With nearly 40 years in the business, Keith Collins Sr has been the creator of an endless array of designer rugs and paintings at ARTEXTURE, Inc. His uniquely handcrafted pieces add a delightfully unexpected to touch to any room and just the right touch of flair to your exotic car.
I sat down with his son and business partner, Keith Collins Jr to discuss how their family business became the source for one-of-a-kind designs.
vK: When did Mr. Collins (Senior) get into the business?
Keith Collins Jr: My dad started his business in 1974 after seeing my aunt sewing weaved carpets with a sewing machine. He started by pasting and gluing the carpets on to a cardboard canvas and perfected the art of piecing together the carpets like a puzzle over the years.
vK: How do you come up with your unique designs?
KC Jr: Everything is done in house with my dad as the head designer. Usually the client will come to us with an concept or a picture and we take it from there. Sometimes they'll ask for something similar to one of our more abstract designs that we have done for other clients.
vK: What makes your products unique?
KC Jr: One thing that makes our product special is that there are no machines involved. We've been using the same handmade process over the years. Being in the business for so long, we've also gained access to countless varieties of textures and colors for our carpets from around the world. There have been a few imitators that use machines to make their floor mats, but that have yet to figure out the technique for our handmade tapestry.
vK: Overall, what has been your most interesting request for a rug or painting?
KC Jr: One piece that many of our clients find interesting is our Ocean Rug. It has this cool wave-like effect that mimics the water hitting the sand. Something like that would take about four to six weeks to complete or around 190 to 240 man hours because it is all done by hand.
vK: Who are some of your A-list, high profile clients that you have worked with?
KC Jr: We've made about a dozen custom pieces for the late Michael Jackson, Jay Leno, LeBron James, Floyd Mayweather, J.W. Marriott Jr, the list goes on. We have over 3000 satisfied clients.
vK: Talk about what inspires you as an artist.
KC Jr: I'm a people person. I've gotten pretty good at picking up on certain traits about a person to help inspire ideas for that particular client. After so many years, it becomes a part of your DNA.
vK: What does the future hold for Artexure?
KC Jr: New challenges. All of our pieces are unique so we try to consistently come up with new ideas for our clients. For the most part we want to uphold a standard of quality and continue to produce good work.
For more information, go to Artexture.com ~vK
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