BLAINE AND MACKENZIE VOSSLER WERE LIVING IN SAN FRANCISCO, LOOKING FOR the next step to take with their business. Together they run The Local Branch (thelocalbranch.co), making and selling clothing and leather goods with a vintage Americana vibe. With high rent prices in town and no way to open a brick-and-mortar store, the pair came up with a brilliant idea—take their business on the road with a custom Airstream!

Photograph by The Local Branch

Blaine and Mackenzie now travel full-time in their thirty-two-foot 1978 Airstream Sovereign Land Yacht, which they use as a live-in work studio. The Airstream allows them to travel to trade shows, craft fairs, and festivals all over the United States. They also run an online store, so they can sell and ship their products from anywhere in the country. Living small has eliminated their rent payment and dramatically reduced their business costs.

The couple bought the Airstream for $3,000. The bones of the trailer were good, but the interior was rough. The fridge was moldy, a window was missing, tires were flat, and there was green slime residue on the walls from cigarette smoke. They parked the trailer by the side of the road across from the ocean and got to work. It took them a couple of days to completely clean and gut the trailer. Then they hired an Airstream specialist to bring the utilities and electrical components up to snuff.

Reclaimed materials and antiques let Blaine and Mackenzie get the exact look they wanted inside their trailer. Inspired by the American West and the Airstream itself, they wanted to create a cozy cabin feeling with industrial touches. Blaine guesses they spent thirty to forty hours looking for materials and that 90 to 95 percent of everything in the trailer is reclaimed.

Photograph by The Local Branch

Photograph by The Local Branch

They found reclaimed redwood boards from a wood salvage company at a great price, and used them throughout the entire trailer to build their walls, closet, and bed. The rough-hewn wood fits their style perfectly. Mackenzie also knew exactly what kind of sink she wanted, and she found the perfect one at a high-end antique store in San Francisco. But the decimal point was in the wrong place—instead of $80, it cost $800! The next secondhand shop they visited had almost the same sink for a much better price, so they snapped it up.

Just as with the Airstream, Blaine and Mackenzie used their creativity to give old objects a new life. Old silver gutters were turned into planter boxes. Metal grain scoops found a second life as wall cubbies. The drawers under their bed are made from old fruit crates. Vintage lockers laid on their side became the base for a tabletop. Even leftover leather scraps from their business became door handles. “Keep an open mind and think about different ways to use something,” Mackenzie advises. Blaine adds, “We kept the costs down by being creative.”

Photograph by The Local Branch

As the couple discovers new storage needs, they’ll pick up new antiques during their travels. Old tobacco tins and ammo boxes make great storage for pens and utensils. Even vintage breadboxes store plugs and wires. Mackenzie says that they’re very choosy about which items they bring into the trailer. “It needs to be visually beautiful to us but also be really practical. You really can’t have more than you need.”

From start to finish, Mackenzie and Blaine had their new home in three weeks. They have adjusted quickly to their Airstream lifestyle. “The hardest things about living on the road aren’t so hard because we’re always waking up in a cool new place, and seeing parts of the country we’ve never been to before,” Mackenzie says.

Photograph by The Local Branch