Sonnybleu Co.: A Narrative Package

Graham, N.C. resident Mason Shields has wanted a Volkswagen van, also called a minibus, since he was 15. He bought one in Dublin, Virginia off of Craigslist when he was 25.

 

He had plans to travel the country with his partner, Kaitlyn Shields. The bus was even featured in their wedding photos. But then he created a concrete business — and a child.

 

‘When we had our son, he kinda — skrr! — slowed things down,” Mason said. “First year, when she’s pregnant, she can’t do much. She’s carrying around, like, a big watermelon.”

 

The Shields named their child Sonny Bleu. Kaitlyn left her corporate job in insurance to become a stay-at-home mom when Sonny turned one. It’s a job she describes as her “end goal.”

 

But she wanted more. So, she used Mason’s 1977 Volkswagen Westfalia bus to make a side hustle — one she said she named after her now two-year-old son.

 

“He has been a motivation to start this company. He’s why we named it Sonny Bleu,” Kaitlyn said. “So, I just feel like we’re able to spend more time with him because he does come with us to events a lot of times. And people get to meet him. Most people will come up to us because of him.”

 

Sonny Bleu Co. is a bus rental service based in Graham. People in North Carolina and surrounding states rent the bus for private and public events, from photoshoots and weddings to festivals and markets.

 

The company celebrates their one-year anniversary this month. Kaitlyn said the bus usually gets rented out at least one weekend a month. But this October, they’ve been booked up every weekend. Kaitlyn says this is because the bus’s yellow-orange fall colors match the autumn leaves.

 

On Saturday, Lexington, North Carolina-based photographer Jessica Duncan rented out the bus to Moretz Farm in Lexington. She used the bus as a prop for family and couple photoshoots.

 

Duncan said she found Sonny Bleu Co. on Facebook through a friend who also rented the bus. She wanted to try a different theme for her autumn photoshoots.

 

Duncan and Kaitlyn agreed on renting the bus for $300 for three hours — $100 an hour. But Sonny Bleu Co.’s rate depends on the event. Duncan said she had a great experience with the Shields and that they were very helpful.

 

“All throughout that three hour time span, Kaitlyn came up and asked me maybe every 30 to 45 minutes, like, ‘how's it going? Is the lighting still what you want? Do I need to move stuff around?’” Duncan said. “So, they were very hands-on, and they were very willing to help me make sure that I had what I wanted and everything was going as I had planned for. That really made a difference for me.”

 

Throughout the year, Kaitlyn has met a lot of people through Sonny Bleu Co. She said she was “shocked” by the number of people who love old vans and buses. Random people will tell her their whole life story just because she owns a bus, she added.

 

Kaitlyn has also noticed a rise in popularity of owning old vans and buses. She said they have an “old vintage boho look.” She attributes her observations to the trend of “slow living” and how people miss that type of lifestyle in a busy world.

 

According to Slow Living LDN, slow living is a “mindset” that encourages people to “curate a more meaningful and conscious lifestyle.” This includes completing tasks at a slower pace, taking a moment to appreciate surroundings without distractions, valuing quality over quantity, and taking more time for self-reflection.

 

The slow living movement returned to the mainstream after the COVID-19 lockdowns of 2020 forced people to work from home or be at home after mass furloughs, Slow Living LDN added. A CNBC article says more than 18 million workers were on furlough in April 2020.

 

Now, slow living is a social media trend, especially on YouTube and TikTok, where creators who live in rural areas document their slow lives. They work from home, bake pastries from scratch, run in meadows, read books under trees and decorate their homes for each season.

 

Kaitlyn said the bus forces her to live slowly because the old machine literally moves slowly.

 

“The bus, when it’s running, you don’t go full-on, full-speed,” Kaitlyn said. “It’s slow, you’re slowing down. So, I’m able to enjoy the little things, simple life like this.”

 

Mason also said the bus makes him slow down. He works “long hours” at his concrete business, and said he and Kaitlyn find peace in driving the van, which does not have air conditioning or radio.

 

“Some people like to sit on the beach or read a book somewhere in a hammock, something like that,” Mason said. “But ours is just cruising in an old beat up bus.”

 

Westphalia was a German contractor that transformed Volkswagen Microbuses into camper vans, which became popular in the US during the 1960s and ‘70s. Today, many of these vans retain historic value, but are in poor condition and may not run.

 

Mason spent five years in total completely renovating the van little by little, taking a break when Sonny was born. When he first saw the bus, it was sitting on jack stands. The inside was gutted, and it had no top. It did not run.

 

He started renovations by rebuilding the engine from scratch. Then, he rebuilt the brakes. He fixed the transmitter and made sure the tires were connected so they could spin. Mason said most of the renovations were mechanical; the body of the van was in good condition.

 

Even though Kaitlyn and Mason minimized their dreams of traveling the country  to traveling around North Carolina, Mason said having Sonny around is “awesome,” and they need to stay in one spot so Sonny can have a stable life and schooling..

 

The Shields recently bought another van, a green 1974 Volkswagen, to rent out as part of Sonny Bleu Co. due to their rise in bookings. Mason said the new van is in the same state their current one was when they first bought it.

 

He also has plans to keep buying and renovating old buses and vans to resell. He said it would be just another stream of income for his family.

 

“Those things are kind of like a dying art, I guess, so it’s fun to kind of, like, bring those things back to life,” Mason said. “If we can sell them to someone and get them in a van to drive around and have fun and make memories and stuff, then we’re gonna keep doing it.”

 

Kaitlyn hopes Sonny will inherit a family business, whether it's Mason’s concrete business, Unique Crete-ations LLC, or Sonny Bleu Co.

 

“He likes to drive the bus,” Kaitlyn said, holding Sonny in her arms. “He likes to get in it and pretend he’s driving around. So, one day he may be driving.”

 

To book Sonny Bleu Co. send them a direct message on their Instagram — @sonnybleuco — or their Facebook, sonnybleuco.