Sometimes I ask myself, what the heck I was thinking!

Everyone told me to keep the real job and stay financially stable, but something inside me was dying a little each day. The beeper, then the blackberry, emails, team meetings, and so many more left-brain requirements of my job were killing the innate artist within. The “normal” job simply wasn’t inspiring me anymore. I wanted to live with passion! I was having a “quarter-life crisis” and deeply soul searching for answers. Someone at church suggested a book called The Purpose Driven Life. I found it at Barnes and Noble and was intrigued with the book’s introduction. The first words of the book are “It’s not about you”… Now that’s some strong language coming from a self help book - so I had to dig deeper. What followed was an eye opening discovery of purposeful pursuit.

Self-help books often suggest that you try to discover the meaning and purpose of your life by looking within yourself, but author, Rick Warren says that is the wrong place to start. You must begin with God, your Creator, and his reasons for creating you. You were made by God and for God, and until you understand that, life will never make sense.

It was 2002. I was working at New Garden Landscaping. The world was still reeling from the Trade Center attacks and our economy was beginning to lurch with uncertainty. We had just purchased our first home and had a baby boy on the way. My mom - from whom I inherited the creative gene - and I painted murals on baby Gabriel’s nursery walls in a Noah’s Ark Theme. Our realtor stopped by to bring a housewarming gift, saw the nursery and was astounded by our work. “Wow, you should do THIS for a living!”, she said. “Do people really get paid to paint murals?”, came my reply. “Yes, but you should do it all! Faux painting and everything!”, she exclaimed.

At the time, I had never heard the term “FAUX”, but was curious about a career change that would allow me to utilize my natural talents to support our new family. Two days later, I’m sitting in the waiting room of a doctor’s office and see a magazine laying on the table beside me. On the front page were the words, “You think you know FAUX, you know nothing!”. There’s that “FAUX” word again! I immediately flipped through to find the article, highlighting Faux Works Studio in High Point; a teaching studio led by Barb Skivington. I immediately felt the stars align, looked up and said “Ok Lord, I hear ya!” But the classes were expensive and there were multiple levels of training that would be required for a full career change. So, what does any young man do when he needs money? Call DAD OF COURSE! It only took a short explanation to convince Dad that his wildly scatterbrained and creative son had finally found what he wanted to do for a living. Dad gave me his blessing and helped support our finances for the program. I ended up taking all of Barb’s classes and soon thereafter transitioned into the decorative finishing field full time!

Custom LusterStone ceiling for the “Ricky Bobby” house on Lake Norman

Year one, two and three: It was ugly… But let me just say, I’ll never regret what we learned during those incredibly challenging years. Fielding calls from collection agencies, deciding wether to pay the electric bill or buy bread and milk. We lost power a few times. We pawned Melodie’s wedding ring, with every intent to buy it back when money came in - but that didn’t happen soon enough and we lost the ring. That was probably rock bottom for me. I questioned everything - I had long, tearful conversations (arguments) with God about what I felt he called me into. I could recall scripture in my exclamations to God. “Did you bring us out here to die in the wilderness?!?” Exodus 14:11

I can’t begin to tell you how awful I felt in those days, as the so-called “provider” of our family, with barely enough to keep the lights on. My daughter, Olivia had panic attacks about the power being turned off because, when they pull the main breaker switch, it makes a loud CRACK throughout the home as everthing abruptly shuts down. Everything seemed so bleak in those days - we were literally collecting our “daily bread” with small projects here and there. That’s probably why, to this very day, I still recite the lords prayer every morning on my way to work…”grant us this day, our daily bread, Lord”. We learned the meaning of daily manna from heaven as, on more than one occasion, our prayers for work would be interrupted by the blessed phone call from a potential customer.

One particular occasion for will forever be deeply etched in my mind, as it was the first, major, commercial job for faux finishing I had ever done. We were so broke. Melodie’s mom invited us to lunch, her treat, at Elizabeth’s Pizza on Wendover near the Target shopping center where I had recently walked the parking lot, slipping flyers under windshield wipers. As we finished lunch and walked out front for hugs and goodbyes, Melodie noticed a construction site next door to Elizabeth’s. It was the makings of a new Mexican joint called LaHacienda. I walked in and asked for the Heffé, aka boss man. Around the corner came an imposing Mexican man, with a sombrerro style hardhat. “YES?”, his voice boomed as he approached. I was so nervous, but desperation found a boldness within me that seldom existed those days; the flame flickering as it were… I proceeded to tell Señor Raphael Leon about all the beautiful, old world plaster wall finishes that would make his new restaurant so inviting and authentic. He thanked me, shook my hand with a firm, meaningful grip and instructed me to bring samples mañana.

LaHacienda, Asheboro NC with Waxed Venetian Plaster

I’ll never forget getting back into the car with Melodie after my samples meeting with Raphael and slapping five thousand dollars cash down onto her lap. We both cried with tears of joy and gratitude right there in that parking lot. Suffices to say, our kids were raised on LaHacienda food - and we still eat there regularly. Raphael and his family have become dear friends of ours over the years, as we’ve done many more restaurants for him and his extended families, including Rio Grande in Summerfield, El Rio in VA, Don Ramone in Shelby NC and many more…

Much has changed in the design trends over the years. Those old world faux finishes aren’t as sought after as they used to be, so we’ve evolved our “specialty finishes” with the trends over the years. With each iteration; with each new chapter, God has continually provided for us, the right people at the right times. We are still astounded by the goodness that has followed us - even when at our darkest hour, God was with us, teaching us to lean in with faith, hope and trust. Through this enlightening journey, we’ve come to learn that all things are gifts, but the most precious gifts are the people God has brought into our lives. Fellow journeymen, and women who would come along-side and walk with us for such a time as this.

In my next blog, I would like to share more about these beautiful people in our lives; those angels in disguise that God placed in our path, each in a beautiful and unique way. Until then, I would just like to say that there is so much more about this life of purpose to learn - to understand and to grow therein. But from the very beginning, through the good and bad times, we have learned a most valuable lesson. Nothing will take us further along in this journey than Gratitude and Love. We should wear it on our sleeve like a badge. No matter how awful life may seem to get, there’s always something for which to be grateful - and there’s always someone deserving of our love.

-Nathan