We were lucky to catch up with David Mayne recently and have shared our conversation below.

Hi David, thanks for joining us today. What was it like going from idea to execution? Can you share some of the backstory and some of the major steps or milestones?

It started while I was living in New York working as vice president of Lewis Mittman now known as Ferrell Mittman, a high end furniture maker to the trade. On the weekends I would travel the countryside of New Hope Pennsylvania looking for flea markets, antique shops and mostly vintage and antique lighting. My passion for lighting came from a lifelong career in the high end home furnishings wholesale industry. I began to amass an inventory of chandeliers, table lamps, floor lamps and sconces. At the time, I didn’t know what I would do with them, yet I continued to collect. After several years I decided to retire from Lewis Mittman and New York and re establish myself in Denver Colorado where I had lived for many years. After landing in Denver, I began to shop my favorite antique shops. I shared with an owner of an architectural salvage business that I had amassed this inventory of lighting but really didn’t know what to do with it. She said “you need to meet a person who is closing her antique lighting store.” My new friend became my mentor and for nearly six months taught me how to properly repair and restore vintage and antique lighting. During this time I began to formulate what I wanted to do with my life and my inventory. I opened up a shop called Table M, and boutique shop of lighting, antique tables (another passion) and some unusual chairs I had collected along the way. The name was a play on words… should I call it Table Mayne, Mayne’s Table and settled on the less obvious Table M. Soon customers were asking if I would restore their chandeliers, table and floor lamps. The focus of Table M moved to repair and restoration work. After some time Table M became Table M Lamp Restoration. After a year I outgrew my little shop and bought a building more suited to the repair business.

David, love having you share your insights with us. Before we ask you more questions, maybe you can take a moment to introduce yourself to our readers who might have missed our earlier conversations?

I was born and raised in Albuquerque New Mexico along with two older siblings. My father was a self employed architect who had a modern view on life. It was not financially easy to raise three children with a self employed architect as the only source of income. Finances were tight growing up, but my parents taught us to be respectful of others, table manors and how to enjoy life without a lot of money. As a child and teenager I longed more culture and visual stimulation than what I thought Albuquerque had to offer. My favorite aunt, my father’s’ sister lived under easier conditions. I admired her since of style and various collections of antique boxes, sterling silver, books, etc. I learned through her and my talented father to understand the quality of things and the importance of appreciating craft of any kind. After attending several Universities with a focus on architecture, I decided to attend a school focused on interiors and architecture in Miami Florida. During my time there and after graduation I worked in various high end trade showrooms from Miami to Dallas and finally Denver. During this time frame I was fortunate to work with really talented designers and manufactures which gave me an even greater appreciation of interior furnishings and antiques. One of my brothers told me once that I have a great deal of “Human Capital.” This was eight years into Table M and I stepped back and thought… I do have this human experience, this human capital that allows me to successfully move through and around situations, experiences, people and owning my own business. My customer base, both trade and consumer and my employees respect and rely on my knowledge and interests: my human capital. I am both alpha and numeric dyslexic and as a child not understanding how my mind was deceiving me and as an adult trying to grapple and over compensate my condition really messed with me. Now I believe it has been a gift. We see things differently that non dyslexic people see. I have always relied on being resourceful because of this. Being resourceful is a day to day gift I rely on to run my business

Let’s talk about resilience next – do you have a story you can share with us?

After moving to Denver to manage a multi line trade showroom, I decided to open my own showroom with a business partner whom I had known for several years. The partnership consisted of my knowledge of the trade and his consisted of business management, or so I thought. The last four years of our ten year partnership were not good. I began to suspect mismanagement of company finances. The harder I tried to find this mismanagement (embezzlement) the further our partnership fell apart. The mental abuse and stress of those years took a toll on me that I will never forget. The core of the business was how I had gathered different manufactures into a beautiful showroom respected by designers, architects and like showrooms. The core was me and it was the hardest decision I have ever made to sell my half of the business and leave the abuse and embezzlement behind. I felt that my world had ended. Soon after the sale, one of the manufactures asked me to join his company and that’s how I wound up in New York. After several years back east I began to realize how much I missed Denver. But I though, your crazy to consider leaving a very lucrative position all for a city you love so much. I followed my heart and decided to leave my position as Vice President and to move back to Denver. My ability to build Table M from scratch and make it a successful thriving business proved my true resilience.

We often hear about learning lessons – but just as important is unlearning lessons. Have you ever had to unlearn a lesson?

Having gone through the failed business partnership the lesson I learned was to never trust anyone on that level. The lesson I had to unlearn was to trust again. But how does one go about learning to trust. After some time it became clear to me that it’s not so much about trusting someone, but trusting your life’s experiences to guide you through decisions and choices. Trust yourself!

Contact Info:

• Website: https://www.tablem.com
• Instagram: table.m.lighting