iiinova — where your digital self keeps evolving

Isaac French @isaacfrench.bsky.social · 31/01/2025

More than *1,000* international guests have travelled from around the world to stay here. But Chris wasn’t done... A year later, In just 14 weeks start to finish, he built a treehouse with a suspension bridge entrance.

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Isaac French @isaacfrench.bsky.social · 31/01/2025

$800 in parts—overhead door motor, gaskets, and metal track—he engineered a bed that slides out under the stars. Works in all seasons. He listed the cabin on Airbnb, and the internet exploded. Millions of views, major media features, and $1M+ in bookings (since opening).

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Isaac French @isaacfrench.bsky.social · 31/01/2025

Every weekend, Chris drove up from Connecticut to work on their dream: an A-frame cabin which cost $85k all-in. It took him 3 years to build, and he did everything w his own two hands. But here's the best part: He had this crazy idea that no one had ever tried, and for just...

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Isaac French @isaacfrench.bsky.social · 31/01/2025

His wife, pregnant with their first son, was rear-ended at a stop light by a drunk driver going 50mph. Miraculously, she and their baby survived. The settlement was just enough to buy 5 acres in upstate NY—an overgrown, overlooked piece of land for $28k, 4 hrs from the city.

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Isaac French @isaacfrench.bsky.social · 31/01/2025

Short backstory on Chris: At 14, he started in carpentry. By 2016, he was installing custom millwork in high-end homes. He was building other people’s dreams—but had nothing for his own family (and lived paycheck to paycheck). Then, tragedy struck...

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Isaac French @isaacfrench.bsky.social · 31/01/2025

Chris had nothing to leave his kids. So he scraped together $28k, bought 5 acres in upstate NY, and spent weekends building an A-frame by hand. Then one $800 idea turned his quiet cabin into a mega-viral airbnb with over $1M in bookings. Wait till you see this...🧵

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Isaac French @isaacfrench.bsky.social · 25/01/2025

Today, Brush Creek Creamery ships nationwide and racks up awards, including First Place for Orchard Blue at the American Cheese Society competition. If you're ever in Deary, Idaho, stop by to experience the magic of cheesemaking—and taste the passion and creativity behind it.

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Isaac French @isaacfrench.bsky.social · 25/01/2025

For 3 years, I poured everything into the business. And by 2016, we’d expanded into a renovated Ford garage, transforming it into a bakery, cafe, and upgraded home for BCC. Eventually, I moved on. But the lessons of craft, hard work, and perseverance will stick with me forever.

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Isaac French @isaacfrench.bsky.social · 25/01/2025

We repurposed a soup cauldron as our cheese vat. When my mom’s old cheesemaking friends Rebeccah & Brian joined a year later, bringing experience and efficiency with them, things really took off. I learned so much (and they’re still some of my best friends to this day).

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Isaac French @isaacfrench.bsky.social · 25/01/2025

That summer, we incorporated as “Brush Creek Creamery.” Saturday market sales grew from $300 to $1,500, and we got our cheese into local restaurants and grocery stores. To keep up, my brothers and I built a small creamery with a milking parlor, make room, and aging “cave.”

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Isaac French @isaacfrench.bsky.social · 25/01/2025

On a whim, I had an idea: I began washing wheels of blue cheese with apple cider from our own trees as they aged. The wheels turned golden, w a wonderful fruity flavor & aroma that perfectly balanced the bold, tangy bite of the blue. I called it “Orchard Blue.” Instant hit.

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Isaac French @isaacfrench.bsky.social · 25/01/2025

...the manager, we secured a booth for the following season. Cheesemaking demands patience (something I’ve never had much of). Weeks, months or even years of waiting to test and tweak. There were plenty of flops, but I kept learning. Then came the breakthrough...

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Isaac French @isaacfrench.bsky.social · 25/01/2025

Watching milk transform into creamy, fluffy-rind Brie felt like magic, and feeling like a real artisan, I ventured into aged varieties like Cheddar & Gruyère. We lived in rural Idaho, and the nearby college town of Moscow hosted a bustling farmers’ market. After pestering...

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Isaac French @isaacfrench.bsky.social · 25/01/2025

By 13, with surplus milk from our family’s jersey cows (s/o Bluebell - you’ll always be my favorite cow ever), my mom and I began experimenting w soft cheeses. I converted an old fridge into a makeshift aging room and ordered exotic cultures with names I could barely pronounce.

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Isaac French @isaacfrench.bsky.social · 25/01/2025

Cheesemaking wasn’t new to our family. My mom had started a small cheese business w her friends around the time I was born. She stepped away to raise & homeschool us kids, but her friends kept it going. That’s where I worked, carefully brushing & turning wheels of aging cheese.

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Isaac French @isaacfrench.bsky.social · 25/01/2025

At 11, I landed my first job: making cheese. $8/hr after school—until my boss realized hiring an 11-yr-old was illegal. I didn't care. I loved it so much, I stayed on unpaid. This was just the beginning of a teenage obsession that would lead to an unexpected discovery…🧵

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Isaac French @isaacfrench.bsky.social · 22/01/2025

“Judge a man not by his wealth or accomplishments, but by the character of his grandchildren.” Not sure who said this first, but sure sets a high standard (and a humbling reminder, esp at 28).

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Isaac French @isaacfrench.bsky.social · 10/01/2025

Bryant renovated the tiny 1920s cottage; Amy made it charming. Four months later, it was ready to rent, and with that income they just barely covered the mortgage. But with 3 young kids to feed, Bryant knew it was now or never. This wasn’t just a project—this was their future.

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Isaac French @isaacfrench.bsky.social · 10/01/2025

Just 7 days later, they found it: 34 acres of rock formations, waterfalls, towering trees—and an old, shabby cottage. They pitched friends and family and secured just enough money with just enough time to make the down payment. A local bank loaned them the rest.

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Isaac French @isaacfrench.bsky.social · 10/01/2025

Before the cave, they put it all on the line & took a huge risk... Amy's a stay-at-home mom (they have 3 kids). Bryant's an engineer by trade, but his 9-to-5 left him uninspired. So they began searching for a slice of Hocking Hills, an hr outside Columbus, OH, where they live.

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Isaac French @isaacfrench.bsky.social · 10/01/2025

My friends bought 34 acres of Ohio wilderness. While hiking one day, they stumbled upon a dark, dripping cavern—and decided to pour their life savings into it. Today, it's one of the world's most profitable airbnbs. The waitlist is years long. Here's the story...🧵

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Isaac French @isaacfrench.bsky.social · 10/01/2025

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Isaac French @isaacfrench.bsky.social · 10/01/2025

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Isaac French @isaacfrench.bsky.social · 10/01/2025

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Isaac French @isaacfrench.bsky.social · 10/01/2025

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Isaac French @isaacfrench.bsky.social · 20/12/2024

And you should make one, too! Go try it out this holiday season—maybe you’ll even start a tradition of your own! Now tell me: which one’s your favorite? And what should I build next? bsky.app/profile/isaa...

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Isaac French @isaacfrench.bsky.social · 20/12/2024

The best thing about a gingerbread house? The process. - tons of tiny details - creative candy choices - the warm, spicy aroma of fresh gingerbread - and of course time spent around the kitchen with friends and family It’s about the memories as much as the masterpiece.

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Isaac French @isaacfrench.bsky.social · 20/12/2024

Last year, my friends and I went all out. We created an ornate, 2-story gingerbread house for the lobby of Café Homestead, our neighborhood farm-to-table restaurant.

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Isaac French @isaacfrench.bsky.social · 20/12/2024

To celebrate, I crafted a gingerbread replica of one of the 7 cabins, complete with a melted-sugar pond, trees, and even a miniature ford bronco parked out back.

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Isaac French @isaacfrench.bsky.social · 20/12/2024

Then, for a while, I took a break. Let’s be honest—gingerbread houses (at least this kind) are hard work! But, 2 years ago, inspiration struck again. I’d just finished building Live oak Lake—a nordic-inspired lakeside retreat here in Texas.

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Isaac French @isaacfrench.bsky.social · 20/12/2024

So the next Christmas, I went bigger. I still remember those few nights before Christmas, staying up till 4am. We cranked the music as high as it would go in the bakery, and chugged stolen kombuchas from the fridge to stay sharp.

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Isaac French @isaacfrench.bsky.social · 20/12/2024

The first was 8 years years ago, up in Idaho. Our family and some friends had just renovated an old building and opened a bakery. My sister and I decided to make something special for Christmas. We learned so many lessons on that first one—but it was hit!

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Isaac French @isaacfrench.bsky.social · 20/12/2024

Every gingerbread house tells a story. Over the years, I’ve made a few. Cabins, chalets, and snowy Victorian mansions. It’s one of my favorite holiday traditions—equal parts ambitious design, edible engineering, and playful escape for the mind. A short thread…🧵

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Isaac French @isaacfrench.bsky.social · 09/12/2024

With a ton of determination and some help, she pulled it off, and just 3 yrs later, the quarry roared to life with its first concert. Today it’s one of the most unique & premier outdoor venues in the world. We need more Margaretas…

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Isaac French @isaacfrench.bsky.social · 09/12/2024

…abandoned since the 70s, it was silent that day - a forgotten scar. Everybody else ignored it. But Margareta Dellefors, a 65-yo retired opera singer, saw (and heard) something.

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Isaac French @isaacfrench.bsky.social · 09/12/2024

In 1991, this lady was driving through the Swedish countryside when a massive hole in the ground caught her eye. She stopped to get a closer look at the 200 ft deep pit. It’d been carved out of the earth by limestone miners 60 yrs earlier. But…

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Isaac French @isaacfrench.bsky.social · 23/11/2024

"If you want to change the world, go home and love your family" —Mother Teresa

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Isaac French @isaacfrench.bsky.social · 20/11/2024

More on that next time - if you’re curious, let me know :) If this inspired you, a comment/share/follow would mean a lot. Thanks!!

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Isaac French @isaacfrench.bsky.social · 20/11/2024

But here’s the twist: just 2 weeks after our stay, Babylonstoren lost its title as my favorite hotel in the world… …to it’s European sister. (I told you - Karen & Koos are the best hoteliers on the planet)

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Isaac French @isaacfrench.bsky.social · 20/11/2024

The entire experience moved me in ways I didn’t expect. I’m still processing everything I saw and felt, 9 months later. And I hardly scratched the surface here. The spa, library, healing garden, farm activities, artisan worskshops all deserve an entire thread.

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Isaac French @isaacfrench.bsky.social · 20/11/2024

They made you feel like a billion dollars and their best friend, all at once. Almost 0% turnover in 14 yrs of operation. The owners know every employee by name and treat them like their own family. That’s the secret sauce. You can’t fake or buy this kind of hospitality.

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Isaac French @isaacfrench.bsky.social · 20/11/2024

But my favorite part? The people. During harvest, Babylonstoren employs 700 folks, and around 40 full-time hotel staff - but they never felt like "staff." Every single one of them, from gardeners to general managers, cooks to cleaners, radiated unforgettable warmth and care.

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Isaac French @isaacfrench.bsky.social · 20/11/2024

Now, the food. Virtually everything on your plate—whether it’s freshly baked bread, a crisp garden salad, or a juicy lamb chop—was grown right there on the farm, harvested that day. And drizzled with their own olive oil. (I’ve never eaten so much… and felt so good)

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Isaac French @isaacfrench.bsky.social · 20/11/2024

The architecture? As stunning as the gardens. Traditional white stucco Cape Dutch buildings blend seamlessly w modern glass walls. Attention to detail? Impeccable. Even the parking area is shaded by grapevines and hedged by perfectly manicured shrubs.

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Isaac French @isaacfrench.bsky.social · 20/11/2024

Deep within this paradise, you’ll find a state-of-the-art vinegar cellar, winery, olive oil and essential oil production, butchery, and creamery. All offering delicious, immersive hands-on experiences. Oh, and 3 world-class restaurants (one in a greenhouse).

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Isaac French @isaacfrench.bsky.social · 20/11/2024

At the heart of its 1800 acres lies the most breathtaking garden I’ve ever seen. A living *masterpiece.* Pools & streams meander through pathways shaded by vine-covered pergolas. Orchards brimming w every fruit imaginable, and flowers bursting from every corner.

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Isaac French @isaacfrench.bsky.social · 20/11/2024

…they’re the greatest hoteliers in the world. In 2007, telecom billionaire Koos Bekker & his wife, Karen Roos, purchased the property. Over the next 3 years, they poured their hearts (& a wad of cash) into transforming it. Karen, former editor of Elle, did the design herself.

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Isaac French @isaacfrench.bsky.social · 20/11/2024

Babylonstoren is more farm than hotel. Only 45 rooms, each pod carefully nestled within the most spectacular gardens you’ve ever dreamt of. Located in South Africa’s Western Cape, this working farm has been in operation since the 1600s. And the owners? In my opinion…

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Isaac French @isaacfrench.bsky.social · 20/11/2024

My favorite hotel in the world—Babylonstoren. In February, we spent 2 unforgettable nights there. It completetly redefined my idea of hospitality (but there’s a twist). Let me try to capture the magic: 🧵

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