# BOUDIEFUL Studio Bus
## Title
BOUDIEFUL by Megan • www.boudieful.com
Farmington, New Mexico / Four Corners • 505-608-4566 • megan@boudieful.com
BOUDIEFUL
The BOUDIEFUL Skoolie Studio
The downtown studio closed in early 2025 and every session since has been on location. This is the room that travels: a full-size school bus becoming a parked pop-up set, dark, moody, editorial, and built by the community that will shoot in it.
| Label | Value |
| --- | --- |
| The asset | 35–40 ft International, gutted to bare metal |
| The look | Matte black, dark walnut, velvet drape, gold |
| The product | Four seasonal sets in one shell |
| The funding | Founding memberships, sponsors, barter, pre-sold sessions |
## One Room, All Of It
One brand. One flexible room.
There is no separate Whimsy storefront. The Skoolie Studio is the one flexible room.
| Label | Name | Status | Detail |
| --- | --- | --- | --- |
| The room nobody has to rent | WHIMSY & WOO WOO | Decided 5 September 2026 — no lease being pursued | Whimsy & Woo Woo is not a second address and it is not the bus. It is the creative-wellness layer of BOUDIEFUL — Reiki, member gatherings, workshops and seasonal experiences — and it happens inside the Skoolie Studio. No lease, no rent, no build-out permit, no landlord's yes. That removes the largest fixed cost the old plan carried. |
| The only room there is | THE SKOOLIE STUDIO | Owned outright, gutted to bare metal — in Stage 0 now | BOUDIEFUL's next physical studio: one 35–40 ft room that holds portraits, Reiki, the Dress Closet and the small retail moment, re-dressed monthly or whenever I want a new mood. Phase 1 is parked at the family property and clients come to it. It is driven, parked, levelled and set up before anyone comes aboard, and clients are never transported in it. |
What lives on board, not in a lease
| Icon | Item |
| --- | --- |
| :icon-shirt: | 150+ gowns, XS–5X |
| :icon-hand-heart: | The Reiki table |
| :icon-lightbulb: | The same lights and backdrops |
| :icon-users: | The Big Cyster community |
| :icon-calendar: | One client list, one calendar |
| :icon-shield-check: | One LLC — coverage still to be quoted |
The hierarchy, said the same way every time: BOUDIEFUL is the business, the Skoolie Studio is the room, Whimsy & Woo Woo is what happens inside it. Nothing gets bought twice because there is only one room to furnish. The set is meant to change: a monthly re-dress swaps the drape, the props and the styling without touching the structure underneath.
## The Asset
The asset / current state
A bare metal tube with a five year head start
https://d6yvfl55smr7u.cloudfront.net/assets/dr163wth-1788558230272-bus-tour-video.mp4
Actual gutted interior photo & video walk-through
Video tour
Interior photo
| Label | Detail |
| --- | --- |
| Purchase price | $2,000, paid in full. Owned outright, no note and no payment — money already spent, not part of any ask |
| Vehicle | Full-size International school bus, roughly 35–40 ft |
| Interior | Gutted to bare metal. Floor stripped, seats and rubber out, surface rust and old adhesive, wheel wells exposed |
| Sat idle | About five years, currently parked at family property |
| Mechanical | Unverified after sitting. A $150 diesel look-over comes before any interior spend |
Everything above is a starting point, not a problem. The shell is the expensive part, it cost $2,000, and it is already paid for. That $2,000 is spent money, so it never appears in the funding target.
## Walk-Through
Unedited walk-through / filmed inside the bus
Bare metal, full length, nothing staged.
Real footage of the actual interior — not a render
https://d6yvfl55smr7u.cloudfront.net/assets/dr163wth-1788558230272-bus-tour-video.mp4
Sound is off — tap the speaker to hear the walk-through
Sound on — drag the bar to set the level
:icon-play:
:icon-pause:
:icon-volume-2:
:icon-volume-x:
## What's Real, What's Assumed
The honesty ledger
Three columns. Only one of them is allowed to sound like a fact.
The rule for every conversation about this bus: say the left column as fact, say the middle column as a plan, and answer the right column with "I don't know yet." Guessing out loud is how a real project starts sounding like a pitch — and the left column is strong enough on its own.
:icon-chevron-left:
:icon-chevron-right:
| Key | Icon | Label | Blurb |
| --- | --- | --- | --- |
| true | :icon-check-check: | True today | Owned, published, or already happening. Verifiable at boudieful.com or by walking up to the bus. |
| plan | :icon-pencil-ruler: | Planned or assumed | Reasonable, thought through, and completely untested. Say these as intentions, never as results. |
| unknown | :icon-circle-help: | Unknown | Real open questions with a cost attached. Every one of these has to be answered, not assumed. |
| Bucket | Fact |
| --- | --- |
| true | The bus is owned outright, gutted to bare metal, and parked on family property. |
| true | The downtown studio closed in early 2025. Every session since has been on location. |
| true | Published rates: portraits from $525, Signature $750, branding from $550, bundle $1,200, $1 per mile past 30 miles. |
| true | Reiki is an offered service at $333 per hour. |
| true | The client closet is owned: 150+ gowns and statement pieces, XS–5X, already traveling to sessions. |
| true | Founding 50 memberships are live at $99 for one 12-month term. Eleven are claimed, 39 of the original fifty remain, and the term begins when the Skoolie opens for Founding Member booking — not on the day someone pays. |
| true | Published Founding 50 terms: full refund within 14 days, then non-refundable but transferable, a $99 session credit good for 24 months if the project stops, and a 30 June 2027 backstop when the term starts regardless. |
| true | Build partner scopes are live on boudieful.com as named contribution levels: $350 the gates, $400 the book wall, $600 the way in, $1,400 power and climate, $1,800 the rear set. They are contribution levels toward a named scope, not complete installed-cost estimates. |
| true | The First 15 bus sessions at $475 against a planned $625 are an interest list only. No payment is accepted until Stage 0 clears and there is a credible opening window. |
| true | The open-amount sponsor program is retired. There are no Little Spark through Legacy Sponsor tiers and no gift boxes; every partnership is one written scope. |
| true | Contact is published as megan@boudieful.com and 505-608-4566, and every partner and membership enquiry on the site routes to that email. |
| true | The calendar is deliberately capped at one photography session and one Reiki session per week. |
| true | The Stage 0 work is underway: leak test, rust grinding, measurements. |
| plan | Every bus price — $225 mini, $475 founding, $625 signature, $850 with glam, $250 half-day rental — is a proposal. None has been listed or sold. |
| plan | The four seasonal sets are concept renders. Nothing has been built or photographed inside the bus. |
| plan | Scope B, the full-length conversion, was recorded on 5 September 2026 at an estimated $8,800–$17,900 gross as published on boudieful.com over 7–11 months. Not one line of it is quoted. |
| plan | The eight-zone plan is drawn to a 32 ft envelope from proposed proportions, not measurements. There is still no measured floor plan of this bus. |
| plan | No barter agreement is signed. Jade Energy Services, Design Surfaces by Floor Trader, a welder, a sign shop and a seamstress are targets, not partners. |
| plan | No venue has agreed to host a session day. |
| plan | 8–12 clients filling a single mini-session day is an assumption based on other markets, not on a day that has run here. |
| plan | Rental demand from other photographers is unproven. So is per-piece closet rental pricing. |
| plan | Volunteer build days drawing eight to ten people is a hope, not a headcount. |
| true | There is no storefront or studio space in the plan. Whimsy & Woo Woo is an experience layer inside the Skoolie Studio, not a second brand and not the bus itself, and no lease is being pursued. |
| true | No opening date is published. Spring 2027 dates are planned but gated on the shooting zone, insurance, zoning, access and safety clearing. On-location sessions are booking September 2026 through January 2027. |
| true | The bus was bought for $2,000, paid in full. That money is already spent and is not part of the funding target. |
| true | Farmington averages a 93°F summer high and a 19°F winter low, per NOAA. Insulation and climate control are requirements here, not upgrades. |
| plan | The rear-third fallback at $2,610–$3,330 is the stop-here scope if funding or energy runs out. It is an estimate too. |
| plan | Earlier passes of this plan carried $1,580, $1,740 and $1,745–$2,505 as Phase 1 totals. All three described the smaller scope and none of them is the current number. |
| plan | Phase 1 is a parked studio at the family property. Travel to venues is Phase 2, and Phase 2 is neither funded nor legally cleared. |
| plan | Phase 2 roadworthy prep at $2,000–$5,000+ and Phase 3 mobile at $2,000–$6,000+ are placeholders. Neither has a quote or a date. |
| unknown | Whether the title is clean and fully in your name or the LLC — no liens, no salvage branding. Not yet confirmed with MVD. |
| unknown | The GVWR number on the door-frame plate has not been read. It decides the entire CDL question. |
| unknown | Whether a USDOT number is required for intrastate commercial use in New Mexico. One call to NM PRC answers it. |
| unknown | Finished ceiling height after insulation and flooring. Most builds land 72–78 inches, and taller clients need the real number. |
| unknown | Mechanical condition after five years parked. No inspection yet — that is the $150 gate before any interior spend. |
| unknown | Whether the roof leaks, and how badly. The hose test has not been run. |
| unknown | How much sound floor is left under the rust, and whether any panel needs replacing. |
| unknown | Whether the property's zoning allows clients to visit a parked commercial vehicle. |
| unknown | Real commercial insurance cost — parked first, then driven, then with clients aboard. |
| unknown | New Mexico's rules on pre-sold session expiration, and how barter income is treated at tax time. |
| unknown | Whether volunteers on a build day are covered by any existing policy — and whether organized unpaid work for a for-profit business is permissible at all. The Department of Labor is explicit that employees cannot volunteer services to a private for-profit employer, so this needs a legal read. |
| unknown | Whether the floor will carry a filled bathtub. No load has been calculated and the bay may need a steel frame. |
| unknown | The actual amperage, breaker protection and combined equipment load at the house outlet. A standard outlet gives 15 amps and stays 15 amps regardless of the cord. |
| unknown | Whether the bone throne can hold a seated adult. It has no weight rating and no build detail yet. |
| unknown | Whether the bus can be registered and driven at all, or stays a parked set indefinitely. |
| unknown | The BTU load for the finished insulated volume. Until it is calculated, the heating and cooling unit — and its amp draw — is a guess. |
| unknown | Where clients use a bathroom. House access, an onboard cassette toilet and venue restrooms are three different builds and none is chosen. |
| unknown | The GVWR plate and the empty weight of the gutted shell. Without both, the remaining payload for a heavy build is unknown. |
| unknown | Whether a city business registration, home occupation clearance or vendor permit is required, and what each costs. No call has been made to the city or county. |
| unknown | How barter is reported on both sides — 1099-B and gross receipts. An accountant answers this before any trade is signed. |
| plan | Fire, egress and first aid gear — alarms, extinguisher, fire blanket, treated fabric, step lighting — is estimated at $400–$900 and is not inside the Scope B budget. None of it is bought. |
| plan | Operating cost after opening is estimated near $725 a month, insurance included at a placeholder $250. It has never been quoted or tracked. |
| plan | Water for the tub is not in the plan or the budget. The tub stays dry-staged unless plumbing is funded as its own approved phase. |
| plan | The sponsorship agreement, the barter agreement, the host site agreement and the one-page leave-behind are all unwritten. Sponsor money should not be collected until the first is signed-ready. |
## Why This Works
The governing principle
Drivable and shootable are two builds. Only one of them takes photographs.
| Label | Name | Cost | Amount | Detail |
| --- | --- | --- | --- | --- |
| Path A — conventional | Drivable first | $4,000 – $6,000 | 6000 | Tires, brakes, fluids, batteries, injectors, registration, commercial insurance. Necessary eventually, and none of it makes a single photograph. |
| Path B — ours | Shootable first | $2,610 – $3,330 | 3330 | The first sellable zone: floor, insulation, wall, curtain and light in the rear third. It is one hundred percent of what a client sees, and it is the first slice of the full-length build, not a different project. |
The sequence
Make one zone shootable → sell from it → finish the full length → then make it drivable.
## Pick One Model First
Business model / pick one, not three
The bus can earn three ways. It only has to earn one way to be worth finishing.
What this model requires
+$3,000–$10,000
Realistic added cost to go from parked studio to a touring one: commercial auto insurance, mechanical reliability, the CDL question, USDOT registration and per-event permits — on top of the interior build.
Build Phase 1 as Model A only. Once that feels easy and is earning, layer in Model C for select elopements. Only consider Model B if you actively want the grind and have the capacity for event logistics. Model A is the first real win, and it is enough.
| Code | Name | Stage | Verdict | Detail | Risk |
| --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- |
| Model A | Parked Studio + Billboard | Phase 1 — build this one | now | The bus lives at the family property. Clients come to it. It doubles as content set for BOUDIEFUL and WHIMSY & WOO WOO, and as a visible sign from the road. Lowest cost, lowest regulatory headache, no commercial driving beyond getting it onto the property. | The first real win, and it is enough. |
| Model B | High-Volume Mini-Sessions | Later — optional, maybe never | caution | Drive to high-traffic events: art walks, the Shiprock Fair, RV parks near Balloon Fiesta, parking deals at markets. Ten to twenty minute minis stacked back to back from inside or just outside the bus. | The biggest revenue engine, and the model most likely to fry you. |
| Model C | Elopement Basecamp | Later — the preferred upgrade | later | The bus becomes a VIP changing suite and cool-down room at trailheads, glamping resorts, wineries and mountain towns. Couples get privacy and climate control; the ceremony and portraits happen out in the landscape. | Slower pace, higher ticket, and it fits the way you actually work. |
| Model | Icon | Need |
| --- | --- | --- |
| Model A | :icon-plug: | An outdoor outlet and a heavy-gauge cord |
| Model A | :icon-map-pin: | Permission to park where it already sits, with clients visiting |
| Model A | :icon-shield: | General liability and a policy that covers clients aboard a parked vehicle |
| Model A | :icon-wrench: | Nothing mechanical beyond getting it onto the property |
| Model B | :icon-truck: | A roadworthy, fully inspected, commercially insured bus |
| Model B | :icon-file-text: | Event permits and vendor fees, roughly $0–$500 per event |
| Model B | :icon-id-card: | The CDL question answered, and possibly a USDOT number |
| Model B | :icon-battery-charging: | Off-grid power, because event lots do not have outlets |
| Model B | :icon-activity: | A nervous system ready for full-throttle days |
| Model C | :icon-truck: | The same roadworthy, insured bus as Model B |
| Model C | :icon-handshake: | Written agreements with trailheads, resorts and wineries |
| Model C | :icon-battery-charging: | Battery or generator power for locations with no shore power |
| Model C | :icon-mountain: | Public-land rules checked per site — some need a commercial use permit |
## Where You Can Stop
Phasing / three gates, not one project
Every phase is a place you are allowed to stop and still have won.
If you stop here
The point of phasing it this way is to keep the bus from becoming another unfinished shrine to "I should be doing more." Phase 1 is the whole promise, and inside it the ten zones are built in order so every dollar spent has already produced a finished zone. Phases 2 and 3 are optional, they are not funded, and neither one has a date. Every figure here is an estimate.
| Stage | Name | Cash | Low | High | Stop here |
| --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- |
| Phase 1 | Parked Studio — Scope B, full length | $8,800–$17,900 | 8800 | 17900 | A finished full-length studio, parked, earning, with the tub, book wall, coffin and throne in it. This is the only phase this plan is asking anyone to fund. Stopping partway still leaves finished zones, and stopping at the rear third alone costs $2,610–$3,330. |
| Phase 2 | Roadworthy Prep | $2,000–$5,000+ | 2000 | 5000 | The bus can now legally and safely reach selected in-state locations. Venue days become possible instead of theoretical. |
| Phase 3 | Truly Mobile | $2,000–$6,000+ | 2000 | 6000 | Off-grid, all-season, branded outside. This is the version people picture first, and it is the last thing that gets built, not the first. |
| Stage | Icon | Item |
| --- | --- | --- |
| Phase 1 | :icon-shield-check: | Rust treated, windows sealed, roof leaks patched |
| Phase 1 | :icon-layers: | Insulated walls and ceiling, panels up, floor down, interior painted |
| Phase 1 | :icon-plug: | Shore power inlet, breaker box, outlets, LED strips |
| Phase 1 | :icon-thermometer: | Window AC and a space heater — good enough, not perfect |
| Phase 1 | :icon-shirt: | Curtained changing nook, mirror, gown racks, seating, storage |
| Phase 1 | :icon-map-pin: | Lives at the family property. Model A only. |
| Phase 2 | :icon-wrench: | Full mechanical inspection by a trusted shop |
| Phase 2 | :icon-circle-gauge: | Brakes, tires, steering, suspension, lights and fluids brought to road safety |
| Phase 2 | :icon-file-text: | Commercial registration completed and commercial auto insurance activated |
| Phase 2 | :icon-id-card: | CDL or driver plan settled, and a USDOT number if required |
| Phase 2 | :icon-triangle-alert: | Budget depends entirely on what the mechanic finds — this range is a guess |
| Phase 3 | :icon-sun: | Generator or solar and battery for locations with no outlet |
| Phase 3 | :icon-thermometer-snowflake: | Mini-split heat pump instead of a window unit, $800–$1,500 |
| Phase 3 | :icon-paintbrush: | Exterior paint or full wrap, plus an awning or entry styling |
| Phase 3 | :icon-route: | Model C elopement basecamp itineraries across the Four Corners |
## Four Seasonal Sets
One shell / a new set whenever I want one
Structure is built once. The set changes monthly, or any time I feel like it.
Right side is a concept render — art direction, not a photograph. Nothing here has been built or shot inside the bus yet.
Bare metal today
Concept set
Drag the gold line to reveal
:icon-move-horizontal:
| Tab | Season | Name | Props | Render |
| --- | --- | --- | --- | --- |
| Dark floral | Year-round anchor · re-dress any month | Dark Floral Boudoir | Red velvet armchair on black velvet, burgundy and blush floral mural panels, gold skull vessels holding peacock feathers, gold filigree folding screen. |  |
| Blue + gold | Editorial rotation · a month at a time | Blue and Gold Lounge | Sapphire velvet tufted sofa against a navy and gold agate mural, mustard bolster and rust throw, hammered gold pendant, rattan poufs. |  |
| Botanical | Warm-month rotation · greenhouse | Botanical Bath | Black and gold clawfoot tub with bubbles and white orchids, cascading ivy over the windows, leather butterfly chair with sheepskin, jute rug, brass lanterns. |  |
| Book wall | Cold-month rotation · holiday | Winter Book Wall | Open vintage books in a lit grid with gold ornaments and evergreen garland, fairy lights, clawfoot tub in white bubbles trimmed with garland, deep green velvet. |  |
## Build Scope
Fallback scope · superseded by Scope B
If the money stops, ten feet still works.
Front two thirds — raw metal, gear staging
Rear 10–12 ft — the camera frame
Every reference photo is shot from the rear door. Ten to twelve feet in is the last thing in focus.
One blackout curtain across the bus at the twelve foot mark reads on camera as the end of the room.
Scope B, the full-length conversion, is the chosen plan as of 5 September 2026. This rear-third version is kept deliberately as the fallback: if funding, time or energy runs out mid-build, stopping here leaves a working set instead of a half-finished bus. Nothing bought for it is wasted, since the same track, panels and methods carry forward.
| Item |
| --- |
| Rear 10–12 ft of subfloor and finish floor |
| Wall panels and matte black paint, same span |
| Aluminum curtain track both sides plus rear |
| One swappable backdrop panel on cleats |
| One track lighting run and one power circuit |
| Welded step platform with rails both sides |
| Item |
| --- |
| Bare metal floor, sealed but unfinished |
| Unfinished walls and original ceiling |
| Gear staging, prop and panel storage |
| Off-duty backdrop panels stored flat |
| Blackout curtain wall at the 12 ft mark |
| Built out later, from revenue |
## Climate Reality
Climate / the line item that was missing
A bare metal bus is an oven in July and an icebox in January.
Outside, Farmington average
Inside, bare metal
Inside, insulated + powered
| Tab | Outside | Bare | Built | Note |
| --- | --- | --- | --- | --- |
| July | 93°F | 110°F+ | Tolerable | 93°F is the Farmington average summer high, per NOAA. A sealed metal tube in direct sun runs well past 110°F inside. Nobody undresses in that room, and no amount of good art direction fixes it. |
| January | 19°F | Near outside | Tolerable | 19°F is the average winter low. Uninsulated steel holds no heat at all, so inside sits within a few degrees of outside. A client in a gown lasts minutes, not a session. |
| Icon | Spec |
| --- | --- |
| :icon-layers: | Rigid foam board on walls and ceiling. Polyiso runs R-6 per inch, EPS R-3.85 per inch, so polyiso buys more warmth per inch of lost width. |
| :icon-wind: | A used 5,000–8,000 BTU window AC and a ceramic space heater on shore power. Good enough, not perfect. A mini-split at $800–$1,500 is the later upgrade. |
| :icon-fan: | One roof vent fan for airflow and condensation, so the room does not fog or smell closed up. |
| :icon-cable: | Electrical goes in before the walls close. Wires buried behind finished panels is the one mistake on this build that cannot be undone cheaply. |
This is a correction to the itemized Phase 1 list, which covered floor, wall, curtain and light but not wall and ceiling insulation or climate control. Adding both is roughly $630 to $1,150 more in cash. Insulation is not a comfort upgrade on this build, it is what makes the room usable in a Farmington July, and the honest number has to carry it.
## Three Gates Before A Dollar
Pre-spend gates / before paint, floor or curtains
Three questions that can end this project cheaply.
The call
Green light
Stop and regroup
:icon-circle-check:
:icon-octagon-x:
| Tab | Question | How to check | Pass | Stop | Call |
| --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- |
| Title | Is the title clean and in your name? | Confirm the title is fully transferred out of the school district or prior owner and into your name or the LLC. Check for liens, and for salvage or branding you never agreed to. | Clean title, no liens, your name on it. Build, barter and volunteer days can all be scheduled. | If the paper is messy, that gets fixed first. No build, no barter deals, no Founding 15 work day goes on a calendar until the title is clean — you do not insure or improve a vehicle you cannot prove you own. | NM MVD — bring the VIN |
| Rust | Is the skeleton sound, or just ugly? | Get under it, or pay a mechanic to. Check floor ribs and crossmembers, wheel wells, frame rails, and the metal around the rear emergency door. Then use a screwdriver. | Surface rust — orange and brown, but the metal is still solid under it. Wire-brush, treat with rust converter, prime, keep going. This is the expected outcome. | Structural rust — flaking layers, holes, or metal you can push a screwdriver through. That is a mechanic's opinion before another dollar, not a weekend of grinding and hope. | Any diesel shop — roughly $150 |
| GVWR | What does it take to legally drive it? | Find the GVWR plate on the driver's door frame or the VIN plate. Full-size school buses generally land between 23,500 and 36,000 lbs. That number decides the whole licensing question. | Over 26,000 lbs used commercially can require a CDL. Under 26,000 lbs a regular license often works — but commercial use can still trigger extra rules either way, so the number gets confirmed, not assumed. | If the answer is CDL, that does not kill the plan. It means the bus stays a parked set at the family property while the driving question gets solved separately, on its own budget. | NM MVD — ask about a converted school bus used as a mobile photography studio |
The win here is catching a hard no before sinking $2,500 and two hundred hours of donated labor into the wrong bus. All three answers are free or nearly free. None of them has been gotten yet.
## Phase 0 — Assessment
Phase 0 — this month, under $300
Nothing gets finished over rust.
:icon-check:
Checked off
Phase total
Tasks
| Task | Cost |
| --- | --- |
| Leak test: hose on the roof, lights off inside, mark every drip | 0 |
| Seal what you find — lap sealant and Sikaflex | 60 |
| Hammer-tap the whole floor, chalk the soft spots | 0 |
| Measure and write down every dimension | 0 |
| Grind rust — flap discs and wire cup | 40 |
| Rust converter and encapsulating primer, back third | 90 |
| Seam sealer over rivets and panel joints | 40 |
| Respirator and cartridges | 45 |
| Photograph every stage on your phone | 0 |
| Diesel shop look-over before any interior spend | 150 |
Measurements that matter most: interior width at the narrowest point, wheel wells both sides, ceiling height at center and sides, window sill height, and the rear door opening — the one people forget, and the one that decides which sofa you can buy. Then re-measure ceiling height **after** insulation and flooring go in: most builds land around 72–78 inches, and the true number is what lets you pose taller clients comfortably and set that expectation in the client guide before she arrives.
The rust rule while you grind: orange and brown with solid metal underneath is surface rust — treat it and keep going. Flaking layers, holes, or metal a screwdriver goes through is structural, and that is a mechanic's call before another dollar goes in.
## Phase 1 — Cash List
Fallback scope — the shootable back third
The rear third, itemized.
Full list
Stripped to the bone
Cash outlay
| Item | Qty | Full | Lean |
| --- | --- | --- | --- |
| 3/4" exterior plywood subfloor | 4 sheets | 200 | 200 |
| Self-tapping screws, construction adhesive | — | 40 | 40 |
| 1" polyiso rigid foam, floor only | 3 sheets | 60 | 60 |
| Aluminum ceiling curtain track + carriers | 40 ft | 200 | 200 |
| Blackout drape by the bolt (velvet / poly) | 60–70 yd | 250 | 150 |
| 1/4" luan wall panels | 4 sheets | 120 | 0 |
| Flat black paint, primer, rollers | — | 90 | 90 |
| Electrical materials — Jade Energy Services installs | — | 250 | 200 |
| Track lighting + 4 dimmable heads | — | 120 | 120 |
| Flameless LED candles, bulk | 40 ct | 60 | 40 |
| Backdrop panel: plywood, cleats, mural vinyl | 1 | 120 | 0 |
| CO detector, smoke detector, extinguisher | — | 70 | 70 |
Two things are missing from this list on purpose. Flooring material and install sit on Design Surfaces by Floor Trader's side of an unsigned barter — if it falls through, add $400–600. Wall and ceiling insulation and climate control are not here either, and they are not optional in a Farmington July: add roughly $630–$1,150 for the honest all-in number.
About $1,580 in cash buys the surfaces a client will pay to be photographed against. It does not yet buy a room they can stand in comfortably in August. Add this list's own omissions back and the same scope is $2,210–$2,730, or $2,610–$3,330 if the flooring trade falls through. Quantities are unmeasured: the 40 ft of track and the drape yardage disagree with the shopping list elsewhere in this plan, and both wait on one measured floor plan. This list covers the fallback scope only — the chosen full-length build is budgeted separately at $8,800–$17,900.
Poly drape instead of velvet, black-painted ribs instead of panels, a book wall instead of a mural. Nothing lost on camera at f/2.8.
## Eight Phases, One Budget
Fallback scope · rear third · eight phases
The rear-third build, low end to high end, with nothing hidden.
Low end
High end
Cash out of pocket
Traded, if both deals land
| Phase | Cash low | Cash high | Barter low | Barter high |
| --- | --- | --- | --- | --- |
| Safety & structural — rust, seals, roof leak | 100 | 150 | 0 | 0 |
| Insulation & walls — foam, furring, panels | 450 | 800 | 0 | 0 |
| Flooring — underlayment, subfloor, finish | 150 | 250 | 300 | 600 |
| Electrical & lighting — shore power, outlets, LED | 300 | 500 | 500 | 1000 |
| Climate basics — window AC, heater, vent fan | 180 | 350 | 0 | 0 |
| Furniture & storage — gown racks, seating, bins | 140 | 265 | 0 | 0 |
| Changing nook — track, curtain, mirror, hooks | 50 | 100 | 0 | 0 |
| Decor & branding — paint, signage, textiles | 175 | 350 | 0 | 0 |
The low end assumes aggressive thrifting, surplus foam board, and both barter deals landing. The high end assumes retail prices and a few surprises. Neither number is a quote. Add $200–$300 of contingency for the stripped screw and the wrong-size fitting, because there will be one.
**This is the rear-third total.** Of the three figures this plan has carried — $1,580, $1,740 and this range — only this one includes insulation, finish flooring and climate control, so it is the honest number for the fallback scope. It is **not** the chosen scope: Scope B, the full-length conversion, was chosen on 5 September 2026 at $8,800–$17,900. Quote sponsors from the Scope B budget, and use this page only if the build has to stop at the rear third.
## Scope A or Scope B
Decided 5 Sep 2026 · full-length conversion
Scope B is chosen. Every number now gets rebuilt under it.
What this scope includes
What it does not include
Build window (after gates clear)
Main risk
Chosen scope · still not a quote
Recorded 5 September 2026: **Scope B, the full-length conversion, published at boudieful.com at $8,800–$17,900.** Scope A stays on the deck as the fallback if funding or energy runs out at $2,610–$3,330. Both bands are estimated from retail and thrift prices, not from quotes in hand, and both assume the three gates clear first. Two things are still outstanding before Scope B can be quoted: one measured floor plan, and written vendor quotes for the eight zones.
| Tab | Icon | Name | Subtitle | Cost band | Band note | Included | Excluded | Timeline | Risk |
| --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- |
| Scope A · fallback | :icon-square: | Starter Set — rear third only | A 10–12 ft finished set at the back. Everything forward of the set wall stays bare metal and is never photographed. | $2,610–$3,330 | Estimated cash, insulation and flooring included, flooring trade assumed to fail | Rear 10–12 ft: subfloor and finish flooring, wall and ceiling insulation, set wall, one window-track run, drape, one light, portable climate control, steps and a rail at the entry, a safe walk path from door to set. | The tub, the book wall, the LED coffin, the bone throne, the second track run, the front two-thirds, anything mechanical, anything that makes it drivable. | 6–9 weeks | Clients walk past bare metal to reach a finished room |
| Scope B · chosen | :icon-maximize: | Full-Length Conversion | The whole shell finished end to end, with the four signature pieces you actually want on camera and both window runs on track. | $8,800–$17,900 | Published at boudieful.com, eight zones plus assessment and shell prep, 7–11 months, parked use only | Full-length subfloor, insulation and finish flooring, finished walls and ceiling, both window-track runs, and the four pieces you already own — the black-and-gold tub, the open-book wall, the LED coffin and the bone throne — transported, inspected, repaired where needed, mounted and secured rather than bought again. Plus hard-wired shore inlet and panel, sized climate control, wardrobe millwork, entry platform, and the rear seasonal set. | Tub plumbing, which is a separate $250–$700 option and only after the floor is confirmed. Engine, brakes, tires, title and plate work, anything that makes it road legal, travel to venues, a generator or battery bank. | 7–11 months | Long stretch with nothing sellable and no revenue |
## Full-Length Plan (Scope B)
Scope B — the full-length conversion
Every foot of the shell has a job. Tap a zone.
Eight zones drawn to a 32 ft planning envelope: 3+3+4+5+3+4+4+6. The shell's real length is unverified, so this fits the envelope, not a measurement. Utilities and drawers share depth under other zones rather than taking a section of their own.
Front / door
Rear
Estimated cash band
Status · record · last checked
Zones, front to rear
Four signature pieces are already owned, so their bands price transport, inspection, repair, mounting and securing — not replacement or fabrication. Tub plumbing is a separate approved option at $250–$700 and is not in any band here. Real spans start with a tape measure, a wheel-well and window survey, and a finished ceiling height taken after insulation and flooring.
| Zone | Icon | Span | Detail | Band | Status |
| --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- |
| Entry & platform | :icon-door-open: | 3 ft | The way in. Two options are still open and they are not the same project: a removable exterior landing with handrails, or replacing the factory steps outright. Pick one before any welding quote is requested, because the second is structural work on the body. Either way it improves access for most bodies; neither makes the bus wheelchair accessible, and the plan should never claim it does. | $600–$1,200 | Design only · no drawing yet · landing-versus-steps undecided |
| Power & climate bay | :icon-plug-zap: | 3 ft | Hard-wired shore inlet, small panel, protected runs to outlets and lighting circuits, and a properly sized climate unit with a defined cooled volume. Sits behind and beneath the wardrobe drawers rather than claiming its own section of floor. Parked shore power only, no generator and no battery bank. The available supply, its breaker and the combined load all have to be confirmed in writing by an electrician before anything is bought. | $1,400–$2,600 | Unquoted · supply capacity at the property unverified |
| Wardrobe run | :icon-shirt: | 4 ft | Selected gowns rotated in from the 150+ gown collection, XS through 5X: a full-height hanging run sized for one season's selection, a mirror, a change area with a real curtain, and drawers underneath for shoes and accessories. The full collection does not live in four feet and is not meant to. Wardrobe is owned already; this is millwork to hold a rotating pull. | $700–$1,400 | Wardrobe owned · millwork not designed · rotation size unset |
| Tub bay | :icon-bath: | 5 ft | The existing black-and-gold tub, retained and dry-staged: transported in, inspected, set on a reinforced platform, secured, with a waterproof surround and a window run behind it for the light that makes the shot. Dry means dry — no fill line and no drain in this band. Water is a separately approved option at $250–$700, only after the floor structure is confirmed to take a filled tub, and it is not quietly folded into a photography prop. | $450–$1,100 | Tub owned · dry-staged only · structural load unverified |
| Book wall | :icon-library: | 3 ft | The existing open-book installation, retained: mounted to a backing wall with a leather chair and a lamp in front of it. This is not a new library of thrifted hardbacks and should not be priced as one. The band covers backing, secure mounting, any repair the inspection turns up, and the chair and lamp if they are not already on hand. | $250–$600 | Installation owned · mounting method undecided · spans not measured |
| LED coffin lounge | :icon-flashlight: | 4 ft | The existing LED coffin, retained and reused as a lit prop and a bench: transported in, wiring checked, velvet lining repaired where it needs it, then secured with a matte black surround so it reads as furniture rather than a gag. Its light gets pulled off the lighting circuit with its own switch. Nothing here is a new build unless the inspection says a part has to be replaced. | $250–$650 | Coffin owned · wiring not inspected · mounting undecided |
| Bone throne set | :icon-crown: | 4 ft | The existing bone throne, retained: transported in, placed on a low riser against a dark textured wall, secured, with a track run overhead so the drape can close behind it. Before it goes on camera, the throne, its mounting and the platform get looked at by someone qualified to assess them, and whatever limit they establish gets written down. No one load-tests it by sitting in it hard, and no weight rating gets invented. | $300–$800 | Throne owned · qualified inspection not booked · no rated limit |
| Rear seasonal set | :icon-camera: | 6 ft | The changeable room: the deepest shooting zone at the back, on both window-track runs, where the four seasonal dressings swap in and out. Structure is built once — floor, insulation, walls, ceiling, track, one light — and only the dressing changes with the season. In the fallback scope this zone is the entire project; here it is one room among eight. | $1,800–$3,400 | Same zone as the fallback starter set · nothing built |
## Full-Length Budget (Scope B)
Scope B — one budget, one arithmetic chain
The full conversion, priced zone by zone.
Thrifted low
Retail high
Subtotal
Contingency
Gross cost to finish Scope B: $8,800 to $17,900 over 7–11 months
Estimate published at boudieful.com, not a quote
Eight zones plus assessment and shell preparation — matching the $8,800 to $17,900 scope published at www.boudieful.com. The four owned pieces (tub, open-book wall, LED coffin, bone throne) are priced for transport, inspection, repair, mounting and securing, not replacement. Tub plumbing is excluded and needs separate approval at $250–$700. The bus shell cost $2,000, paid in full, so it sits outside this range as spent money. Parked use only; road legal is a separate $4,000–$6,000.
| Zone / system | Thrifted low | Retail high |
| --- | --- | --- |
| Gates & assessment — diesel look-over, roof test, zoning answer | $350 | $600 |
| Shell prep — rust grinding, primer, roof and seam seal | $500 | $900 |
| Entry & platform — landing or new steps, handrail, threshold light | $600 | $1,200 |
| Power & climate bay — shore inlet, panel, circuits, sized unit | $1,400 | $2,600 |
| Wardrobe run — hanging rail, mirror, change curtain, drawers | $700 | $1,400 |
| Tub bay — owned tub moved and secured, platform, surround, dry only | $450 | $1,100 |
| Book wall — owned installation mounted, backing, chair, lamp | $250 | $600 |
| Coffin lounge — owned LED coffin moved, wiring checked, lining, mount | $250 | $650 |
| Throne set — owned throne moved, riser, mounting, inspection, track | $300 | $800 |
| Rear seasonal set — both track runs, drape, one light, dressing | $1,800 | $3,400 |
## Funding The First Phase
Funding Scope B · tap a source
One rule: gross cost, minus confirmed in-kind, minus available cash.
Gross cost, before barter
$8,800 thrifted
$17,900 retail
Remaining funding need
Covered — stop adding obligations
Available build cash
Confirmed in-kind — lowers the bill once, never counted as cash
Restricted — held, refundable, not available to spend
Nothing is selected because nothing is confirmed. Select what already exists in writing.
| Icon | Source | Amount | Value | Kind | Status | Note |
| --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- |
| :icon-users: | Founding Memberships | 16 × $99 = $1,584 | 1584 | cash | Live · 11 spots claimed · 39 remaining | Open at $99 for the year, capped at fifty. Claimed spots are not the same as cash sitting available for plywood, and each one carries a birthday mini to deliver. |
| :icon-badge-dollar-sign: | Sponsor Tiers | $25 → $500+ | 750 | cash | Live · nothing pledged | Little Spark at $25 through Legacy at $500 plus. The $750 here is a mid estimate, not a pledge. Zone sponsorships stay held against their named zone. |
| :icon-camera: | Pre-sold Sessions | 6 × $475 = $2,850 held | 2850 | restricted | Not listed yet · fully refundable until the doors open | Refundable in full means the whole amount stays in a separate account and none of it buys materials. It becomes earned income one session at a time, as each session is shot. |
| :icon-handshake: | Barter Offset | $1,200 in labor | 1200 | in-kind | Nothing signed · not assumed in the budget | Never cash. The gross budget subtracts no barter, so confirmed in-kind work is subtracted here, once, and lowers the bill instead of raising the funding. |
| :icon-wallet: | Your Own Cash | $300 | 300 | cash | Only you know this one | The honest line. Put the real number in, then size every other source around what is left. |
Gross cost − confirmed in-kind savings − available build cash = remaining funding need. Restricted money never enters that subtraction: pre-sold sessions are refundable and held, and zone sponsorships are held against their named zone. The $2,000 already spent to buy the bus is owner money that is gone, not cash on hand, so it lowers nothing here. Everything countable at full value is about $2,600 of available cash against an $8,800 gross low (as published at boudieful.com), so Scope B needs zone sponsors, a longer build window, or both.
## Interior Layout
Early zoning sketch · superseded by the ten-zone Scope B plan
The first pass: five zones in a tube seven and a half feet wide.
Roughly 30–35 ft of interior length • about 7.5 ft wide • unmeasured, and finished ceiling height after insulation and flooring is still unknown — most builds land 72–78 in.
| Icon | Tab | Position | Name | Phase | Detail |
| --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- |
| :icon-clipboard-list: | Check-in | Front — driver's area | Check-in | Built later, from revenue | The driver's area stays minimal and becomes the consultation spot: a small thrifted desk, a laptop, a charging station. It is the first three feet a client sees, so it has to read as organized rather than under construction. |
| :icon-shirt: | Gowns | Front-middle | Gown closet & seating | Phase 6 — furniture & storage | Rolling racks along the street-side wall carry the 150+ gown closet in XS–5X. Curb side gets a bench or two folding chairs on a rug. This is where a nervous client sits, breathes, touches fabric, and stops being nervous. |
| :icon-camera: | Shooting | Middle — the largest span | Shooting space | Phases 2–4 — the Phase 1 build | Clear floor, clean walls, controlled light. Bus windows curtained or diffused, supplemented by LED strips and strobes. Backdrop panels store rolled against one wall. This is the only zone a camera ever sees, which is exactly why it gets built first. |
| :icon-square-split-horizontal: | Changing | Mid-rear | Changing nook | Phase 7 — changing nook | Curtained floor to ceiling in opaque fabric, with a full-length mirror, hooks for gowns and a small stool. Positioned so window light reaches the mirror while the curtain fully blocks the view from the shooting space. Privacy here is not a nicety, it is the product. |
| :icon-package: | Storage | Rear — through the back door | Storage & climate | Phases 5–6 | Shelving and bins for lights, stands, backdrops and props. The window AC or heater mounts here with the roof vent above it. The back door stays functional for loading gear, which means nothing permanent can block it. |
This was the first zoning pass and it does not allocate space for the tub, the book wall, the LED coffin or the bone throne, which is why the ten-zone Scope B plan replaced it. Where the two disagree, the Scope B plan is the current one. This page is kept because the reasoning still holds: the zones a paying client actually occupies get finished first, and storage stays clear of the rear door.
## Shore Power First
Power strategy / Phase 1
This is not an off-grid skoolie. It is a parked studio with a plug.
Two things that are not negotiable
Phase 3 luxuries — not now
None of this gets bought until the bus is earning and actually needs to leave the property.
| Icon | Label | Detail | Cost |
| --- | --- | --- | --- |
| :icon-house-plug: | House outlet | A standard outdoor outlet at the family property, or a venue's exterior outlet later. That is the entire power source for Phase 1 — no generator, no battery bank, no fuel. A household outlet supplies 15 amps and stays 15 amps no matter what is plugged into it, so everything running at once has to fit under that. | $0 |
| :icon-cable: | Heavy cord | A proper heavy-gauge cord rated above the load. This is not the place to use the orange cord from the garage — undersized cord is a fire risk and a voltage-drop problem for lights. The cord and adapter change the connection, not the amps the house can give. | $50–$75 |
| :icon-plug-zap: | Shore inlet | A 30-amp RV-style shore power inlet mounted through the bus skin, so nothing gets run through a cracked window and nothing is left to improvise on a session day. | incl. |
| :icon-square-power: | Breaker box | A small breaker panel so the AC, the heater, the lights and the chargers are on separate circuits. Separate circuits inside the bus do not add power: if their combined draw passes what the house feeds, the house breaker still trips. | $40–$60 |
| :icon-zap: | Outlets + LED | Six to ten outlets along both walls, warm-white LED strips for ambient fill, a dedicated outlet for strobes, one for climate control, and a couple of USB ports for client phones. | $130–$200 |
| Warning |
| --- |
| Wiring goes in **before** insulation and wall panels close up. Coordinate the electrical day so the wire is pulled while the walls are still open — burying it is the one mistake this build cannot undo cheaply. |
| The work has to be permitted or inspected to the level an insurer will accept. Insurers can and do deny fire claims on DIY or unpermitted electrical. The inlet, the panel and the outlet runs need to make both an inspector and an underwriter comfortable. |
| **Nothing here is sized yet.** Jade has to confirm the actual supply at that outlet, what protects the circuit, and the total draw of lights, climate control and chargers running together. A used 5,000–8,000 BTU unit is not proven adequate until the cooled area is defined and it is tested in July heat. |
| Item | Cost |
| --- | --- |
| Solar panels, charge controller and battery bank | $1,500–$3,000 |
| Mini-split heat pump instead of a window unit | $800–$1,500 |
| Generator for event lots with no power | varies |
| Bluetooth sound system for session music | $100–$300 |
## Climate Load & Power Budget
Open item / systems sizing
The heat is not the problem. Running it while the lights are on is.
Estimated draw vs circuit ceiling
Under the ceiling on paper. Still an estimate: nameplate amps have not been read off a single unit yet.
Over the ceiling. In a real session this is a tripped house breaker mid-shoot, with a client half dressed in the dark.
What is still owed here
A BTU calculation for the finished, insulated volume — square footage, R-value, 93°F summer high and 19°F winter low — before any heat or cooling unit is chosen. Without it the unit is a guess, and the guess sets the amp draw.
Rule for Phase 1: nothing gets plugged in until the house supply, the breaker rating and the combined draw are measured by Jade. Sequencing is the cheap fix — climate and lights can share one circuit if they never run at full tilt at the same moment.
| Icon | Item | Amps | Note | On by default |
| --- | --- | --- | --- | --- |
| :icon-snowflake: | Air conditioner, 13.5k BTU | 12.5 | Startup surge is higher than running draw — estimated | Yes |
| :icon-flame: | Electric heater, 1500W | 12.5 | Never at the same time as the AC | No |
| :icon-lightbulb: | Studio lights, two strobes | 3.5 | Recycle spikes on every frame | Yes |
| :icon-shirt: | Garment steamer, 1200W | 10 | Runs during prep, not during the shoot | No |
| :icon-wind: | Vent fan and phone charging | 1.2 | Continuous, negligible | Yes |
| :icon-speaker: | Music, hair tools, small kit | 6 | A curling iron alone is most of this | No |
## Restroom & Changing
Open item / client comfort
A four hour boudoir day needs a bathroom. Right now there isn't one.
The changing corner, either way
No option is chosen yet, and this decision changes the layout: an onboard toilet takes a zone and a vent, house access does not. It gets decided before the floor plan is measured, not after.
| Icon | Option | Cost | Detail | Risk |
| --- | --- | --- | --- | --- |
| :icon-home: | House bathroom, Phase 1 only | $0 — needs Dad's written yes | Parked at the family property, clients walk into the house to use the bathroom. Costs nothing, takes no space on board, and is the honest Phase 1 answer. | It puts paying strangers inside a family home. That is a separate permission from parking the bus there, and it does not travel to a single venue day. |
| :icon-toilet: | Onboard cassette toilet | $180 – $1,100 estimated | A self-contained cassette or composting unit in a small enclosed closet: no plumbing, no black tank, a removable cartridge emptied after each session day. | It consumes roughly 3 ft of length, needs a vent through the wall or roof, a door that latches, and a hand-wash solution. None of that is in the eight-zone plan or the budget yet. |
| :icon-building-2: | Venue restroom, Phase 2 | $0 — written into the host agreement | For venue session days, restroom access is a contract line, not a favour: named restroom, hours available, distance from where the bus parks. | Phase 2 is not funded or legally cleared. Until it is, this option does not exist and should never be promised to a client. |
| Icon | Item |
| --- | --- |
| :icon-door-closed: | A curtain or door that actually closes |
| :icon-rectangle-vertical: | Full-length mirror, secured to a stud |
| :icon-sun: | Neutral vanity lighting, not the set lights |
| :icon-armchair: | A seat, for getting into a gown safely |
| :icon-hand: | Hand sanitiser and a wipe station |
| :icon-briefcase: | A hook and shelf for the client's own things |
## Water & Greywater
Open item / only if the tub goes wet
The tub is dry-staged. Water is a different build entirely.
Drag to fill the tub — weight added to the floor
Water weighs 8.34 lb per gallon, and it moves while a client shifts in the tub. That live load lands on a school bus floor that is currently bare, rusted metal with no calculated rating. Add the tub, the person and the water together before anyone runs a tap.
What a wet tub actually requires
Every figure here is a retail estimate, not a quote, and none of it is inside the $7,590–$15,238 Scope B budget. The decision to be made is binary: keep the tub dry-staged for the camera, or fund water as its own approved phase with its own line items.
| Icon | Part | Note | Cost |
| --- | --- | --- | --- |
| :icon-droplets: | Fresh water tank | 20–40 gal, strapped and baffled so it cannot shift | $120 – $350 |
| :icon-waves: | Greywater tank | Must be at least as large as the fresh tank | $120 – $350 |
| :icon-gauge: | 12V pump and accumulator | Plus a battery or converter to run it | $90 – $220 |
| :icon-flame: | Water heater | Nobody sits in a cold tub for an hour | $180 – $700 |
| :icon-trash-2: | Legal greywater disposal | Where it goes is a county question, not a hose decision | Unknown |
| :icon-shield-alert: | Sealed wet floor and pan | One leak into a rusted floor undoes the whole build | $150 – $400 |
## Weight & Floor Load
Open item / structure and balance
Every beautiful thing in this build is heavy, and it all lands on one floor.
Estimated added load, dry
These are estimates from comparable pieces, not weighed items. The closet alone is the surprise: 150+ gowns on a rail is a concentrated line load, not a spread one, and it hangs off the wall framing.
Two numbers still missing: the GVWR from the door-frame plate, and the empty weight of the gutted shell. Without both, nobody can say what payload is left — and that same plate decides the CDL question.
What this slide asks for: heavy pieces distributed rather than stacked in the rear third, the tub bay and throne bay framed to steel rather than bolted to floor pan, and a scale ticket at a truck stop once the build is loaded. Parked use forgives a lot; the first time it is driven, it does not.
| Icon | Item | Weight | Third |
| --- | --- | --- | --- |
| :icon-shirt: | Dress closet, 150+ gowns and rail | 600 | Middle |
| :icon-bath: | Clawfoot tub, dry | 320 | Rear |
| :icon-crown: | Bone throne | 180 | Rear |
| :icon-book-open: | Open-book wall | 250 | Middle |
| :icon-box: | LED coffin | 160 | Rear |
| :icon-layers: | Insulation, ply and finish flooring | 900 | Front |
| :icon-armchair: | Seating, vanity and Reiki table | 260 | Front |
| :icon-lightbulb: | Lighting, grip and kit cases | 220 | Front |
## Fire, Egress & First Aid
Open item / required before a client boards
One door, one narrow room, candles in the frame.
:icon-square-check:
:icon-square:
Nothing on this list is bought or installed yet. Tap through it — every unchecked line is a question an insurance broker will ask before quoting clients aboard, and none of these costs is inside the Scope B budget.
That is the whole list, and it lands somewhere around $400 to $900 in estimates. It is the cheapest part of the build and the only part that has to exist before the very first paying session.
| Item | Detail | Cost |
| --- | --- | --- |
| Two exits kept clear, always | The service door and the rear emergency door. No set piece, rail, prop or gown rack blocks either one, in any monthly re-dress. | $0 |
| Rear door tested and labelled | It has sat five years. It must open from inside, by a client who has never seen it, in the dark. | $0 – $150 |
| Smoke and CO alarms | Two units, one forward and one rear. CO matters the moment any fuel-burning heat or a generator is near the shell. | $40 – $90 |
| Fire extinguisher, ABC rated | Mounted by the door, on a bracket, not loose on the floor. Second unit if there is a hair-tool station. | $45 – $120 |
| Fire blanket at the styling corner | Hot tools, hairspray and drape fabric in one small space. | $25 – $50 |
| Candles decided in writing | LED only, or real flame with a rule: never near drape, never unattended, never while a client is in a gown. | $0 |
| Fabric treated or rated | Velvet drape and curtains get a flame-retardant treatment. This is also what a broker asks about first. | $60 – $180 |
| First aid kit and emergency card | Kit mounted by the door plus a card with the address, the nearest hospital and an emergency contact for the client on file. | $40 – $90 |
| Lit path and step lighting | Battery step lights so nobody leaves a dark set down a step in heels. | $30 – $80 |
| Written safety brief per session | Thirty seconds at the start of every session: here is the exit, here is the step, here is where I am. | $0 |
## Shopping Runs
Five store runs / rear 12 feet
The list you shop from, not the list you read.
Full scope, all five runs
$2,430–2,530
Measure before ordering: interior width at the narrowest point, rear door opening, both wheel wells, floor length to the 12-ft mark, ceiling height at center, sill height, and linear feet of ceiling rib. Bus interiors run 90–96 inches wide and vary by model year.
Check secondhand first, every run. Tres Rios Habitat ReStore, 815 W Broadway in Farmington, 505-444-1211. Habitat La Plata ReStore, 50 Design Center Rd in Durango, 970-382-9931, Thursday to Saturday 10–6 and Sunday 12–6, stock at 20–70% off retail. Surplus rigid foam turns up on Marketplace and Craigslist too — one builder found 40 sheets for $400, which is half the insulation budget in a single pickup load.
| Key | Run | Subtotal | Note |
| --- | --- | --- | --- |
| r1 | Run 1 — Home center / lumber | ~$1,155 | The heaviest run and the one that makes everything else possible. Template the wheel wells in cardboard before a single sheet gets cut. |
| r2 | Run 2 — Curtain and drape | $395–495 | Order track from a theatrical drape or hospital cubicle supplier, never a home center. Buy fabric by the bolt from a wholesaler — retail panel pricing runs about 3x per yard. |
| r3 | Run 3 — Electrical materials | ~$375 | Confirm the exact list with Jade Energy Services before buying anything. Let the licensed electrician spec their own materials — the barter is labor, not guesswork. And the wire goes in before the walls close. |
| r4 | Run 4 — Light, safety, hardware | ~$505 | The cheapest run and the one that makes the space feel finished. Detectors and the extinguisher mount by the door, not in a bench. |
| r5 | Run 5 — Flooring (barter) | $0–400 | 120–150 sq ft plus ten percent waste. Ask Design Surfaces by Floor Trader at 5017 E Main, 505-278-0859, specifically for discontinued or remnant stock in dark walnut or espresso, plus offcuts. Planks run lengthwise. If the trade falls through, $250–400. |
| Run | Item | Qty | Est. |
| --- | --- | --- | --- |
| r1 | 3/4" exterior plywood, subfloor | 4 sheets | $200 |
| r1 | 3/4" and 1/2" plywood, bench boxes and tops | 4 sheets | $180 |
| r1 | 1/4" luan wall panels, 2×2 furring | 4 + 10 | $160 |
| r1 | 1" polyiso rigid foam, floor | 3 sheets | $60 |
| r1 | Screws, adhesive, foil tape, spray foam | — | $94 |
| r1 | Seam sealer and Sikaflex-221 | 5 tubes | $60 |
| r1 | Rust converter and encapsulating primer | qt + gal | $82 |
| r1 | Flat black latex, bonding primer, spray enamel | — | $140 |
| r1 | Rollers, tape, flap discs, respirator, knee pads | — | $179 |
| r2 | Aluminum ceiling curtain track | 40 ft | $160 |
| r2 | Carriers, end stops, splices | 120 | $60 |
| r2 | Blackout velvet or blackout poly, 54" wide | 20–24 yd | $150–250 |
| r2 | Pin hooks or grommets | 120 | $25 |
| r3 | 30A shore power inlet | 1 | $45 |
| r3 | 30A breaker panel and breakers | 1 | $90 |
| r3 | 10/3 and 12/2 wire | — | $70 |
| r3 | Flexible conduit and fittings | — | $35 |
| r3 | Boxes and outlets | 8 | $40 |
| r3 | 50 ft 30A cord and household adapter | 1 | $95 |
| r4 | Black track lighting and dimmable heads | 8 ft + 6 | $150 |
| r4 | Inline dimmer | 1 | $25 |
| r4 | Flameless LED candles with remote | 40 ct | $60 |
| r4 | Battery lanterns | 4 | $40 |
| r4 | Hinges, latches, corner protectors, french cleats | — | $105 |
| r4 | CO and smoke detector, 2A:10B:C extinguisher | — | $85 |
| r4 | Leveling blocks | 1 set | $40 |
| r5 | Dark walnut or espresso vinyl plank, remnant stock | 150 sq ft | barter |
| r5 | Underlayment and transition strip | — | barter |
| r5 | Installation labor, one weekend | — | barter |
| r5 | Fallback if the trade falls through | — | $250–400 |
## Prop Hunt
Props / nothing bought new for six months
Fill the frame for almost nothing.
Where to hunt
What each set needs
The one rule
Measure the rear door opening and write it at the top of the list. A sofa that will not fit through the door is the most expensive prop mistake in a bus build.
| Source | Best for | Timing |
| --- | --- | --- |
| Library discard sales | Books by the box | Spring and fall — check the branch calendar |
| Estate sales, final day | Furniture, frames, brass | Half-price or bag pricing on the last day |
| Habitat ReStore | Tub, doors, fixtures, furniture | Weekly drop-ins |
| Marketplace, free filter | Sofas, armchairs, tables | Check weekly and move fast |
| Church rummage sales | Velvet, drapes, screens | Seasonal |
| School and city auctions | Cabinets, shelving, odd metal | Occasional, watch the notices |
| Your own inventory | Roughly half of the above | Already paid for, twenty years deep |
| Founding 50 members | One prop each, brought to a work day | Work days |
| Set | Props |
| --- | --- |
| Universal | Flameless candles in quantity (the one new-buy exception), brass and gold vessels, lanterns at mixed heights, empty gold frames, a folding screen, full-length mirror, pedestals, fur throws, jewel-tone velvet pillows, dried florals. |
| Dark floral boudoir | Red velvet armchair and ottoman, tall peacock feathers, gold skull or bust vessels, dark floral mural panel, black velvet drape. |
| Blue and gold lounge | Small-scale blue velvet sofa (measure the door first), mustard bolster, rust throw, hammered gold pendant, rattan poufs, navy and gold agate mural. |
| Botanical | Salvage or fiberglass clawfoot tub repainted black and gold, trailing ivy in bulk, white orchid stems, leather butterfly chair, jute rug, brass lanterns. |
| Winter book wall | 150–250 hardbacks, evergreen garland, gold and mercury glass ornaments, warm fairy lights, deep green velvet, dried orange slices. |
| Fixes that make wrong things right | Velvet spray dye, matte black over cheap-reading brass, gold leaf pen for hardware and tub feet, adhesion promoter on fiberglass, and a steamer for every drape before it hangs. |
## 90-Day Timeline
First twelve weeks of the Scope B build
Twelve weeks gets the shell dry and floored, not the doors open.
Cash through here
Twelve-week total
| Week | Work | Cash | Detail |
| --- | --- | --- | --- |
| Wk 1–2 | Leak test, seal, measure | 200 | Hose on the roof with the lights off, seal every drip, record every dimension, and get the diesel look-over on the calendar. |
| Wk 3 | Launch the pre-sale | 0 | Founding-rate mobile sessions, limited quantity, redeemable when the bus opens. This is the money that buys the plywood. |
| Wk 4–5 | Rust, seal, insulate | 200 | Grind, convert, prime, seam seal, then polyiso between the ribs in the back third. The one phase where cutting cost costs the build. |
| Wk 6 | Subfloor and flooring | 240 | Plywood screwed to the ribs, seams staggered, then Floor Traders lays dark walnut plank lengthwise. |
| Wk 7 | Jade Electric | 250 | Shore inlet, breaker panel, six to eight outlets in the bench boxes, one dedicated lighting circuit, conduit run, inspection-ready. Jade confirms the house supply first: a standard outlet gives 15 amps and stays 15 amps. |
| Wk 8 | Track and drape — work day #1 | 450 | Aluminum track into the ceiling ribs both sides plus the rear, then hang and hook the blackout drape. |
| Wk 9 | Paint, light, book wall — work day #2 | 270 | Matte black below the window line, black window frames, track lighting on a dimmer, and the book wall the volunteers will want photos in front of. |
| Wk 10 | Props, styling, safety | 130 | Thrifted furniture in, flameless candles everywhere, CO and smoke detectors and the extinguisher mounted by the door. |
| Wk 11 | Test shoot in the rear zone | 0 | A friend or a Founding 50 member, shot in the one zone that is finished. Find the gapping curtain and the outlet in the wrong place while they are still cheap to fix. |
| Wk 12 | Images out, waitlist opens | 0 | Real photography from the finished rear zone becomes the campaign. A waitlist, not a booking calendar — the front of the bus is still a build site and clients do not walk through one. |
Roughly $1,740 of cash across these twelve weeks. That is the first stretch of the Scope B build, not the whole thing: the full-length conversion runs 7–11 months and $8,800–$17,900, so week 12 ends with a dry, floored shell and one finished zone. Every figure here is an estimate and the clock starts the day the three gates clear, not today.
## Barter Strategy
The barter playbook
Vague trades are how good local relationships get damaged.
| Who | Status | Scope | Given |
| --- | --- | --- | --- |
| Jade Energy Services — Aztec, NM | Unsigned • worth $500–$1,000+ | 30A shore power inlet, breaker panel, six to eight outlets along both walls, one dedicated lighting circuit, LED strips, conduit run before the walls close, inspection-ready. Licensed in NM, CO and WY. | Given: a brand package — logo work, social templates or a brand portrait session — plus session gift certificates at stated face value, capped redemptions per quarter. |
| Design Surfaces by Floor Trader — Farmington | Unsigned • worth $300–$600 | Vinyl plank or laminate to cover roughly 200 sq ft, plus any offcuts or returns headed for the dumpster. Material and install, laid lengthwise. Family-owned in Farmington since the 1970s. | Given: a brand package — logo refresh, social templates or a mini brand shoot for their showroom — plus $100–$200 in family holiday gift certificates their staff can hand to customers. |
| Welder | To recruit | Welded step platform with rails on both sides, plus an exterior generator mount. | Given: a full session, or business and equipment photography. |
| Sign shop | To recruit | Cut vinyl wordmark, letterspaced caps and floral motif for the exterior, printed mural vinyl for backdrop panels. | Given: product photography for their portfolio. |
| Upholsterer / seamstress | To recruit | Hem, grommet and pin-hook 60–70 yards of blackout drape. | Given: headshots or a session. |
One page per trade, signed by both
| Rule |
| --- |
| Exact scope in writing. "Inlet, panel, six outlets, one lighting circuit, inspection-ready" is a scope. "Some electrical" is not. |
| What you are giving, itemized: how many certificates, face value each, expiration, transferability, session type covered. |
| Stated fair market value of both sides, written down. |
| Timeline and who supplies materials. |
| Redemption caps per quarter so ten certificates cannot land in one busy month. |
| Both signatures. |
Every trade on this page is unsigned. These are the businesses to ask and the exact scope to ask for, not agreements in hand — do not present any of them as secured, to an audience or to yourself, until a page is signed. Together they are worth $800–$1,600, and the electrician's labor is the single biggest cash saver in the build. Barter is also taxable income on both sides at fair market value; verify the bookkeeping treatment and New Mexico's gift certificate expiration rules with your accountant rather than guessing.
## Founding 15 Build Days
Optional local build crew
If people want to help build it, the day has to be worth their Saturday.
| Rule |
| --- |
| Cap it at eight to ten people. More than that on a bus and they are standing in each other's way. |
| Post specific jobs in advance, never "come help": sanding, priming, painting benches, cutting fabric, hanging curtain hooks, gluing the book wall, sorting props. |
| Prep the night before. Materials staged, cut list done, tools laid out. Volunteer time evaporates while people wait. |
| Three to four hours, not eight. Feed them. Music. End on time. |
| The book wall is the perfect volunteer job: no skill, no tools, visually dramatic, and everyone wants a photo in front of what they made. |
| Sign-in sheet with a simple liability waiver, and confirm guest coverage with your insurance agent first. |
| Get the arrangement reviewed before recruiting anyone. Unpaid help for a for-profit business is not the same as nonprofit volunteering, and the Department of Labor is explicit that employees cannot volunteer services to a private for-profit employer. This is an open legal question, not a settled plan. |
| Shoot the work day. It is content, and it is your own real photography. |
One work day, at the crew size you set
Labor hours
Value at $25/hr
Day length
Repeat it three or four times across the build and volunteer labor could be the largest single non-cash contribution to the studio. It is a projection at a rate you chose, not money and not a promise anyone has made yet.
Members bought benefits and belonging. They did not buy an obligation to finish a bus, and a build day is never owed. This is an open invitation to anyone local who wants to be in the room while it happens — nothing more. Nobody has committed to a date, and the legal question above gets answered before anyone is asked.
## Four Build Days
The Founding 15 build plan
Four Saturdays, in order, each one finished before the next begins.
What a volunteer gets, stated up front
| Day | Crew | Tasks | Note |
| --- | --- | --- | --- |
| Prep & insulate | 3–4 volunteers | Rust treatment and sealing. Foam board cut and fitted to walls and ceiling. Furring strips mounted. Pizza, drinks, playlist going. | The dirtiest day and the one nobody will photograph. Stage every material and finish the cut list the night before, because volunteer time evaporates while people stand around waiting. |
| Walls & electrical | 3–4 volunteers plus the electrician | Shore power, outlets and LED strips go in under a licensed electrician's direction. Volunteers install wall panels over the insulation behind them. Subfloor prep starts. | This is the day with a hard sequencing rule: wiring before the panels close. Anything buried behind a finished wall costs three times as much to reach later. |
| Floor & furnish | 2–3 volunteers | Finish flooring installed. Gown racks assembled and positioned. Changing nook curtain hung and mirror mounted. Storage shelving up. | The first day it stops looking like a project and starts looking like a room. Worth shooting for content, even half-finished. |
| Paint day | 5–8 volunteers — the big one | Interior paint in the finish palette. Signage applied. Textiles, rug and pillows placed. Decor styled. Group photo in the finished bus, and the names of everyone who showed up go on the wall. | The perfect volunteer job is exactly this: no skill required, no tools to own, visually dramatic, and everyone wants a photograph in front of the thing they made. |
| Icon | Item |
| --- | --- |
| :icon-camera: | First dibs on bus mini-sessions, free or steeply discounted |
| :icon-pen-line: | Their name on the "Built by" wall, permanently |
| :icon-ticket: | A membership perk applied: workshop credit or boutique discount |
| :icon-pizza: | Pizza, drinks and good music every single day |
## Revenue Model
Funding it from revenue, not savings
No phase begins until the last one paid for it.
Founding-rate pre-sale
sessions at
Price per commitment — $99 membership, $225 mini, $475 founding session, $625 list rate
That covers Phase 1 outright, with margin for the props and the safety gear.
Short of the $1,580 Phase 1 list. Raise the count, raise the rate, or run the stripped-to-the-bone version.
Pre-sold sessions are deferred revenue, not profit. That money is a liability until it is shot, and it is already spent on plywood. Against a one-session-a-week calendar, fifteen is a full quarter of bookings — sell fifteen, not fifty. Fifty memberships at $99 raise $4,950 and cost far fewer calendar hours to honor.
| Milestone | Unlocks | Figure | Threshold |
| --- | --- | --- | --- |
| Pre-sell the founding-rate sessions | Unlocks the Phase 1 build | $2,000–3,000 | 2000 |
| Test shoot and marketing images | Unlocks real pricing and real bookings | no cash | 2400 |
| First ten sessions shot in the bus | Unlocks the mechanical inspection and service | $3,000+ | 3000 |
| Season one revenue | Unlocks tires, brakes, insurance, registration | season | 4000 |
| The bus goes mobile | Unlocks venue partnerships and higher rates | season | 5000 |
| Season two | Unlocks the build extending forward, and exterior paint | season | 6250 |
## Four Revenue Streams
What the bus sells
Most people build a mobile studio and sell one thing out of it.
The calendar is intentionally capped at one photography session and one Reiki session a week, and dates are booked to January 2027. That makes rental, closet and mini-session days the important products: they earn out of the same parked room without spending the one weekly slot behind the camera.
| Product | What it is | Time label | Load | Detail |
| --- | --- | --- | --- | --- |
| Mini-session days | 30-minute slots, one set, 8–12 clients in a single day at a partner location | Your time — high, one day | 85 | The engine early on, and the only honest way to serve volume against a one-session-a-week calendar. It converts strangers into clients, fills the portfolio fast, and is the easiest thing to pre-sell before the bus exists. |
| Bus signature sessions | The BOUDIEFUL experience shot in the bus: 90 minutes, two sets, 25–40 edited images, gallery in 2–3 weeks | Your time — high | 100 | For the existing audience and referrals, at $625 against the $525 on-location rate. Glam adds the same licensed hair and makeup that the $750 Signature Session already includes. |
| Event and brand bookings | Bus parked at a wedding, festival, market, or conference, plus branding work on site | Your time — high, host pays | 80 | The host carries the cost and brings the crowd. Branding already starts at $550 and the bundle at $1,200, so the bus becomes the set for the commercial work rather than a second business. |
| Bus rental | Other photographers, videographers, and brands rent the styled space | Your time — almost none | 18 | A styled, lit, weather-independent set. I have not found another one for rent in the Four Corners, though I have not surveyed the market and rental demand here is unproven. A half-day costs a setup and a handoff, plus a cleaning checklist, a signed agreement, and a certificate of insurance naming BOUDIEFUL as additional insured. It never spends a weekly session slot. |
| Client closet rentals | 150+ gowns and statement pieces, sizes XS–5X, hung and rentable on board | Your time — none | 10 | The collection is already owned and already travels to every session, so this stream needs no purchase. Racks in the bus would turn it into a rentable wardrobe, as the Dress Closet is planned for the new studio. Nothing has been rented out yet and per-piece pricing is still to set. |
## Three Ways The Room Earns
One parked room, three bookings
The set does not care which service is on the calendar.
What it needs that the build already gives it
| Icon | Mode | Rate | Label | Detail | Needs |
| --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- |
| :icon-camera: | Camera day | $625 · $850 with glam | Bus signature session | Ninety minutes, two of the four seasonal sets, 25–40 edited images. It sits just above the $525 on-location rate because the client is paying for a built room instead of a hotel window, and glam brings in the same licensed hair and makeup the $750 Signature already includes. | Blackout drape, one lit backdrop, a rack to hang from. That is the whole Phase 1 list. |
| :icon-hand-heart: | Reiki day | $333 per hour | Reiki session on board | A dark, quiet, windowless room is exactly what Reiki wants, and the bus is that by construction. It uses the one Reiki slot already on the weekly calendar instead of asking for a new one, and it means the bus earns on days the camera never comes out. | The same curtain wall and dimmable track light. Drop the drape, kill the light, move the table in. |
| :icon-shirt: | Closet day | Per-piece rental | Client closet on wheels | The closet is real and already travels to every session in tubs: 150+ gowns and statement pieces, XS–5X. Hung on rails inside the bus it could become the reason another photographer books the space, and the Dress Closet planned for the studio starts earning before the studio exists. Per-piece rental pricing is not set yet. | Two ceiling rails in the front two thirds — a short extension of the same track on the Phase 1 list, roughly fifty dollars more. |
Three products, one floor, one curtain, one light. Which one is booked on a given Saturday is a scheduling question, not a build question, and that is the entire argument for finishing the back third first. To be clear about what is proven: the photography and the Reiki are established services with published rates; on board, all three are untested.
## Pricing Ladder
Pricing framework
Price the bus above the on-location rate, not below it.
Current on-location portrait rate
The live BOUDIEFUL rates are the anchor: portraits from $525 for 90 minutes and 25–40 edited images, the Signature Session at $750 with hair and makeup, branding from $550, the Branding Bundle at $1,200, travel $1 per mile beyond 30 miles of Farmington. Those are published and being paid. Every bus price below is a proposal — not published, not listed, never sold, and worth testing on ten real clients before it is printed anywhere.
| Tier | Price | Includes | Note |
| --- | --- | --- | --- |
| Bus mini | 225 | A 30-minute slot in one set, 8–12 edited images, print release, closet access. The entry door that lets every price above it hold. | Only sold on mini-session days, where the setup cost is spread across eight to twelve clients. |
| Bus signature | 625 | 90 minutes, two sets, client closet, 25–40 edited images, private gallery in 2–3 weeks, full print release. Same deliverables as the $525 on-location session, in a set nobody else has. | One hundred dollars over the on-location rate. The bus is scarcer and more experiential than a location shoot, and it does not depend on weather. |
| Bus signature + glam | 850 | The signature session with licensed hair and makeup, mirrored on the existing $750 Signature Session structure where glam is a real $225 add-on. | Same margin logic as the studio package. Glam is paid straight through to the artist, so it is priced at cost plus the extra hour on the bus. |
| Founding rate | 475 | The bus signature session, capped in quantity, sold before the doors open. This is the money that buys the plywood. | Deferred revenue. A liability in the books until each session is shot, not profit. Redeemable the season the bus opens. |
| Rental, half day | 250 | The styled, lit set rented to another photographer or brand. Deposit required, cleaning fee if returned unstyled, certificate of insurance naming BOUDIEFUL as additional insured. | Highest effective hourly rate on the sheet, and the only product that does not spend one of the limited weekly session slots. |
## Founding Sessions
First 15 — interest list, presale not open
A founding rate, not a gift certificate. And not open for payment yet.
First 15 sessions,
capped and said out loud
Offer copy, adaptable
The bus is real and it is not finished. It is parked, it is gutted to bare metal, and it is becoming the BOUDIEFUL Skoolie Studio.
Founding 50 memberships are live at $99 for one 12-month term at www.boudieful.com — eleven claimed, 39 remaining. This is the separate, companion offer: a session inside the finished bus planned at $475 against a regular $625, capped at fifteen.
**No payment is accepted for it yet.** Nothing is sold until the Stage 0 checks clear and I can state a credible opening window. Until then people join the list only — megan@boudieful.com or text 505-608-4566. When it does open, the money is held in a separate account and refundable in full until the doors open.
Same honesty as the site already carries: a membership is not a session and a session is not a membership. This funds a privately owned business, it is not a donation and it is not tax-deductible, and Megan will tell anyone exactly where the money went.
| Term | Detail |
| --- | --- |
| Status — interest list only | Badge it, do not bury it: INTEREST LIST — PRESALE NOT OPEN. Payments are not accepted until the three gates clear and there is a credible opening window. Names collected now are a list, not a liability. |
| Quantity capped | Say the number out loud. At one photography session a week, fifteen founding sessions take fifteen weeks — longer than a quarter, and that is fifteen weeks with no room for a paying booking. |
| Redemption window | Opens when the bus opens, expires a set number of months after. Check New Mexico's rules on expiration dates first. |
| Refund reserve — the amount and where it lives | The reserve is 100% of every dollar collected, held in a separate account in the business name, because the promise is a full refund any time before the doors open. Fifteen at $475 is $7,125 held, not $7,125 available. Nothing else funds that reserve: there is no other pot to refund from. |
| So the pre-sale funds nothing yet | This money buys no plywood. It converts to earned income one session at a time, as each session is shot. If materials are needed before the doors open, they come from membership cash, sponsorships or your own money — never from here. |
| Itemized inclusions | 90 minutes, two sets, client closet, 25–40 edited images, print release, gallery in 2–3 weeks. Written down so there is no argument at redemption. |
| Quarterly redemption cap | Stops ten certificates from all landing in the same month against a one-session-a-week calendar. |
| The other two lanes, kept separate | Membership is $99 for a 12-month term and is open to members anywhere. Build partners fund one named scope in writing — $350 the gates through $1,800 the rear set. Neither one is a session, and there is no open-amount sponsor button any more. |
## Venue Partnerships
Venue partnerships
It's a swap, not a rental. Nobody writes a check.
The outreach
Settle before the day
Send it as written
Hi [name] — I'm Megan Kilpatrick, a portrait photographer here in Farmington (www.boudieful.com). I'm converting a school bus into a mobile portrait studio, and I'm lining up session days for [season], once it's finished.
I'd love to park at [venue] for a day. I'd be booking 8–12 clients into 30-minute slots, so that's 8–12 people coming to your location, most of them for the first time. You get photographs of your space and product to use however you like, and I promote the day to my list with your name on it.
No cost either direction — I need a level spot and a few hours. Can I send you the plans and the interior progress so far?
Written for where the bus actually is. Do not describe it as finished until it is finished, and do not promise a partner that clients will buy from them. Promise what you control: bodies on their lot, photographs of their space, and their name in your promotion. And know the sequence: a venue day needs the bus **roadworthy, registered and commercially insured** — that is Phase 2, and it is not funded. Phase 1 is a parked studio at the family property. Line these up as warm conversations for later, not as dates you can commit to now.
Before the day is booked
Targets around the Four Corners
What makes a good spot: a wide level lot with room to swing forty feet of bus, power if possible, and a partner with an audience of their own. That last one is where the marketing comes from.
| Item |
| --- |
| Exact parking spot and arrival time |
| Power access or written generator permission |
| Restroom access for clients |
| Who promotes to whom, and when |
| Weather backup date, in writing |
| Their certificate-of-insurance requirement — have your PDF ready to attach |
| Venue |
| --- |
| Wineries and tasting rooms |
| Lavender and flower farms |
| Boutiques with parking |
| Wellness studios |
| Salons |
| Gyms |
| Garden centers |
| Ranches and event venues |
| Farmers markets and festivals |
| Durango, for the Whimsy & Woo overlap |
## Host Site Agreement
Missing document / one page per venue
A verbal yes from a venue is not a place to park a business.
:icon-chevron-right:
This document does not exist yet, and no venue has agreed to anything. It is one page, it gets written once, and it is what turns a friendly conversation at a winery into a session day that can be insured and sold.
| Clause | Why it matters |
| --- | --- |
| Where the bus parks, exactly | A named spot with measured length, turning room and a surface that holds 20,000+ lb. A 35–40 ft bus that cannot turn around is a tow bill, not a session. |
| Dates, arrival and departure hours | Set-up and tear-down are real hours. If the venue expects the bus gone by 5pm and the last client is at 4:30, the day fails on paper before it starts. |
| Shore power: outlet, amps, breaker | The same 15-amp question as the house, asked of a stranger's building. Written down, or the shoot runs on daylight only. |
| Restroom access, named and open | Which restroom, unlocked during which hours, how far from the bus. A four hour boudoir day cannot depend on someone finding a key. |
| Insurance and indemnity, both ways | Whose policy covers a client who trips on their gravel, and whose covers their fence if the bus clips it. Most venues will ask for a certificate naming them. |
| Fee, revenue share or trade | Flat site fee, a share of the day, or portraits for the venue. Decided before the date is announced, never after the money comes in. |
| Content and image rights | What the venue may repost, and the hard line that client galleries are never included unless that client authorises it in writing. |
| Weather, cancellation and reschedule | Who calls it off, how far ahead, and what happens to client deposits when the venue cancels rather than the studio. |
| Site rules and quiet hours | Music volume, candles, alcohol, other events happening the same day. Boudoir needs privacy, and a shared parking lot rarely offers it. |
| Named contact with a phone number | A person who can unlock a gate at 8am, not a business page inbox. |
## Session Day
Session day operations
Ninety minutes from arrival to first frame.
Slots offered / expected to fill
85 percent fill rate
Have a second person. Someone to greet, manage the queue, handle paperwork, and keep the next client comfortable. Running intake and shooting at once is where mini-session days fall apart.
| Time | Step | Detail |
| --- | --- | --- |
| −90 min | Arrive and level | Park on the agreed spot, set the leveling blocks, plug into shore power or site the generator where its noise is not in the room. |
| −60 min | Unload and style | Props out, set dressed, backdrop panel onto its cleats, curtains straightened and re-hooked wherever they were pulled. |
| −20 min | Light and test frame | Track heads aimed, dimmer set, one strobe placed, and a test frame shot from the rear door so you know the room is ready. |
| Slot 1 | 20 on, 10 off | Twenty-minute slots with ten-minute gaps. The gaps are not optional — they absorb lateness and let you reset the set and yourself. |
| Midday | A real break | Eat, sit, drink water. Quality drops before you notice it does, and the last client paid the same as the first. |
| Slot 8–12 | Stop at twelve | Twelve slots is the ceiling before the work suffers. Book fewer and sell the day out rather than more and deliver thinner. |
| +45 min | Strike and checklist | Run the cleaning checklist, close and latch the bench lids, collect the candles, power down, lock up, and shoot the condition photos. |
## Build Payback
Payback math
When is the bus paid off?
Total to recover
Scope B full-length build — gross low estimate, no barter subtracted
Deferred mechanical — tires, brakes, fluids, service
Coverage package, year one — set to the $250–$400 a month range on the coverage page until a broker quotes it
To recover
Fifteen founding sessions at $475 collects $7,125, and because it stays refundable until the doors open, all $7,125 sits held in a separate account and funds none of this. It is fifteen sessions owed: a liability, not profit, and fifteen weeks of a one-session-a-week calendar already spent.
Set a monthly mix
Contribution per month, before overhead and owner pay
Months to payback
None of this has happened yet. The cost side is the Scope B gross low estimate, so if the build lands toward the $15,238 retail end the payback figure roughly doubles. The session-day net figures assume an assistant paid only for shooting hours; setup, intake, breaks, cleanup and packing belong in that cost, so treat the nets as optimistic until a real day is timed. It is arithmetic on proposed prices and a guessed volume, not a forecast and not a track record — no bus session has ever been sold. It excludes your own labor as a cash cost, plus storage, maintenance, prop replacement and taxes, so it answers when the build is paid off, not what the business earns. Barter has tax consequences worth an accountant's eye.
| Key | Product | Net |
| --- | --- | --- |
| mini | Mini-session days per month | 722 |
| signature | Signature session days per month | 405 |
| rental | Rental months (2 half + 1 full) | 922 |
## Operating Reserve
Missing line / what it costs to keep open
The build has a budget. Keeping it running has never been priced.
Reserve needed for that span
Carrying cost per session
At the capped rate of one photography session a week. Any price on the ladder has to clear this before it earns anything.
Every figure is an estimate, and insurance is the one that can move the most: parked, driven and with clients aboard are three different premiums, and none is quoted. This is the number that decides whether the bus stays open after it opens.
| Icon | Item | Note | Monthly |
| --- | --- | --- | --- |
| :icon-shield-check: | Insurance | Vehicle plus general liability, unquoted | 250 |
| :icon-plug: | Power at the property | Shore cord draw on the house bill | 45 |
| :icon-sparkles: | Monthly re-dress | Drape, props and styling for the new look | 125 |
| :icon-snowflake: | Winterisation and seasonal care | Annual cost spread monthly | 35 |
| :icon-wrench: | Maintenance and repairs | Seals, rust touch-up, hardware | 60 |
| :icon-washing-machine: | Closet upkeep | Dry cleaning, steaming, repairs on 150+ gowns | 80 |
| :icon-file-text: | Software, booking and licences | Gallery hosting, scheduler, LLC filings | 70 |
| :icon-megaphone: | Marketing and sponsor fulfilment | Content, printing, promised placements | 60 |
| :icon-fuel: | Fuel and mileage, Phase 2 only | Zero while the studio is parked | 0 |
## First 90 Days Open
The first ninety days after opening
Conditions, not dates. Each one unlocks the next.
By the end of the window you know
| Gate | Focus | Detail |
| --- | --- | --- |
| Gate 01 | Open the parked studio | Not scheduled until four things exist: the zoning answer in writing, coverage for clients on the property, the finished entry and a safe walk path, and one full operational test run with a test model. |
| Gate 02 | Redeem the founding sessions | The people who paid go first, once the test run has passed. Fifteen of them is fifteen weeks at one session a week, so this is most of the window, not the start of it. |
| Gate 03 | Venue days | The chosen build is parked-only. No venue date gets booked until roadworthiness is funded and done, a driver arrangement exists, registration and driving coverage are in force, and the venue's own requirements are resolved. |
| Gate 04 | Rentals to other photographers | Separate rental terms in writing, coverage confirmed for someone else operating in the space, an orientation, and one supervised trial before anyone rents it unattended. |
| Question |
| --- |
| Which set actually sells |
| What a real session day costs to run |
| Whether rental demand exists here |
## The Way In
The one place we do not cut
The way in decides who gets to book you.
| Option | Detail | Verdict |
| --- | --- | --- |
| Three steep bus steps | Factory stairwell and a single narrow rail. Quietly turns away anyone with a mobility limit, a flare day, or a bad knee. | no |
| Welded step platform, rails both sides | Low rise, generous tread, a rail to hold on either side. Built in Phase 1, as a trade, not as a purchase. | keep |
| Note |
| --- |
| The community built around Big Cyster includes people living with chronic illness and mobility limits. They are the audience, not an edge case. |
| Everything else in this plan says cheaper, smaller, later. This is the line that holds. |
| It belongs in Phase 1, not "later." A welder trade covers it for a session. |
## Inside The Session
Client experience aboard
What they remember costs almost nothing.
The promise on the website is consent-centered: every pose guided out loud, the client closet in sizes XS–5X, and the client choosing how images are shared. The bus has to keep that promise in a space eight feet wide, and every item below is cheap compared to the floor.
The changing area runs on the same curtain track already going in, behind the blackout wall at the twelve foot mark. Nothing extra to build.
| Icon | Item | Detail |
| --- | --- | --- |
| :icon-shirt: | A real changing area | Curtain, rod, hangers, hooks for robes. Not the other end of the bus. |
| :icon-shopping-bag: | Client closet on board | A rack section of the 150+ gowns in sizes XS–5X, so the closet stops living in the back of the car. |
| :icon-scan-face: | Full-length mirror | Framed, secured to the wall, positioned out of frame. |
| :icon-lamp: | Vanity light that flatters | A small surface with neutral light for hair and makeup touch-ups. |
| :icon-battery-charging: | Phone charging | One outlet in the bench box near the changing side. |
| :icon-glass-water: | Water, tissues, robes | Stocked before every session day. Restocked after. |
| :icon-lock: | Belongings out of frame | A closed bench box, and a door that locks from inside. |
| :icon-eye-off: | Privacy film | Mirrored or frosted on the lower window band. |
| :icon-ruler: | Leveling blocks | A crowned lot tilts the bus and every prop on the benches slides. |
| :icon-cloud-rain: | Weather and restroom plan | The venue's facilities or a rented unit, decided before the day. |
## Safety & Insurance
Safety and insurance
A metal tube full of fabric has rules.
| Icon | Name | Detail |
| --- | --- | --- |
| :icon-flame-kindling: | No open flame | Flameless LED only, everywhere, forever. The good flickering ones are indistinguishable on camera. |
| :icon-bell-ring: | Detectors | CO detector and smoke detector installed before the first session, not before the first inspection. |
| :icon-fire-extinguisher: | Extinguisher | 2A:10B:C mounted by the door, visible, and checked. Venues will ask to see it. |
| :icon-wind: | Ventilation | Roof vent fan pulls hot air and hot lights out with three or four people aboard. |
The one line item that can end the business
Commercial insurance before the first paid client steps aboard.
A personal auto policy will not cover a client injured during a session, parked or not. This is also not one policy: vehicle liability and business general liability cover different risks, and the equipment, the Reiki work and anyone helping with construction all have to be disclosed by name. Tell the agent exactly what this is — a stationary studio with clients aboard for two to four hour sessions, relocated between venues — and get the answer in writing for this specific use.
Verify locally, do not guess
| Item |
| --- |
| Title and registration: bus versus motorhome or commercial designation, and what each costs. |
| Licensing: whether the GVWR and intended use require a CDL in New Mexico. |
| Venue requirements: proof of insurance, extinguisher, generator noise limits. |
| Parking and zoning at family property and any long-term storage. Permission from Dad to park there is not approval to receive paying clients there — those are two separate yeses. |
| Barter and deferred revenue treatment with your accountant at year end. |
## The Regulatory Layer
Regulatory layer / verify every line locally
The boring page. Skipping it is how a good build becomes an expensive mistake.
$250–$400 / mo
Realistic ongoing insurance once clients are aboard — before fuel and maintenance
High-level framing, not legal or tax advice. Every figure here is a published ballpark, not a quote. Confirm registration with NM MVD, coverage with an insurance agent, and barter and deferred-revenue treatment with a CPA before repeating any of these numbers as yours.
| Icon | Name | Headline |
| --- | --- | --- |
| :icon-file-badge: | Title & class | Treat it as a commercial vehicle from day one. |
| :icon-shield: | Insurance stack | Four separate policies, and the bus needs its own regardless. |
| :icon-map-pin: | Permits & land | Every location needs its own written permission. |
| :icon-accessibility: | Access | A bus with steps is not wheelchair accessible. Say so first, in writing. |
| :icon-receipt: | Barter tax | In New Mexico, a trade is taxable gross receipts on both sides. |
| :icon-lock: | Boudoir | Careful public language, appointment-only, images stored tight. |
| Topic | Fact | Figure |
| --- | --- | --- |
| Title & class | Retitling as an RV usually requires cooking, toilet and water amenities that are not being installed here. | n/a |
| Title & class | Even titled as an RV, running paid sessions is commercial use and can still trigger commercial rules. | |
| Title & class | Over 26,000 lbs GVWR in commerce can require a CDL. Under it, a regular license often works — states differ. | 26,000 lbs |
| Title & class | Crossing state lines commercially in a heavy vehicle usually needs a USDOT number. The FMCSA application itself is free. | $0 |
| Title & class | New Mexico can also require USDOT registration for some intrastate commercial vehicles. Worth a sanity-check call to NM PRC. | 505-827-4519 |
| Insurance stack | Commercial auto for the bus, depending on weight, age and use. | $150–$300/mo |
| Insurance stack | General liability for the photography business at typical $1M / $2M limits. | $30–$50/mo |
| Insurance stack | Inland marine or equipment coverage for cameras, lenses and lighting moving on and off the bus. | $40–$50/mo |
| Insurance stack | A business owner policy can bundle liability and studio property — but the bus still needs its own commercial auto policy. | $50–$60/mo |
| Permits & land | Private lots and venues each need a written agreement. Fairs, markets and festivals need vendor applications and fees. | $0–$500 |
| Permits & land | Under the EXPLORE Act, many small commercial shoots in National Parks no longer need a permit: eight people or fewer, hand-held gear, public areas. | 2025 |
| Permits & land | BLM land, including around Moab, still requires a commercial use authorization. | required |
| Permits & land | Events on Navajo Nation land, like the Shiprock Fair, require Navajo Nation business licensing and event approval — plus lead time. | $50–$100 |
| Access | Under ADA Title III the expectation is access where readily achievable, which for a bus means offering an alternative rather than a ramp. | |
| Access | The accommodation: outdoor or on-location sessions for anyone who cannot safely board, documented in client materials and on the website. | |
| Access | Keep the interior clear enough that a client with a cane or limited mobility can move once aboard. | |
| Barter tax | Trade $500 of brand work for $500 of electrical labor and both sides may owe gross receipts tax on $500. | both sides |
| Barter tax | Gross receipts rates around Farmington sit in this band, so budget tax per major trade. | 5–8% |
| Barter tax | Write down a fair market value for every trade at the time it is agreed, then confirm treatment with a CPA. | $40–$100 |
| Boudoir | Some jurisdictions have adult-business ordinances that can technically sweep in a boudoir studio. Farmington is unlikely to, but the language on public signage and ads stays careful. | |
| Boudoir | Sessions strictly by appointment, with a strong written privacy policy. | |
| Boudoir | Images stored securely with explicit, specific consent about how and where they may be shared. | |
## Permits & Licences
Missing layer / permits by phase
Parking somewhere is easy. Selling from that spot is a permit.
Not one of these has been applied for or called about, and every cost is a placeholder until the City of Farmington and San Juan County are asked directly. Two calls answer most of the column: the city clerk for the business registration, and planning and zoning for the parked-vehicle question.
| Key | Label |
| --- | --- |
| all | All |
| p1 | Phase 1 — parked |
| p2 | Phase 2 — venues |
| Icon | Item | Detail | Cost | Who answers | Phase |
| --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- |
| :icon-map-pin: | Home occupation / zoning clearance | Whether paying clients may visit a commercial vehicle parked on residential family property, and how many per week. | $0 – $150 | City or county planning and zoning | p1 |
| :icon-file-badge: | City business registration | A local registration is separate from the state LLC, and the address on it is the property where the bus sits. | $35 – $100 / yr | City clerk | p1 |
| :icon-receipt: | NM gross receipts tax registration | Sessions, prints, retail and rentals are taxable at the location where the sale happens, which changes on venue days. | $0 to register | NM Taxation and Revenue | p1 |
| :icon-hard-hat: | Build inspection question | Whether any interior work on a vehicle triggers an electrical inspection once it is wired for client use. | Unknown | City building department | p1 |
| :icon-store: | Temporary vendor / peddler permit | Required in most cities to sell from a vehicle on a lot that is not your own address, per event or per season. | $25 – $150 / event | City clerk | p2 |
| :icon-calendar-days: | Special event permit | Triggered when a session day becomes a public event with signage, multiple vendors or street presence. | $50 – $250 | City special events | p2 |
| :icon-truck: | Commercial vehicle registration and USDOT | Registration class follows the GVWR plate; a USDOT number may be required for intrastate commercial use. | Unknown | NM MVD and NM PRC | p2 |
| :icon-landmark: | Tribal and jurisdiction check | The Four Corners means driving between city, county, state and tribal jurisdictions, each with its own permitting for commercial activity. | Unknown | Each jurisdiction directly | p2 |
## Paperwork
Paperwork / verify locally
Four documents. One of them is usable today.
| Key | Document | Status | Warning |
| --- | --- | --- | --- |
| barter | Barter agreement | Usable after one attorney read | Section 1 is where trades go wrong. "Some electrical work" is not a scope. Write it until a stranger could read it and tell you whether it is finished. |
| session | Session agreement and release | Outline only — attorney required | This one carries your liability exposure, and an internet template is not written for New Mexico or for a client standing on bus steps. |
| rental | Rental agreement | Outline only — attorney required | The certificate of insurance naming you as additional insured is the single most important clause in the document. Do not draft that from a template. |
| cleaning | Cleaning checklist | Ready to print | It doubles as the rental handoff document, which is why it is worth being boring and complete. |
| Doc | Clause |
| --- | --- |
| barter | Exact scope of what each party provides, specific enough that both know when it is done |
| barter | Stated fair market value on both sides — bartered services are taxable income |
| barter | Redemption terms: expiration, transferability, quarterly cap |
| barter | What happens if either side cannot finish, valued proportionally |
| barter | Scope changes agreed in writing before work begins |
| barter | Independent parties, each carrying their own insurance and licensing |
| session | Fee, retainer, balance due, and what is extra |
| session | Rescheduling, cancellation, and how many reschedules are allowed |
| session | Weather clause — your right to move the date for wind, heat, or unsafe conditions |
| session | Access: entry is by steps with rails, and mobility needs disclosed in advance |
| session | Conduct: no open flame, no alcohol aboard, no children left unattended |
| session | Image usage, opt-in and specific, with the children policy stated plainly |
| session | Gallery delivery, storage, privacy, and limitation of liability |
| rental | Rental period including their setup and strike, with an overtime rate |
| rental | Deposit, refundable window, and a separate damage deposit |
| rental | Certificate of liability insurance naming you as additional insured |
| rental | Occupancy limit as a number — bus interiors feel bigger than they are |
| rental | Prohibited: open flame, smoking, alcohol, glitter, adhesive on walls, moving props |
| rental | Condition photos before and after, by both parties, and supervision on site |
| cleaning | Floor swept and damp-mopped, props returned to marked positions |
| cleaning | Curtains straightened and re-hooked where pulled |
| cleaning | Candles collected and switched off, bench lids closed and latched |
| cleaning | Backdrop panel secure on its cleats, trash out, steps clear |
| cleaning | Power disconnected, doors locked, condition photos taken |
## Brand Standards
Brand standards
What goes out publicly, and what does not.
| Rule | Why |
| --- | --- |
| Public-facing promotional imagery is my own real photography. | No generated or stock imagery in campaign material. The whole promise of this brand is that a real person photographed a real person, and the studio itself cannot be the exception. |
| No alcohol or drinking imagery in campaign content. | Empowerment work brings people in from a lot of different places. The imagery stays welcoming to all of them. |
| No identifiable images of clients' children posted publicly. | Model release or not. Faces blurred, cropped, or made non-identifiable before anything goes out. |
On the renders in this deck
They exist to test a color, sanity-check a layout, and show a barter partner what is being asked for. They live in the build folder, never in the feed.
## Calls & Gates
Before the first dollar
Three phone calls, in this order.
Write down what would make you stop
A decision gate set now is worth a great deal when you are eight weekends in and tired. Either answer means park it and reassess, not push through on savings.
The honest risk
It isn't money. It's attention. This build wants twelve consecutive weekends and a fair bit of your head, alongside everything else already running. Decide deliberately what gets put down, rather than discovering at week six that everything slowed by a third.
Track every build receipt from day one — the bus is a business asset and the build is capitalizable. Barter gets recorded on both sides at fair market value. Set the folder up before the first hardware run, not in April.
| Who | Why |
| --- | --- |
| Your dad | Confirm the bus can stay parked, with clients coming and going, through next season. The entire plan rests on that one answer. |
| A diesel shop | A $150 look-over tells you whether the bus is worth finishing before you spend anything on the floor. |
| Your insurance agent | Their answer may shape how you register it, and no paid client comes aboard before the policy is in force. |
| Gate |
| --- |
| The mechanical report says the frame or the engine is gone |
| The pre-sale does not reach ten sessions |
| The bus cannot stay parked where it is through the build |
## If It Stalls
The downside, on purpose
If the bus never rolls, what do you still have and what do you still owe?
| Key | Label | Summary |
| --- | --- | --- |
| keep | What you'd still have | Almost nothing on this list is bus-specific. It all walks into WHIMSY & WOO WOO or into the next on-location session. |
| owe | What you'd still owe | This is the real risk. Not wasted money — unkept promises. Keep this column short and it stays survivable. |
| Side | Icon | Item |
| --- | --- | --- |
| keep | :icon-bus: | The shell. Insulated and floored, a gutted bus is worth more than a rusty one, and it stays sellable. |
| keep | :icon-shirt: | The closet. 150+ gowns, XS–5X, still earning at every on-location session. |
| keep | :icon-lightbulb: | Lights, backdrops, drape and props — all portable, all usable in a rented room or a client's house. |
| keep | :icon-wrench: | Tools bought for the build, plus the skills and the trade contacts you made asking. |
| keep | :icon-camera: | The build content itself. Grinding, framing, painting — that footage sells the brand whether or not the bus finishes. |
| owe | :icon-camera: | Every pre-sold session. If the bus stalls, those get shot on location or refunded. Both cost you. |
| owe | :icon-users: | Every $99 membership year, honored in full, bus or no bus. |
| owe | :icon-badge-dollar-sign: | Sponsor recognition you promised in writing — logo, feature, thank-you post. |
| owe | :icon-handshake: | Barter already received. If Jade Energy wires it, they get their shoot even if the bus never leaves the lot. |
| owe | :icon-receipt: | Gross receipts tax on barter value and on presale income, in the period it was received. |
| owe | :icon-undo-2: | Zone sponsorships for zones never built. That money is promised back, so it has to still exist — not be spent forward on a different zone. |
Scope B raises this risk on purpose: $8,800–$17,900 over 7–11 months is real exposure, and a stall halfway through is a debt rather than a delay. Three rules keep it survivable. Spend in zone order, so money already spent has always produced a finished zone. Keep presales capped and hold the refund reserve untouched. Stop at the rear third if the money runs out — that fallback is a working set, not a failure.
## Where We Stand
Current phase
Stage 0. Leak test, rust prep, subfloor materials.
Under $300 of cash and a lot of grinding. Nothing else gets ordered until the roof is dry and the floor is sound. Meanwhile the calendar stays at one photography session and one Reiki session a week, booked through January 2027.
| Label | Item | When |
| --- | --- | --- |
| Next milestone | Finish the Stage 0 assessment. Founding 50 memberships stay live at $99 for one 12-month term — eleven claimed, 39 left. The First 15 bus sessions stay an interest list with no payment taken until the gates clear. | This month |
| Scope locked | Scope B, the full-length conversion, recorded 5 September 2026 at an estimated $7,590–$15,238 gross over 7–11 months. Still owed before it can be quoted or sold: one measured floor plan and written prices for the eight zones. | Done · 5 Sep |
| Decision to close | Confirm the bus can stay parked and be visited by clients through next season, and check what the property zoning says about that. | This week |
| Gate before Phase 1 | A $150 diesel shop look-over. It answers the only real question: is this bus worth finishing? | Before spending |
| Trades to paper | One signed page each for Jade Electric and Floor Traders, plus a welder recruited for the step platform. | Weeks 1–3 |
| Sequencing | Gates, not dates. Spring 2027 Skoolie dates are planned but nothing opens until the shooting zone, insurance, zoning, access and safety are cleared, and Founding Members get the first window. On-location sessions keep booking meanwhile, September 2026 through January 2027. | Gate-based |
| No storefront | No lease is being pursued and no studio space is in the plan. The Skoolie Studio is the only room: portraits, Reiki, the 150+ piece closet and the retail moment all live on board, and Whimsy & Woo Woo is what happens inside it rather than a second address. | Decided 5 Sep |
| Contact | Every enquiry — membership, build partner or interest list — goes to megan@boudieful.com or a text to 505-608-4566. Both are published on boudieful.com and both reach Megan directly. | Live |
## Get Involved
How to get involved
The bus gets finished by the people who will shoot in it.
| Icon | Who | Ask | Link |
| --- | --- | --- | --- |
| :icon-hammer: | Founding Members | The fifty $99 Founding Memberships already include behind-the-scenes access. Build days start in week four, capped at eight to ten people, three to four hours, food and music included. Specific jobs posted ahead of each one. Bring yourself and one prop from your own collection. | See the work day plan |
| :icon-handshake: | Trades and partners | Still open: welder for the step platform and generator mount, sign shop for cut vinyl, seamstress for the drape, landscaper for a level gravel pad, nursery for live plants. Come with a scope and a value and it goes on one signed page. | See the barter list |
| :icon-heart-handshake: | Build partners | Named scopes are live on boudieful.com: $350 the gates, $400 the book wall, $600 the way in, $1,400 power and climate, $1,800 the rear set. Contribution levels toward a named scope, not installed-cost quotes, and every one is a written agreement before work starts. There is no open-amount sponsor button and no gift boxes. | See the named scopes |
| :icon-camera: | Future clients | Founding 50 membership is $99 for one 12-month term — eleven claimed, 39 left. The First 15 bus sessions at $475 against a planned $625 are an interest list only; no payment until Stage 0 clears and there is a credible opening window. | See the First 15 terms |
Every hour and every dollar lands in the same place: one room that shoots, holds Reiki and carries the closet, with Whimsy & Woo Woo happening inside it instead of in a rented storefront. This is a living plan. Feedback, ideas, and offers to trade all change what happens next.
Send an inquiry
Megan Kilpatrick • BOUDIEFUL by Megan • www.boudieful.com
megan@boudieful.com • 505-608-4566 • Farmington, New Mexico
## Sponsor — Open
BOUDIEFUL by Megan • Farmington, New Mexico
Sponsor packet — 5 pages
A studio that comes to the client.
A gutted 35–40 ft school bus, owned outright, becoming the BOUDIEFUL Skoolie Studio: a dark editorial portrait set. No separate storefront is being pursued — this one room holds photography, Reiki and the Dress Closet, and gets re-dressed monthly. We fund one named piece at a time, in the open, and say exactly which numbers are verified and which are still estimates. Reach Megan at megan@boudieful.com or 505-608-4566.
| Value | Label |
| --- | --- |
| Owned outright | Shell paid for — no note, no rent, no lease pursued |
| Stage 0 | Assessment underway: leak test, rust, measurements |
| Parked first | Phase 1 stays parked; driving is a later, separate phase |
## Sponsor — What's Verified
Before the ask
What is verified, what is estimated, what we still don't know.
Every line carries its status, the record behind it, and the date it was last checked. Anything outside the first column is a working estimate.
| Key | Icon | Label | Blurb |
| --- | --- | --- | --- |
| fact | :icon-circle-check: | Verified | Owned, published or already happening. Nothing here depends on a yes from anyone. |
| est | :icon-ruler: | Estimated | Priced from retail and thrift research. No line item has a written quote yet. |
| open | :icon-circle-help: | Still unknown | Open questions with owners and dates, answered before money is spent on them. |
| Bucket | Fact |
| --- | --- |
| fact | The International was bought for $2,000 and is owned outright, gutted to bare metal. Paid in full · title transfer into the operating name to be confirmed with MVD · checked 5 Sep 2026. |
| fact | No storefront and no studio lease is part of this plan. The bus is the only room and the set is re-dressed monthly · decided 5 Sep 2026. |
| fact | Four signature pieces already owned and being reused: the black-and-gold tub, the open-book wall installation, the LED coffin and the bone throne. On hand · checked 5 Sep 2026. |
| fact | Published rates: portraits from $525, Signature $750, branding from $550, bundle $1,200. |
| fact | 150+ gowns, XS–5X, plus lights, backdrops and the Reiki table already owned. |
| fact | Every session since the downtown studio closed in early 2025 has run on location. |
| fact | 11 founding membership spots claimed, 39 remaining · boudieful.com · checked 5 Sep 2026. |
| fact | Stage 0 is underway: leak testing, rust grinding and measuring. No interior work has started. |
| est | Scope recorded 5 Sep 2026: full-length conversion, eight zones plus assessment and shell prep, $8,800–$17,900 gross as published at boudieful.com over 7–11 months. |
| est | Fallback if funding stalls: the rear third alone, $2,610–$3,330, which still produces a working set. |
| est | Making it road legal is a separate $4,000–$6,000 and is not in either figure. |
| est | Bus session pricing, $225 through $850, is a proposed ladder. None has sold yet. |
| open | Mechanical condition — a $150 diesel look-over is the first dollar spent. |
| open | Zoning for receiving paying clients at a parked commercial vehicle on the property. |
| open | A coverage package quoted in writing for the actual operations — parked, driven and with clients aboard price differently, and the number of policies is the broker's call, not ours. |
| open | Title status, the GVWR plate, and whether a USDOT number is required in New Mexico. |
| open | Actual electrical supply at the property and finished ceiling height after insulation. |
| open | One measured floor plan. Zone widths are proposed proportions until the bus is measured, and quotes follow that, not this deck. |
| open | Zero barter agreements signed and zero venues committed so far. |
## Sponsor — Fund A Zone
Build partners — the ask, in pieces
Fund one zone, not the whole bus.
Tap the pieces you'd consider. The bar shows what that covers against the gross low estimate for the full conversion.
Selected
Share of the gross low estimate
$8,800
These are contribution levels toward a named scope, not complete installed-cost estimates. Actual project costs may be higher and are finalised only after written quotes. Trade labour and materials are welcome in place of cash at an agreed equivalent. Benefits are proposed and become real only in a signed written agreement. Two different kinds of money: assessment money pays for work that gets done either way, so once the look-over, roof test and zoning answer are complete it is spent and not refundable. Construction sponsorships stay held against their named zone and are returned in full if that zone is never built. No sponsorship includes client galleries or client images.
| Icon | Amount | Name | What it buys | What the sponsor gets |
| --- | --- | --- | --- | --- |
| :icon-circle-help: | $350 | The gates | The $150 diesel look-over, the roof hose test and the zoning answer — the three checks that come before any interior dollar. | Proposed: named in the written assessment report sent to every backer within two weeks of the last check, whatever it says. Once the checks are done this money is spent, not refundable. |
| :icon-library: | $400 | The book wall | Mounting the open-book installation Megan already owns onto a backing wall, plus the chair and lamp in front of it. Not a new library — the piece exists. | Proposed: a plate on the wall for the life of that installation, and one named credit in the launch announcement post on Instagram and Facebook. |
| :icon-door-open: | $600 | The way in | A landing and handrails at the door, or new steps if that route is chosen — plus a threshold light. Improves access for most bodies; not wheelchair access. | Proposed: a plate at the entry for twelve months and a named credit in the access write-up on boudieful.com. |
| :icon-plug-zap: | $1,400 | Power & climate | Shore inlet, small panel, protected circuits and a properly sized climate unit — the difference between a set and a usable room in July. | Proposed: lead build sponsor for twelve months — logo on the sponsor page, named in three build-progress posts, no category exclusivity. Subject to an electrician's written scope. |
| :icon-camera: | $1,800 | The rear set | The deepest shooting zone: floor, insulation, walls, both track runs, drape and one light — the room clients actually get photographed in. | Proposed: named set sponsor for twelve months, five agreed build or set photographs to use in your own advertising, and a named credit in the launch content. Client photographs are excluded unless a client authorises it separately. |
## Sponsor Benefit Matrix
Missing document / what each level actually receives
Every promised benefit with a number on it, so nothing gets improvised later.
All of it is proposed and none of it is agreed. Every term runs twelve months from the day the named zone is finished, not from the day the money arrives. No category exclusivity at any level. Client galleries and client images are excluded at every level unless that client authorises use in writing, and construction money stays held against its named zone.
| Band | Note |
| --- | --- |
| $25 – $99 | Little Spark, live now |
| $100 – $499 | Supporter |
| $500 – $999 | Legacy / named piece |
| $1,000+ | Zone or system sponsor |
| Deliverable | $25 – $99 | $100 – $499 | $500 – $999 | $1,000+ |
| --- | --- | --- | --- | --- |
| Name on the sponsor page | Name, text only | Name and link | Logo and link | Logo, link and a short blurb |
| Plate inside the bus | — | Shared backer plate | Plate on the named piece | Plate at the named zone |
| Social credits, counted | One group thank-you post | One named post | Two named posts | Three named build-progress posts |
| Channels used | Instagram stories | Instagram feed | Instagram and Facebook | Instagram, Facebook and boudieful.com |
| Exterior signage | — | — | — | Proposed decal, size and placement agreed in writing |
| Build photographs to reuse | — | Two agreed build images | Three agreed build images | Five agreed build or set images |
| Session credit | — | — | One mini session, transferable | One signature session, transferable |
| First look at the finished room | Open house invite | Open house invite | Private walk-through | Private walk-through plus a guest |
| Term | Named through launch | 12 months | 12 months | 12 months, renewable first |
| Refund if the zone is never built | Assessment money is spent, not refundable | Held against the zone, returned in full | Held against the zone, returned in full | Held against the zone, returned in full |
## Agreements & Leave-Behind
Missing documents / before any money is taken
Three pieces of paper stand between goodwill and a dispute.
:icon-minus:
None of these three exists yet, and the deck cannot be used to collect sponsor money until the first two do. The barter tax treatment and any unpaid-labour question both get a professional read first — an accountant for one, an employment attorney for the other.
| Key | Icon | Document | Status |
| --- | --- | --- | --- |
| sponsor | :icon-file-signature: | Sponsorship agreement | Not written — needed before the first dollar |
| barter | :icon-handshake: | Barter / trade agreement | Not written — zero signed partners |
| onepager | :icon-printer: | One-page leave-behind | Not designed — needed for in-person asks |
| Document | Clause | Note |
| --- | --- | --- |
| sponsor | Amount, and which named zone it funds | One zone per agreement, never a general donation |
| sponsor | The benefit list, with counts and channels | Copied from the benefit matrix, not described loosely |
| sponsor | Twelve month term with a start trigger | The clock starts when the zone is finished |
| sponsor | Held-funds and refund clause | Construction money returned in full if that zone is never built |
| sponsor | Assessment money is spent, not held | Stated plainly, with the written report as the deliverable |
| sponsor | No category exclusivity | So two businesses in one trade can both sponsor |
| sponsor | Client images excluded | Unless that client authorises it separately in writing |
| sponsor | Brand approval and withdrawal rights | Either side can decline a use of their name |
| sponsor | Not a charitable donation | There is no nonprofit here, so no deduction is implied |
| sponsor | Timeline is a plan, not a promise | Written into the paper, not just said out loud |
| barter | Scope of work in plain words | What gets installed, to what standard, by when |
| barter | Fair market value of both sides | Their labour, and the sessions or credits traded for it |
| barter | 1099-B and gross receipts treatment | Barter is taxable income on both sides — accountant confirms first |
| barter | Licensing and insurance proof | Electrical and welding work needs a licensed, insured hand |
| barter | Materials: who buys, who owns | Trade labour and buy materials, or the line blurs fast |
| barter | Written scope from the electrician | Jade's supply, breaker and load findings on paper |
| barter | Warranty and rework | Who returns if a seal or a circuit fails in month three |
| barter | Exit clause with no bad blood | Either side can stop, with unfinished value settled in cash |
| onepager | The closure and the owned shell | Two sentences: studio closed 2025, bus bought for $2,000, paid in full |
| onepager | One photograph of the real interior | Bare metal, not a render — it does the persuading |
| onepager | The verified / estimated / unknown split | Shortened to three lines each |
| onepager | One number and one ask | $7,590 gross low, and the specific zone this person could fund |
| onepager | Benefits for that band only | Not the whole matrix — the row that applies to them |
| onepager | The refund promise, in one sentence | Held against the named zone, returned if never built |
| onepager | Contact and a QR to the full deck | 505-608-4566 and boudieful.com |
| onepager | Printable black and white | It has to survive a copier on a shop counter |
## Sponsor — The Ask
One specific yes
Here is what would actually move this forward.
Start a conversation
Your name
Email
Phone (optional)
What interests you — a zone, materials, labor, a venue
Anything you want to know before committing
Send it
Sending…
This did not send, so nothing was received. Email megan@boudieful.com or text 505-608-4566 instead and it gets handled directly.
:icon-circle-check:
Received.
Your message is saved. You'll hear back within two business days, and the assessment numbers go out to everyone as they come in. If you don't hear anything, email megan@boudieful.com or text 505-608-4566.
megan@boudieful.com • 505-608-4566 • boudieful.com
BOUDIEFUL by Megan — Farmington, New Mexico / Four Corners. Email or text either way; both reach Megan directly. Happy to walk anyone through the bus in person, bare metal and all.
No sponsorship benefit is live until it is in a signed written agreement. Construction money is held against the zone it was given for and returned in full if that zone never gets built. Assessment money is different: it pays for checks that happen either way, so once they are done it is spent and reported on rather than refunded.
| Icon | Ask | Detail |
| --- | --- | --- |
| :icon-circle-help: | Fund the three gates — $350 | The smallest useful yes. It buys the diesel look-over, the roof test and the zoning answer, and everyone gets the results either way. |
| :icon-hammer: | Sponsor one zone | $400 to $1,800 against a named piece of the build, with the money held for that piece only. |
| :icon-package: | Trade materials or trade labor | Flooring, lumber, insulation, electrical, welding, upholstery, signage. Written scope both ways before anyone starts. |
| :icon-map-pin: | Host a session day | A parking spot and power for a day at a venue. This one is Phase 2 and is neither funded nor legally cleared yet. |
| :icon-share-2: | Introduce us to one person | A welder, a diesel mechanic, an electrician, a commercial insurance broker who knows converted vehicles. |