Fans who've spent almost a full five seasons watching Erin and Ben Napier fix up old houses in an effort to revitalize their city of Laurel, Mississippi will know that the Home Town couple have become HGTV stars for good reason. Not only do Ben and Erin care a lot about the history of each house they renovate, but they also care about making sure each home is perfect for their clients and helps to make their town better overall. It might be a surprise to find out that the Napiers weren't looking to become famous for their work, and they've shared the funny story of just how Home Town came to be.
Erin and Ben Napier are now well-known for the amount of care and consideration they put into renovating old homes, and trying to make sure that said renovation respects and nods toward the history of every property they update. It might seem like the twosome felt that they were destined to have a series like Home Town which shows off their hard work, but it turns out that wasn't the case. According to a chat the Napiers had with Country Living, they actually thought that the HGTV producer who first contacted them was only interested in buying stationary from Erin's invitation business.
Those who watch Home Town will know that Erin and Ben Napier are Grade A entrepreneurs and own several businesses based in Laurel. One of the earliest, though, was Erin's invitation and wedding stationary company, Lucky Luxe, which had begun as a way to showcase her freelance design work right after college and took off after getting some national recognition. It turns out that the attention led HGTV producer Lindsey Weidhorn (who's also helped to launch staples like Fixer Upper, Good Bones, and Hidden Potential) to her Instagram, where she spent a while "stalking" their adventures before eventually getting in contact and telling Napier:
I'm in love with you, and I'm in love with your husband, and I'm in love with your town.
This, of course, has led to massive success for both HGTV and Erin and Ben Napier, who've become stars in their own right and made their little town famous in the process of showcasing the people, artisans and homes of the area on Home Town. Can you imagine how different things would have been if, say, Erin had missed the message from Weidhorn all those years ago? We'd miss all those shots of the 6 foot 6 inch Ben just barely fitting through doorways, and all of those lovely illustrations Erin does of each house when she re-imagines the design.
Ben and Erin Napier know how odd their road to getting Home Town was, but, as Erin noted, both are grateful for everything it's come to mean to them:
I traveled a lot in college, and when you travel, you realize how special the place you're from really is...We wanted to change people's perceptions of small towns in general. We knew that we might be sacrificing our personal lives and privacy, but we would do that as long as Laurel could finally represent Small Town, USA, in the most positive way possible. Ben and I may be getting the attention, but this show belongs to the entire town. There's an army of people here devoting their skills to making it the boomtown it used to be.
Thanks to Ben and Erin Napier, their Home Town is really helping many of the citizens of Laurel shine, and all because of a booming stationary business.
Home Town Season 5 is airing right now on HGTV, Sundays at 8 p.m. EST, but for more to watch, check out our guide to early 2021 TV premieres!
