I thought I would upload the Garay Artisans promo spot created by WFTV (ABC-Channel 9 here in Central Florida). This promo sometimes runs under their Local Experts segment in their weekend morning newscasts. You can also find us on YouTube! Actually, I’m sitting here amazed that I just wrote that. I,?who really know nothing about computers,?am now uploading (or is it downloading?) stuff on YouTube.? I feel oddly accomplished, LOL! (BIG thanks go out to my sister Suzy and my hubby Chris for helping me navigate these shark-infested waters.)

Hello, everyone! Well, our latest project is taking a restaurant which had white painted cabinetry and turning it into an elegant Antique Cherry wood. Flogging is what the first layer in some woodgraining finishes is called. You are taking a mixture of tint and beer or soda (yes, you read that right) and slightly beating it onto the surface using a brush called a flogger. (Why they had to resort to using torture terms to describe woodgraining layers is beyond me.) A flogging brush has long bristles which help to simulate the open pores in wood and the underlying grain that occurs when wood is cut.

Our crew has had a fun time with this project. The team has really gelled together and our finishes look nicely uniform. Plus, we all get along like seven peas in a pod. Our “What If?” situations for each other have continued (which started as we were all doing the Portofino Hotel commission, if you remember that blog post a few weeks ago) and we are now up to Name that Band game (identifying songs on the radio) and the Five Foods to Bring Along to a Deserted Island debate. (Mashed potatoes being on almost everyone’s list.) Everyone should have this much fun working and being with their co-workers!

This is our crazy Garay Artisans team (sorry it’s so fuzzy — they were moving!!!). Back Row: Pedro Santiago, Jason Rosales and Roger Herota. Front Row: Debbie Parsons, Yuri Garcia and Monica Zeuli. Not Pictured: Regina Garay, desperately trying to snap a non-moving group.

Many finishers use different techniques for their woodgraining. For this commission, the layers that worked for us were: (1) Base color, (2) Flogging, (3) First Glazing Layer, (4) Second Glazing Layer, (5) Finesse Layer and two topcoat layers. You need to do this for both the vertical panels (stiles) and horizontal panels (rails).

Here you can see a partial before shot of the restaurant:

Here is Roger flogging the first vertical layer (the stiles) on a nice peachy base. When done, we will switch all the tape around and tackle the horizontal sides (the rails):

Here is a sample of the first glazing layer. You can start to see where the glaze is being manipulated into the grain patterns.

We’re still working on the second glazing layer, which really deepens the color, adds depth and pulls it together. The Finesse layer is about taking all the woodgraining and making sure that the “wood” is not too perfect (since nature is never about being perfect) but making sure that it is perfect since you want an altogether balanced, pleasing and cohesive flow of color and grain. It’s a fine balancing act. Once we are done and the restaurant is put together, I’ll post a series of before and after shots. Talk to you soon!

Hello, Everyone! We have some exciting news for the DIY Workshop Programs for you — we’ve fine tuned the process and have “listened” to all the e-mails and feedback we’ve received. Here’s the brand new info we have in store?for you:

ONE We are going to be offering remote classes to make sure everyone gets a chance to have a DIY Faux Workshop and doesn’t have to travel forever to get to the class location. The five locations are: Downtown Orlando, East Orlando, Altamonte Springs, The Villages and Clermont. If you feel any of these locations is still too far or you’d like a particular class not being offered in your area, please e-mail us with your suggestions. I, for one, am excited to travel to these locations and meet all the budding artists out there!

TWO Due to this change, we are also offering an special introductory rate to our classes. These rates will be in place for six months and then they’ll go back to their original pricing so I do suggest you snap up your space now. The Elegant Glazes and Metallic Finishes workshops will now be $99 and both the Textures and Venetian Plasters class will be $125. Honestly, there is no way in the world to beat that with a stick. Great Pricing + Fantastic Finishes = Beautiful Home.

THREE We have also teamed up with MeetUp and are offering a free (yes, free) Faux Finishing roundtable at the House Blend Cafe in Ocoee, FL. It’s really geared towards homeowners and beginners and we want to encourage a fun time discussing?finishes and decorative details, targeting project speedbumps, meeting like-minded others and having a great cup of coffee and some munchies for about an hour or so. You can also come see the workshop sample boards and ask any questions about the classes if you’d like. It’s really all about providing a good, informative time with new friends. The MeetUp is scheduled for Saturday, September 15th at 10:00 am and you need to RSVP here. Sign up early because attendee size is limited. If it proves popular, I’ll have one about once every month or so.

FAUX! Here is the new workshop schedule. The website will be updated by early next week and you can sign up online or send in payment via snail mail.? If you need help processing the payment or have any questions, please do not hesitate to contact Suzanne in our office: (407) 839-4050.

* Saturday, September 15 – House Blend Cafe?(Ocoee, FL) 10:00 am MeetUp – Faux Project Roundtable for Beginners (Free) * RSVP here *

* Saturday, September 22 – Maitland Civic Center?(Maitland, FL) 10 am – 1 pm: Metallic Finishes Workshop ($99) 2:30 – 5:30 pm: Touchable Textures ($125)

* Saturday, October 20 – Citrus Room at Holiday Inn Express in Clermont, FL 10am – 1 pm: Metallic Finishes Workshop ($99) 2:30 – 5:30 pm: Venetian Plaster ($125)

* Saturday, November 17 – City Arts Factory (Downtown Orlando, FL) 11:30 am – 2:30 pm: Touchable Textures ($125) 3:30 – 6:30 pm: Venetian Plaster ($125)

* Saturday, December 8 – The Villages, FL (Location: TBD) 10:00 am – 1:00 pm: Elegant Glazes ($99) 2:30 – 5:30 pm: Touchable Textures ($125)

* Saturday, January 19 – East Orlando, FL (Location: TBD) 10:00 am – 1:00 pm: Metallic Finishes ($99) 2:30 – 5:30 pm: Touchable Textures ($125)

SPECIAL NOTE: To look at the samples for the Metallic Finishes, Elegant Glazes and Touchable Textures class, please visit the DIY area of our website. Please note that pics of the Venetian Plaster class and soon-to-be scheduled Cabinet Class will be up by early next week. The Cabinet Class does have a waiting list started so be sure to e-mail Suzanne@GarayArtisans.com if you’d like to have first dibs on attending that workshop.

Have an amazing day!

Hello!

I wanted to let everyone know that our brand new Message Forums are up.? We were using an outdated version before and we kept getting spammers galore (sorry about that). Sooooo not cool to see posts about larger what-evers and Viagra amidst our faux finishing topics. I do want to thank my gorgeous computer-genius husband, Chris, and his friends, Chad Adelman and Lonnie Hodges for their help in updating and cleaning our forum.? The results are wonderful…thank you so much!

The Message Forum is an area where you can come to post or browse amongst various areas and topics. These are:

DIY Workshops – Student Discussions and Class Descriptions

Project Help – Area to post questions for any DIY faux project you need help on

Inside In-faux - Latest Tips and Tricks of the Faux Industry, Reviews of new books, products and all things Art

Faux-cus on the Pros: The Interviews – An ongoing interview series on the Garay Artisans blog that spotlights design insiders. All interviews are archived here.

Shades of Garay – Updates on all things Garay Artisans

If you’d just like to browse the forums, you can just click here?or on the Links listing on the left hand side of this blog. When there, look for the Forum Index link on the mid-top left. In order to post or get project help from one of us, you need to register and be approved before you post. (This is how we finally got around those wily spammers.) You can register via the button on the top right. Feel free to contact us if you have any questions. Have a great day!

We have been diligently working in the Portofino Bay Hotel?here in Orlando and although we work in hotels fairly frequently, I feel as though the crew and I have stepped into another realm. We usually work during normal hours but because they are keeping the area being finished open and we were following a prep/drywall crew (from Prestige Construction — great company), our faux crew is working unusual hours. It’s tough to go to work when it is dark outside and then go through the behind-the-scenes maze to get to our location and then when you are done working, come out into the sunlight and just have the One Goal of Sleeping.

The Portofino Hotel at Universal Studios replicates Portofino, Italy and it does so down to the minutest detail.? The ceiling finish is a form of lime-based Venetian plaster called distressed Marmorino (“little marble” in Italian) — this particular one requires seven layers with four of them being all trowel work. This past Friday, my brother literally took the trowel out of my hands and had to pry my fingers open since they wouldn’t move. I’m going to have to provide a massager strictly for the hands (trowel work) and the neck (ceiling work)! The good news is that it looks great and really adds another level of ambience to the rooms.? Additionally, the staff working at the Portofino couldn’t be nicer — one time we were brought coffee and morning cakes and sometimes they come in to offer encouragement and a bit of small talk. It’s amazing to see how their kitchens are kept really clean and how well-organized their staff is.

While working on larger projects, it’s best to have a crew that gets along really well, have truly great attitudes and enjoy what they do. It’s gratifying when a finish comes together and looks great but you have to keep morale up while the tough work is going on. Thankfully, our crew of seven work perfectly together and we have a myriad of conversations going on?from the educational (you can have firemen come to your house to give a fire safety inspection) to the zany (rock salt will kill grass permanently). We also have a kind of “game show” going on whereas we try to determine at how much money one of our crew will finally take to do something he/she dislikes. It’s actually pretty entertaining to dream up different scenarios based on everyone’s personality. [Allright, so let's say (insert name of detested music band/artist here) asks you to faux their house and it will take a month. During this time, they are rehearsing their new album and tour right next door, at a volume of 11. How much money will you do this for?] Sometimes I have to try to remember not to laugh so hard since I am standing on a scaffold. Another thing is that now that the ceiling speakers have been fixed, all we are able to listen to is the Italian music that is heard throughout the hotel. (And all seven of us had just agreed on one radio station. Sigh.) I thought it was amusing when one of our crew, Pedro, said “Didn’t they play this song just a while ago? And we were all like “Yeahhhh, you’re right! They need to find other CDs.” We are now recognizing the Italian songs. I can’t wait for the day we actually start singing them. Arrivederci!

The samples and pictures of the currently scheduled workshops are up and I am so excited to be teaching them! The goal is to teach homeowners and beginners gorgeous techniques in addition to preparing them for success. I got started on this since people used to stop me at Sherwin-Williams or Home Depot and just ask me questions. (I’m thinking the give-away was my usual painted self.)

You see, I’ve seen a lot of current television shows teach you a finish and then they say “…and just continue this around the room. We’ll be right back after the break.” The next shot you see is the room completed and the host moving on to furniture and the like. I was like, well what about corners? How do you get a straight line where the ceiling meets the top of the wall? What if the materials are not reacting as well as they did on the show? A big lightbulb appeared on the top of my head (you’ll just have to take my word for it, since I have no evidence of that) and I decided to teach a complimentary “Proper Prepwork & Planning for your DIY Faux” class for the Southern Women’s Show.? You know what happened? Everyone fell asleep. Like zzzzzzzzzzzzzzzz.? I felt like the most boring speaker on Earth!!!! When I decided to throw in a finish at the end, the attendees just perked up and started coming alive and getting excited and really involved. So, I decided that for my studio classes I would mix in some good prep and planning tips in the midst of learning the finishes. (…and no groaning! It’ll be sorta like me hiding a brussel sprout within the macaroni and cheese — you won’t taste it I promise!)

Here are some of the sample boards (more images are in the Workshop Details area of our website):

(The first sample is one from our Touchable Textures class, the second is one from Elegant Glazes and the third is one from the Metallic Finishes workshop.)

If you note, we did add a Maitland class into the mix and the next location will probably be in the Villages area. We are adding a Venetian Plaster class soon to the schedule and the pics will be up then. The Cabinet Refinishing class (taught by my brother) will probably be held upon the opening of our permanent Orlando studio since the students will be learning HVLP spraying to create a true “factory-produced” look and that’s tough to do on someone else’s turf.

As always, please feel free to look over and register for our free Message Forum. We are always updating something in the website (we like things fresh, new and updated) and the Message Forum gets a lot of attention and care. Please post any project or workshop questions you have on there and we’ll be more than happy to correspond. To view the full forum, click on the upper left link that says GarayArtisans.com Forum Index. To register and become part of the forum community, click the Register button along the menu on the top right.

Have a great day!

Wow.??I’m just cringing when I see the date of my last post! We have so many amazing projects going on (i.e., exciting commissions, the new studio/showroom, worthwhile side projects) and I’m just bursting with vigor and my cheeks are pink with excitement at what is to come around the corner.

First of all, we have received a LOT of calls and e-mails with respect to the workshops we’ve scheduled (more to come, trust) and our August 11 class is full. My next post will outline more information about the workshops and the updated schedule including some locations further into Orlando and closer to Sanford/Maitland. What a great response!? (Wait until you see the pics for the classes — no sponging here!) In the meantime, our Message Forum is up and running and it is FREE to anyone who’d like to write in a question, chime in on their thoughts on design or put in their experiences with their DIY projects.

We’re excited about a super-cool commission we have coming up in a couple of weeks: we’ve been chosen to help renovate the Portofino Bay Hotel here in Orlando, FL. (It’s kind of an odd experience for us to work on a hotel here at home…we are usually traveling to consult and/or work on hotel properties outside of Central Florida.)? We are starting up with one of the restaurants and then moving on to other areas of the hotel.? I’ll try to put up pics as we go along. It’s wonderful to work on residences but with hotels you can push the envelope a little bit in terms of finishes and colors.? Do any of you wonder what it’s like to put together a hotel commission? Let me know in the comments and I’ll keep blogging on it in the future.

Another wonderful project I am looking to commit to is Ladies Who Launch (www.ladieswholaunch.com) as an “Incubator”. It is an organization that supports and nurtures women who are thinking about starting creative businesses or who currently own a business and are looking to freshen and expand their brand.? I am sooooooo all about supporting, helping and enjoying the success of my fellow powerful entrepreneurs?and with the new studio/showroom coming up in January, we’ll have a great space to meet and connect with some of the most brilliant and positive women in our area.? Take a minute (or an hour) to check out their website and let me know what you think! They have a wonderful book out and their site has great resources.

Phew! See why my last post was just a bit ago? (I know, last month is more like it but I’m trying to make myself feel better, LOL.) Have an amazing day!