Let Your Fingers do the Walking, Let My Work do the Talking

image

Expertly working with color comes easily to me. Marketing does not.

source

Yet my customers have to find out about me somehow and sending smoke signals just doesn't cut it. The wind only blows in one direction and I’m moving out in many. I have to be a chest beating baboon and pound the tom-tom just like everybody else screaming “Pick ME! Pick ME!” I have to step out of my comfort zone when I introduce myself to the world. I would prefer to not use words to promote my services. I want my work to speak for itself.

And it does. Hallelujah for Angie’s List to sing it to the world! When EB Color was just getting off the ground, I launched it with a small ad in my local small newspaper - no website, no blog, just a wing and a prayer. The phone began to ring and my heart went pitter pat. One of those customers was Robin A. who hired me to help her choose exterior colors. Of course I bent over backwards (one must be extraordinarily nimble to be a good color consultant) and the outcome was a huge success. Lo and behold, she wrote up a rave review about me and my service on Angie’s List and EB Color was catapulted. Not into the stratosphere, mind you, but almost. I’m still aiming there.

source

If you don’t know what Angie’s List is, let me tell you. It is an online resource for rated professionals by its subscribing members who pay to join. They have to put you on, you just can't sign up. It costs me nothing and keeps the bar high for everyone. I want to do a great job to keep my top listing and the consumer knows he’s getting someone good who has already been highly rated. Proudly, I have earned Angie’s List Super Service Award with 10 AAA ratings. Not only am I grateful, I am relieved - free advertising and a chance to let my work do the talking, not me.

Now if you will please excuse me, my chest is sore from all that pounding.

http://eb-color.com/

206-353-0454

Nightmare on the Ceiling

C’mon, let’s face it. Popcorn ceilings suck!

And gold sparkles don’t make it any better. There is absolutely nothing worse, except being chased by Freddie Krueger in the middle of the night with a machete. Fear not! You can deal with this eyesore head on! Scrape it off! I repeat, scrape it off! Knife in hand, embrace your inner maniac and smooth out that bad boy.

But first a word of caution. If your home was built before 1975, this lovely texture may be made of asbestos. If this is the case you will need to either hire a professional to remove it or wear protective clothing and a respirator. It will need to be disposed of properly as well. And one more caveat. If the ceiling has been painted along the way, it is going to be a lot more difficult to remove. There are many websites and videos that offer advice to deal with this nasty, but necessary task.

So here’s what you do. First test for asbestos.


Here is Doityourself.com’s recommendation. “Using a spray bottle with water, moisten (don't soak) about four small areas in different parts of your ceiling. Scrape about a 1 sq. inch patch from each area into individual plastic bags with a small putty knife. Take these samples to a lab that can determine if there is any asbestos in the samples - check your Yellow Pages for labs that will do this work”

Um...Did he just say Yellow pages? Obviously, this was written last century.

If there is no asbestos in your ceiling he goes on to say…

“Once the lab has assured you the popcorn ceiling doesn't have any asbestos, removing it becomes essentially a larger-scale version of the sample-taking process.
Remove all the furniture the room if possible, or cover it with waterproof plastic sheets. Spread plastic sheets or tarpaulins on the floor to protect it.
Put on a long sleeved shirt, wear a hat and make sure your eyes are covered. Safety goggles with sides are best.
Use that spray bottle and water to moisten an area of 2 to 3 square feet. Alternatively, you could us a long nap ceiling paint roller dipped in water. The objective is to wet the popcorn enough to soften it and make it "easy" to scrape off without soaking the ceiling above.
Once a section has softened, use an 8 or 10 inch taping knife to scrape the popcorn off the ceiling. Move across the ceiling, section by section, moistening and scraping until all the popcorn is gone.
Once the popcorn has been removed, sand the ceiling and paint it. You will probably have to Spackle some sections of the ceiling, some maybe more than once, to get it as smooth as you would like.

Indeed, it is a lot of work, but well worth the effort. Before you know it, your ceilings will once again have a beautiful complexion and be soft as a baby's behind. There won’t be dark shadows lurking overhead created by a greedy Neanderthal, a wannabe cave dweller trying to reenact a limestone cave for the suburban masses. Such a travesty.

EB Color Consultants

206-353-0454

Better and Best

After each and every color consultation, I write up a field report. I walk through each job in my mind. I consider each room we tackled; the lighting, both natural and artificial, the existing architecture as well as the individual temperament of the owner. I note what was specified and where. In my wrap up, I ask myself three questions. What went well, what could be improved upon and what did I learn? In doing so, I am continually fine tuning my process in my evolution as color expert. It is my hope that I can provide the best value possible for my customers in the levels of service, expertise and artistic expression.

What usually always goes well is that I “drove” the consultation. I listened to my customer, felt the space, looked around for cues and in tandem we developed a unique palette.

Of course, there is always something which can be improved upon…for instance I can be a little chatty. Yes, it’s essential to develop a good rapport with my client from the get go since they most likely were strangers before they met me at the door. Our pleasant conversation helps put them at ease so we can easily work together. I inherently like people, but my loquaciousness can only go so far - I cannot waste their valuable time and use up the air.

The most revealing part of the process is in my final question. What did I learn? Always SO much! Often, especially in the case of new construction, my clients have already done extensive product research of which I can be the beneficiary. There might be an existing color on the wall that I have not yet seen and can add to my repertoire. I often figure a unique way to deal with a situation. Sometimes, through our collaboration, my client comes up with something brilliant that I had not considered. As always, I learn a little bit more about me.

As the bar is continually lifted higher, there is one thing that always remains constant…I love my job!

http://www.eb-color.com/

206-353-0454