Courtesy of Ben Napier/Instagram
Who Is Josh Nowell From HGTV’s ‘Home Town’? Meet Erin and Ben Napier’s Talented Costar
Home Town viewers love seeing the community in Laurel, Mississippi, come together to help restore historic homes with hosts Erin and Ben Napier. The HGTV duo has had some assistance from their talented team along the way, including their longtime friend and colleague Josh Nowell.
Who Is Josh Nowell From ‘Home Town’?
Josh is one of Erin and Ben’s college friends who helped launch their Laurel Mercantile Co. business as one of the co-owners. His wife, Emily Nowell, is also in business with Erin and Ben and has been a huge part of their successful home renovation journey. Josh and Emily met on a blind date after college in the early 2000s and quickly hit it off. Erin shared a sweet blog post after attending their wedding in October 2010.
“There was a fiddle and guitar during the ceremony playing traditional Irish tunes, Spanish moss hanging from the huge live oak trees, an immaculate pink 1957 Packard that drove Emily around to the aisle, tons of appley, caramelly goodness at the reception and the most twitterpated lovey couple you can imagine,” the graphic designer recalled.
Even before Home Town, Josh had a mission of transforming the city of Laurel, purchasing a building in the downtown area that he hoped to one day restore. A decade later, his biggest dream came true when he and Erin and Ben turned the building into a candle store as an expansion of the Laurel Mercantile Co. company.
“This building is pretty special because I used to live across the street from it,” the entrepreneur shared in a July 2022 blog post. “I knew I wanted to see it developed into something worthy of its history, and thankfully, we’re starting to see it transform back into its original form.”
In addition to leading the candle store renovation project, Josh and his wife spent years working as oil and gas professionals and founders of Petrolia Land Co. and invested in more historic real estate in Laurel, Josh’s hometown. The University of Mississippi graduate often accompanies Ben in his workshop to assist with woodworking projects, a position he has held since the very beginning of Home Town.
Ahead of a new season of Home Town in January 2024, it was announced that Josh would have a larger role in the first episode. At the time of filming, Ben was recovering from shoulder surgery, leading Erin to call in some reinforcements.
“In the season opener, Ben is recovering from shoulder surgery so he enlists his best friends Jim Rasberry and Josh Nowell to help Erin renovate a home for a family looking to escape the cold Canadian winters,” HGTV shared in a press release. “The new Laurel residents are hoping Ben and Erin can find them a property with enough outdoor space for their family of six to enjoy their new southern digs.”
Do Josh and Emily Nowell Have Any Children?
The couple are the proud parents of four children: Samuel, Teddy, Nora and Irene. While woodworking has become one of Josh’s biggest passions, he admitted that spending time with his family and focusing on other business ventures has become his priority.
“Ben is usually filming 12 hours a day, and I’m generally working on business operations with our partner Jim Rasberry,” he wrote on the Laurel Mercantile Co. blog in August 2021. “Neither of us can be in the woodshop as much as we’d like.”
