I am quite honored to be a guest blogger today for Fauxology. I have been writing my own blog over at Painter Girl for some time now and fairly recently stumbled upon Regina’s blog. I was so thrilled to see another decorative painter sharing her trials and tribulations of decorative painting and discussing classes, products and great resources. Of course, I became an immediate follower of Fauxology!
I have owned my decorative painting company, Paint It!, for 13 years now. In a prior
life, I worked in an office at a desk, so being on a ladder is a very nice change. I love the freedom of being self-employed and having the opportunity to express my creativity. Recently, I teamed up with Julie Krefta, to write for the Stencil Talk blog. Julie and I both wanted a blog devoted to the Art of Stenciling and it just seemed logical to have it be an off-shoot of Stencil Search.
If you are not familiar with it, let me give you a quick overview. I have been using this site for years to find specific stencils, even before I knew Julie! An example of how Stencil Search works would be, if you wanted to find a pear stencil…you would just type in the word “pear” in the search box. All the stencil companies who carry a “pear” stencil would appear. From this list you could just click on the individual designers and view their pear stencils. It brings you right to their site, where you can then place your order. It’s a real time saver.
Julie has this site so organized it just blows me away. You will find lists of stencil designers, stencils broken down by categories, an artist directory, stencil shops, sales and news about stencils, featured sites and featured artists, and resources. There is also a forum where anyone can write in and ask for technical help or any stencil related questions. Julie draws upon a vast selection of experienced stencilers to answer any and all questions. From the Stencil Search site, you can also access the Stencil Talk blog.
I am thrilled to be a part of this new blog. I feel very passionate about the need for a strong web presence promoting the art of stenciling. I try to incorporate stenciling in most of the jobs I do. I am finding this easier and easier to do with all the wonderful designs available, the vast selection of products to experiment with that are now on the market and when I keep the design concepts current with the trends. Gone are the days of multi-overlay stencils, at least for now. I do still get that occasional job, which is always kind of nice. It’s a little reminder of what was once my main bread and butter! Today I find myself troweling various products through my studier one-overlay stencils or I use Melanie Royals wonderful Modello line. I’m experimenting more and more with stenciling fabrics, custom linens, and drapes. There is a fresh approach to all stenciled surfaces now because of our fabulous stencil designers and new product lines.
We have seen many small and some large stencil companies disappear from the radar over the past few years. There has been a lot of grumbling in the industry that stenciling is just not in vogue anymore. I recently had the pleasure to interview Melanie Royals. Her take on stenciling: “It’s not the latest big thing, but it HAS become a decorating staple that will remain and I think that the opportunity is there to reintroduce it to a new generation. It just has to be packaged and presented a bit differently. That’s something I am working on with my own stencil line.” I agree. It is up to us, the professionals who inspire our clients with our finishes, to present stenciling with a fresh, current face. We need not be afraid to use the word “stencil”. We need to educate our clients about the use of stencils in todays finishes.
I am grateful for blogs such as Melanie’s Design Amour, and Helen Morris’s Design Inspiration where we can clearly see new and innovative ways to use stencils and Modellos. These blogs are so well crafted, that I often print out a post and show it to a client. I have a sold a stencil design right on the spot because my client can see the visual. They see how the design looks in a real setting and can now envision it in their home. I don’t even have to do a sample board in advance to make the sale. Thanks to Helen and Melanie, they make the sale for me!
I’m looking forward to 2009. I am eager to learn new techniques and revamp the way I do business a bit. I’m ready for some positive change!
regina…love the blog and what you are doing…hugs, rebecca
Rebecca — What a wonderful surprise! Thank you for the compliment. I’m going to check out your Cre8Tiva blog to see what you’ve got brewing. Hugs coming your way right back. :)