It appears to have been fate that brought artists Jackie Henning and Melonee Lamb together.
The result is an understanding friendship and a successful business.
The two joined their artistic talents four years ago and established Paint Designs, specializing in original wall art and custom interior finishes for homes and businesses.
Jackie Henning
Henning obtained an art degree in photography and set design from the Minneapolis College of Art Design.
"I pursued those areas for quite a few years," she said. "I worked for a commercial photographer shooting products and designing backdrops until I started my own backdrop business."
For 10 years, Henning designed backdrops for the commercial photo industry in Minneapolis, working for such companies as Target,
Dayton's and several major food corporations.
She admits that taking the step to own her own company wasn't easy for her.
"My husband was so supportive," she said. "I probably never would have had the courage to do some of the things I did. An artist himself, he helped me overcome my fear of trying something new and always offered me good advice from a professional standpoint."
"While it is nice to have the freedom of being self-employed, in many ways it is more difficult," she added, "because you also have to do the marketing, and you are not taught that part of it in art school."
Henning and her husband, Stephen, moved to Evansville eight years ago, seeking a more rural setting to raise their children. One daughter is now attending Concordia College and the other is in
primary school. After moving here, Henning continued her backdrop business for four years, until she met Melonee Lamb and the two established Paint Designs.
Melonee Lamb
For Lamb, who is originally from Iowa, art had been her strength from early on.
"My family moved a lot when I was young, and it was tough trying to keep up academically," she said. "But I could always excel in the art room, and I've found that art has been a force behind many of the major decisions I've made in my life."
Lamb majored in art at Moorhead State University. She then married and moved to Texas for two years before returning to Minnesota and settling in Delano.
During the family's nine years there, Lamb did day care, which allowed her to stay home with her two boys, who are now 14 and 12.
"I took painting classes and did some painting during the years I was doing day care just to keep sanity," she said.
Her interest in painted wall design was sparked when she went on a Parade of Homes tour in the Twin Cities.
"At one of the homes I saw some wall art and I said 'I want to learn to do that!' "
She got her first paying design job after she and her husband listed their house for sale.
"I had done some painting and experimented with different things in my own home," she said. "When the real estate agent saw my house, she hired me to do some painting at hers."
The family moved to Alexandria five years ago and Lamb pursued a career in paint design.
A partnership is formed
Henning and Lamb were introduced to each other by a local interior designer about five years ago.
Lamb was doing faux finishing and Henning also did some. The interior designer thought they'd make a good team.
"I had just moved here and I needed a friend," Lamb said. "I didn't know I wanted a business partner."
Henning was also looking for a friend who shared her interests, as well as something different to do with her career.
"It just went hand-in-hand," Henning said. "We started our business about a year later. That was four years ago."
"We work well together," Lamb added. "It's kind of a synergy type of thing - the other is always the encourager. Two minds are better than one, and we can appreciate all the little things about each other's work that other people don't even notice."
Lamb added that, as in all relationships, the two do need to distance themselves from one another occasionally.
"Sometimes we drive each other crazy," she said. "There are times when we are working in the cities that we are together 24-7 (24 hours a day, seven days a week).
We'll sit down for lunch at the same table and just ignore each other," she added. "Everybody needs their own time. We're kind of like old married people - we know what each other is thinking, what they are going to do and so on."
So who is the boss?
"That depends on what day it is," Lamb said. "Sometimes things just aren't flowing for me and Jackie has all the answers, and the next day it could be the opposite. That's another positive part of working with someone."
Working as a team also makes the physical aspect of the job easier, as setting up and moving scaffolding is frequent in their line of work.
"This is very physically demanding work," Henning said. "At times that gets difficult, but we are conscientious of that and try to take care of ourselves."
"We need to remember that if something happens to one of us, both family incomes are affected," Lamb added.
The designers noted that another big part of their job includes travel. Over half of their work is currently done in the Twin Cities area.
"We only travel every other week," Henning said. "We made that commitment to our families to keep some
semblance of normalcy. I think I appreciate my family more because I'm gone and vice versa," she added. "My husband also travels a lot with his work, and we are more appreciative for what each other does and for our family time when we are together."
The women also made a commitment to not schedule work for one week each month during the summer, in order to spend more time with their families.
"We have the same values," Lamb said. "We are both wives and mothers, we both were stay-at-home moms when our kids were little. This is a new season in our lives and we have to make some sacrifices.
My working outside of the home has made my kids really responsible," she added. "They weren't used to having me working and sometimes they say things like 'all you do is work.' That's why it's necessary to keep a balance. If we lose our families in the process, it's not worth it."
When working in the area, the women usually don't begin their work day until 8:30 or 9 a.m. so they are available for their families in the mornings.
While much of their time is spent painting and working at jobs, they also need to schedule time for meetings, studio time during which they create sample boards and develop new design ideas and time to take care of the necessary paperwork that goes along with owning your own business.
They also attend seminars and workshops to expand their knowledge on different finishing techniques.
Both women agree that the success of their business has exceeded their expectations.
"I used to ask Jackie, 'do you ever think we'll get to the point where we're booked three months out?' and now we are!"