ARTICLES

Bowshiers film

The Bowshiers film a scene with real estate agent Paige Duff at the Tilton Hilton at Indian Lake.

Paige Duff,

Local real estate agent Paige Duff, center, poses with the production crew of the HGTV show “Island Life.” The house in the background at Longview Cove will be featured on an upcoming episode.

office

The Majors have connecting offices on the lake’s waterfront with beautiful views. Their offices at the Aries office building have a boat dock. Having just bought a home on the lake at Longview Cove, they now can boat to work.

Paige Duff

Realtor Paige Duff “shows” a home at Longview Cove bought by David and Lauren Major. Local Craftsman Dale Frymyer hand-crafted the table shown.

Reality Show Visits Indian Lake

By Ron Brohm - Contributing Writer

LOGAN COUNTY — It’s a very popular reality show many of us have watched and would love to be on. Families look to find their own little corner of paradise on a beautiful island. Everyday house hunters look for a new adventure or an escape from a hectic lifestyle or just want to get away from it all. This show proves your island fantasy can become a reality.

The HGTV show “Island Life,” which has featured many exotic island locations, selected Indian Lake to film not just one, but two upcoming episodes of the hit TV show.

“It’s a perfect location for the show,” said Paige Duff, a local real estate agent with Choice Properties. “There’s a whole string of islands out in the middle of the lake with vacation and waterfront homes on them.”

In fact, there are 46 “named islands” on Indian Lake and nearly 60 islands total if you include the unnamed islands. The large chain of islands that arcs through the center of the lake is referred to as the “Indian Isles.”

Some people even own their own island on the lake. Many homes sell in the $300,000 to $600,000 range and some are well over a $1,000,000.

“This is very exciting and big for Indian Lake,” said Pam Miller, Executive Director of the Indian Lake Area Chamber of Commerce. “I love the show and watch HGTV all the time,” she adds.

The lake attracts over 1.5 million visitors a year and has been nationally known and respected since the 1950s with its amusement parks and popular dance halls. Today, it is just as popular, if not more, with its luxurious waterfront and island living, fun party-style restaurants and bars, and the many popular annual lake events such as Party at the Beach and HarborFest.

The phone call

“We received a phone call out of the blue one day back in August,” said Marsha Park, Office Manager of Choice Properties in Russells Point, Indian Lake.

“Shari Rice answered the phone and the person on the other end said they were calling from New York City and wanted to film a TV reality show at Indian Lake and they needed a local real estate agent to be in the show,” said Park. “Well, she really just wrote it off as a hoax. I thought it was a prank call myself.

“But a couple days later it was firmed up when we received an email from the HGTV Island Life TV production crew following up on that phone call and stating that they will be filming their show at Indian Lake and they needed a real estate agent to star in the show,” added Park.

“Reality had now just sunk in and we knew this was a not a joke,” said Terry Frymyer owner and founder of Choice Reality.

“We now had this big TV show coming to town, but no one in the office was volunteering to be the real estate agent for the show,” added Frymyer. “This is a big deal for Indian Lake and we needed someone who could really showcase Indian Lake and put its best foot forward. We all looked at each other and came to the same conclusion. Agent Paige Duff would be perfect for the job, and luckily she said she would do it.”

A star is born

Paige Duff is a local resident, married with two children and loves everything about Indian Lake. She filmed for two weeks with the show.

“When they asked me to be on the show, I was honored and jumped at the opportunity to represent and promote Indian Lake. This a great way to showcase and feature our beautiful lake on national TV. As an added bonus it’s a benefit to all of our local business owners,” said Duff.

“The production crew incorporated many local businesses into the show including the Tilton Hilton, Cranberrys Waterfront Resort, Indian Head Roadhouse, Spend-a-Day Marina, and the Fion Wine Room,” she added.

“The show really gives a realistic approach to island living. It really is affordable. Most people fantasize about it, but this show proves that it’s possible for anyone,” added Duff.

“Our community is so proud of Indian Lake and it will be fun for friends and family to see familiar locations showcased on such a large stage,” she said.

Two separate episodes of the TV show were filmed on location at Indian Lake. The first episode features home buyers Shawn and Kerry Bowshier from Urbana.

Episode one — The Bowshiers

“We were looking for an island vacation home on a lake. There were many options out there from Florida to Tennessee and many others. But when it came down to it, Indian Lake offered everything we were looking for. It’s very close to family, near to some of our other homes and close to our business interests,” said Shawn Bowshier.

Bowshier is the owner of Ride 1 (formerly Competition Accessories) in Springfield and owns a second business location in Hilliard. His wife Kerry raises race and show horses including several world champions.

“They filmed us looking at four different houses before we decided on the one we bought. We loved the home we bought,” said Kerry, who has decorated the house with rare Indian Lake collectibles and art. The Bowshiers’ home was in the $500,000 to $600,000 range.

“It took five days of filming and 12 hours a day for them to shoot our episode. There were a lot of long days and a lot of work, but we are very glad we were a part of it. We just love Indian Lake and are so proud of the Lake and the community,” said Shawn.

“It was fun being part of a reality show and seeing how everything works behind the scenes,” added Shawn. I remember at the Tilton Hilton, they made about five of those gigantic famous burgers just for one little scene we shot. We had to do several takes of me taking a bite of the burger and I bet I took one bite out of about four of those big burgers until they finally got the take they wanted with that scene.”

Episode two — The Majors

Episode two features David and Lauren Major of Cincinnati, who were looking for a full-time residence at the lake. David is originally from Urbana and his wife Lauren, a native of Indian Lake, is from Huntsville.

Lauren is a graduate of Indian Lake High School and earned a degree in Art Psychology and Fine Arts from Capital University and is also a gemologist and a graduate of the Gemology Institute of America, where she majored in Gemology and Jewelry Design. Her husband David graduated from Graham High School and earned a degree in Industrial and Systems Engineering from Ohio State.

Married just two years ago, the Majors live in Cincinnati where David, a systems engineer, is a customer supply analysis manager for Treehouse Foods, formerly ConAgra Foods.

They have decided to move back to Indian Lake full time to be closer to family and Lauren’s jewelry business, called Ray James, which is located right on the waterfront of the lake in the Aries office building.

“It’s really the best of both worlds. My husband and I can actually boat to work and home,” said Lauren. David works remotely and has his office right next to his wife’s office at the lake.

“We looked at four homes during the TV production and love the home we bought, at Longview Cove, a newly-developed waterfront community,” Lauren said. The Majors’ home was in the $400,000 to $500,000 range.

TV production crew

The production crew HGTV brought to Indian Lake to shoot the two episodes consisted of eight members that included two camera men, two production assistants, two producers and two production managers.

“It took on average four days and 12 hours a day to produce each 22-minute episode,” said Duff, the real estate agent for both episodes. “The crew rented two lake houses and spent two weeks filming here,” she added.

“We are all so proud of Paige. She did a great job,” said Terry Frymyer, Paige’s boss and founder and owner of Choice Properties. “A star is born,” added Frymyer.

The Bowshiers shot scenes at four locations: Cranberrys, Tilton Hilton, the Fion Wine Room and a scene shopping for a boat at Spend-a-Day Marina. “One day we had to change clothes six times for different scenes,” said Bowshier. “The crew was great to work with and very professional. They had every hour of every day scheduled and planned out. One day before a scene I surprised them though and pulled out my cell phone and had it playing the famous ‘Indian Lake’ song by the ’60s band the Cowsills. They thought it was pretty cool,” Bowshier added.

The Majors shot scenes at four houses also, plus scenes at the Indian Lake Road House, Cranberrys, a pontoon boat ride, biking along the lake and at their house warming party. ”

When to watch

Officials at HGTV have not released an official date for the two episodes filmed at Indian Lake, but they are expected to air in November or December. Check your local and cable listings or go to hgtv.com.

Ron Brohm is a regular contributor to this newspaper.

Renée James

Renée James Jewelry Shines

Local designer, gemologist displays her craft

By Ron Brohm - Contributing Writer

RUSSELLS POINT – A real gem shines out from the rest at Indian Lake when it comes to gemologist extraordinaire, Lauren Duff Major and her signature line of jewelry.

When you’re in the business of helping people celebrate their most memorable moments in life, it takes a lot of creativity, talent and skill. And that’s where Lauren steps in.

She skillfully and professionally custom designs and redesigns jewelry everyday to help people celebrate the special moments in their lives and fulfill their dreams.

Renée James Jewelry is an upscale custom design jewelry studio located right here at Indian Lake in the Aries Building. Founded in 2014, Renée James has become renown regionally for its exquisite skillfully designed custom jewelry.

Educated and trained at the prestigious Gemology Institute of America in Carlsbad, California, Lauren creates a truly unique experience for her clients everyday. While at GIA, she studied applied Jewelry Design where she learned how to design by hand rendering, wax carving and 3D computer aided design.

She also studied Gemology with a concentration in diamonds and gemstones at GIA. In addition, She earned her undergraduate degree at Capital University in Columbus, Ohio where she studied Art Therapy and Psychology.

“I have been designing jewelry since I was 10 years old and it has only evolved over the years to increase my passion for the love of jewelry design,” she explained. “I love what I do. I get to be creative and I get to work with so many different people. It never gets boring and l learn new things everyday. I also love that everything I work with comes directly from the Earth.”

In a leap of faith, Lauren started the business in 2014. “I named my business after my parents. Renée is my mom’s first name and James is my dad’s first name. They have always encouraged me to go after my creative endeavors. I can’t thank them enough for their support and encouragement.”

At Renée James, Lauren focuses on engagement rings, wedding bands and redesigns. She strives to provide her customers with a one-of-a-kind heirloom pieces. She also offers exquisite necklaces, bracelets and earrings.

“I custom design jewelry and specialize in bridal, stackable bands and redesigns. When I meet with a client I like to educated them on diamonds, gemstones, metal and design,” she stated. She is also a diamond buyer getting her diamonds directly from a reputable source.

Renée James offers an extraordinary design process. “I enjoy working with client’s existing materials, but I also offer a wide array of certified diamonds and gemstones,” she maintains. “It is a pleasure to create distinct jewelry to honor life’s most precious moments.”

“I want my customers to feel comfortable, educated and fully aware of the design process from beginning to end.”

Lauren is married to David Major of Urbana. David is a manager of Customer Supply Chain for Treehouse Foods.

The couple were filmed this past summer on an episode of the HGTV show, “Island Life” – which is expected to air in early December of this year.

Some upcoming Holiday Events for Renee James Jewelry include; the Renée James Holiday Open House at their store location on November 24 from 10 a.m. to 6 p.m., November 25 from 10 a.m. to 6 p.m., and November 26 from noon to 5 p.m.

Also, a Bourbon, Beer, and Bling Guy’s Night Out will take place at Longview Cove on November 30 from 5:30 to 8 p.m.

Renée James Jewelry’s store is located at 8200 OH 366, Russells Point, Ohio 43348

Phone: 937-539-2371

Ron Brohm is a regular contributor to this newspaper.