“PEOPLE SAY IT’S BUSINESS, NOT PERSONAL. FOR ME, IT IS PERSONAL. THESE ARE HOMES WHERE FAMILIES WILL GROW. THAT’S SACRED TO ME.”
—Jon Clark | Owner
He was one of the early design- builders in the region, merging architectural design and construction long before it was trendy. Then in the mid-2000s, after the housing crash, a client walked in with a request that would change everything:
Had he ever built a straw bale home?
“After that job, he kept going,” Jon says. “He made it a promise to his granddaughter—to leave the world better than he found it.” From that promise, Mark LaRon Hixson Design Build became EarthCraft Construction Design Build, a company rooted in building science, ecological responsibility, and the simple belief that homes should make people’s lives fundamentally healthier.
JON CLARK | OWNER
“He told them he hadn’t,” Jon says, “but then he looked at his bank account and decided to take the job.” What began as necessity became purpose. As Ron shaped that first straw bale wall, something in him shifted. He realized the structure itself held a deeper integrity—one aligned with the kind of future he wanted for his new granddaughter. 64
Evolution Through Craft, Simplicity, and Incremental Brilliance
“We’ve stayed pretty true to straw bale,” Jon says. “The techniques have just gotten better and better.” Early in his career, Jon received advice that became a quiet mantra:
“Every build you do, make one improvement. Over time, that becomes exponential.”
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