<>
Jim's story: "Since
I was a little kid, I’ve been an artist. My folks still have my first
crayon
drawings that I scribbled on the underside of their coffee table."
"When I was in high school in Vermont, I caught the theatre bug and began designing and building sets for theatre productions, making props and costumes and learned (on my own) to do theatrical make-up. I also devoured every art, industrial art and theatre course the school had available. Just before graduating, I became involved with a summer stock group and dug right into doing their sets and make-up. A production of “Dracula” got the attention of some local Jay-Cees who were planning a haunted house fund-raiser and invited my assistance. The program went off so well (people came from as far away as Montreal and Boston), that it blossomed into a yearly event. I soon became their prop, set and make-up master and general F/X “Go-to-Guy”. I had the best time of my life! We had a wonderful 10-year run."
"During all those years, my best friend Joe and myself cultivated our shared interest in model building. As young kids, we started with car kits and plane kits but as we got older we both developed a liking (actually, a sickness) for horror and sci-fi….so we gravitated toward the more… um… unique kits. We gobbled up copies of “Famous Monsters of Filmland” and the like. After “Star Wars”, I began kit-bashing. Through all this, I got the definite feeling that my folks thought I was truly wasting my time. I was constantly drawing, painting and creating. Most of my family asked “How long are you gonna fool with that art stuff?” I can understand the sentiment, since during that period after high school I skipped from job to job to job, not liking any of them...not sure what to do with myself."
"In
my mid 20’s, a series of events (too long to describe here) led to my
moving
to Florida and marrying the love of my life. Down
here, I was able to find the job my family thought I
never could. I found a lead on a job with
a large theming company. When I walked in
the door of the shop for my interview and
saw the things
these people were making, I knew I had found my place.
I never looked back. I guess
if there’s a moral here, it’s simply “stick to your guns.” Years
later, while walking around Universal's Islands of Adventure the day
before it opened, my wife pointed out something profound to me. She
said, 'Do you
realize that 10 years ago you went to your first theme
park...and now, 10 years later, you've helped to build one?'.....that
felt so good!"
"I'd been working with a large new company at that time and had just
bought a new house...then came 9/11/01...and
it all fell apart. The company had several million dollars of
work 'in the chute', ready to go...all they needed was signatures...but
these clients decided that things were kinda weird right now...perhaps
it was better to reassess...and then they all pulled out. There was a
mad scramble to replace this lost revenue, to no avail...no one was
bringing in outside vendors, sighting 'security concerns'...then the
layoffs started. This company I was
with went from fortune 500 to bankrupt in
about a year. So I quickly went from spoiled-rotten studio artist
to just another guy out on his ass. It was gut-check time. If I
wanted to keep my new home and livelyhood, I'd have to do some quick
thinkin'! While I was collecting those lovely unemployment checks
I began to investigate the need for theming of homes, restaraunts...the
need for model builders for collectors who didn't have the personal
skill to build on their own...for decorators who need a go-to-guy...the
need was there. And
more! All I had to do is tap it!"
"Well, I’m now in my 40s….married for over 17 years with two terrific kids and loving every second of it. I have work all over the planet in museums, theme parks, hotels, casinos and private residences. I’ve had the privilege of working with several theming companies and learned so much from so many talented people along the way, several of whom I consider to be my mentors. I’ve had the opportunity to be a mentor myself a bit, and it has truly been a fulfilling experience. I work out of a shop right next to my house and make my own hours. Life is good! If I had it to do all over again, would I? You betcha!."
Thanks
for visiting my site. I hope
you
enjoy what you find here.
I wanna hear from you! Email Me