Madison Spirit

A big thank you goes out to Gregg Parker. He is a freelance writer with the local newspaper, The Madison Spirit. He gave us the opportunity to have an article in this week's paper.

We had such a good time doing it. Thanks a ton Gregg. You rock!

http://www.al.com/news/huntsvilletimes/madison.ssf?/base/news/1237367764320360.xml&coll=1

Artistic Finishes 'based on honesty, hard work, talent'
Wednesday, March 18, 2009
By GREGG L. PARKER
For the Madison Spirit writeone35758@yahoo.com
Painters create decorative, faux finishes for clients

While launching their business Artistic Finishes, Michele Lee and Ricky Sauls learned to ask for help and avoid trying to do it all alone.
"When there's an opportunity in your life to do what you love, close your eyes, say a quick prayer and jump," Lee said. With Artistic Finishes, Lee and Sauls combine their talents to create decorative and faux finishes on cabinets and walls, painted murals, custom art and sculpted trees.
Another specialty is trompe l'oeil, or a painting style that creates an illusion of the reality of a photograph. An example is a fake door painted on a wall.
They started their business Jan. 1.
Along with their lead artist duties, Lee is business manager and Sauls is creative director. Greg Lee, Michele's husband, handles the accounting responsibilities and the Web site, www.artisticfinishesstudio.com.
Having a team of two allows them to complete jobs in a more timely and efficient manner, "therefore enabling us to accommodate the needs of more clients," Lee said. "We're a company based on honesty, hard work and talent." Artistic Finishes, in its beginning stage, has generated more response than the owners expected. They've recruited help from their families.
"We assist designers and home and business owners in creating an inviting and inspiring atmosphere through decorative finishes," Sauls said.
An important factor for success is compassion for their company and its clients. Also, they can create samples that can be replicated on a much larger scale.
Lee and Sauls enjoy their work because "every job is a new challenge and adventure. We get to meet many wonderful, new people," she said. There's no monotony because customers' requests are so diverse."
They say they feel great fulfillment when a job is complete. "We enjoy looking back and seeing our client smiling at what we have created for them. That makes this all worthwhile."
Currently, they have separate studios in their homes. For the future, Lee and Sauls hope to have a small, brick-and-mortar showroom to offer art classes and to show samples of their work and custom pieces for sale. However, they're keeping their plan simple for now.
"We want to be able to continue to do what we love. We hope to keep this a small company that gives quality work and personal attention to each and every customer," Lee said.
For more information about Artistic Finishes, call 508-7518, send e-mail to info@artisticfinishesstudio.com or visit www.artisticfinishesstudio.com.