfriend came to me 10
years ago saying, ‘We want to start a
festival and have no money.’ I will
continue to he supportive forever."
Popejoy said she would also con­
tinue giving community support. “We
have a great community that has a lot
to offer people,” she said. “1 speak
highly of it to those moving here—
Portland as a whole is a great town."
Christian Messer cracks the whip on your marketing needs
While Popejoy kxiks forward to
through Whiplash Design.
z---------------------- X
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