Today we’d like to introduce you to Stephanie and Amiel Mesner.
Thanks for sharing your story with us Stephanie, Amiel. So, let’s start at the beginning and we can move on from there.
Chemistry, local theaters, and left-handedness were all contributors to the success of our art business. If my husband and I had involved our left brains in the decision-making process of whether or not to start our own art business, Arteriors would never have happened. Logic and statistics would’ve led us to safer careers, ones that gave us reliable income and benefits. Being southpaws and relying on instinct and stubbornness, we chose the path least recommended by our parents; self-employed business owners providing artisan wall finishes and murals for the interior design industry.
We are both School of the Museum of Fine Arts alumni. After short stints working in various local theaters and production companies, we gathered our spattering of experience and started offering our services to designers and home owners. Even when we had no idea what a potential client was asking for, we said we did and then taught ourselves in the studio, adding each new technique to our repertoire.
Interior design is a moving target and in order to stay in the game our services our constantly morphing. Old World and earth tones are out, metallic finishes, micro cement veneers and faux wood graining is in. Staying current and responsive to the market have allowed us to grow. When we began our business, over 75% of our work was for home owners and decorators. Our clients now include Architects, commercial builders, hospitality designers, as well as residential interior designers.
We’re always bombarded by how great it is to pursue your passion, etc – but we’ve spoken with enough people to know that it’s not always easy. Overall, would you say things have been easy for you?
Some of the challenges to owning an art business is the “art of business”. Everything that we now know such as; don’t hire friends, don’t call yourself incorporated if you’re not incorporated, hire a competent office manager to do what you cannot do, we had to learn the hard way. Having children while growing a business was also difficult, but entirely worth it. And knowing how to budget when income was inconsistent was also a challenge to maintaining a modestly comfortable lifestyle.
So let’s switch gears a bit and go into the Arteriors story. Tell us more about the business.
Arteriors is a team of artists. Our job is to create part of the vision of the designer. Our work is artisan, custom applied surface designs, including gold and silver leaf, paint finishes, mural painting, and stone veneers, such as Venetian Plaster and American Clay, We are known for the extreme value of our unique product, quality of our work and inspirational results. We consider our work to be an integral part of the design and consider ourselves collaborators in the creation of the entire interior. We are excellent at what we do because of our love of craft and the elegance and efficiency of how we deliver it.
Has luck played a meaningful role in your life and business?
A successful business and/or life has less to do with luck than with the willingness to continually learn, work hard and keep going in the face of adversity or, in our case, tragedy. Although we have experience the crushing loss of a family member, there is great comfort in the work that we do. We are fortunate to have found one another. We have the prosperity of a shared passion in art that has kept us connected our entire adult lives.
Contact Info:
- Website: www.arteriors.net
- Phone: (508) 655-1942
- Email: arteriors@arteriors.net
- Instagram: arteriorssurfacedesigns
- Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/Arteriors
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