We were lucky to catch up with Margaret Dowling-Murphy & Kevin Murphy recently and have shared our conversation below.
Margaret & Kevin, thanks for joining us, excited to have you contributing your stories and insights. Learning the craft is often a unique journey from every creative – we’d love to hear about your journey and if knowing what you know now, you would have done anything differently to speed up the learning process.
There have been plenty of times when we had to learn lessons the hard way. Kevin said, “There was a time I blew a nail through a nearly finished project. I decided to scuff up the whole piece by taking a hammer and grinder to it and added more nail marks. It turned out to be one of our most popular styles.” Rather than focusing on the lost time or “wasted” materials, we try to learn a lesson that we can share with each other and apply to future projects.
Awesome – so before we get into the rest of our questions, can you briefly introduce yourself to our readers.
Kevin and I have been together for over 20 years and spent the first part of our relationship building our lives and family. Our business started out as a hobby fused with a need to earn some extra income. As we saw a desire for quality art and decor, we joined our skills together to pull off projects that the other couldn’t do independently. Kevin taught me how to work with wood, and I finished his projects that needed a more precise artistic touch. Then we both started to stretch our skills both together and independently. We find that, most of all, people appreciate hand-crafted work that is made with attention to quality and detail. Most of our buyers are repeat clients who keep coming back to us after seeing what we can do, and we develop relationships with them. Because our skill sets are so complementary, we find that if one of us can’t do it, the other can (or we figure it out together!).
What’s the most rewarding aspect of being a creative in your experience?
As a creative, you put so much of yourself into your work. When others think enough of your work to spend their hard-earned money on it, it’s very rewarding. We’ve had the opportunity to make many meaningful pieces for our clients. Whether it was to memorialize a loved one, celebrate a milestone, or bring custom beauty to an important space, we relish the times that our work elicits an emotional response and brings joy. It is an honor and privilege to do work that creates that type of impact. Art gives us the chance to connect with other people in a deep and meaningful way.
Are there any books, videos, essays or other resources that have significantly impacted your management and entrepreneurial thinking and philosophy?
For a few years, we’ve been watching and listening to entrepreneur and author Gary Vaynerchuk. In addition to building several businesses, he has spent his time sharing his beliefs about the power of hard work, kindness, and gratitude in both business and life. He said, “No relationships should be taken for granted. They are what life is all about, the whole point. How we cultivate our relationships is often the greatest determinant of the type of life we get to live.” You have to run your business the way you live your life to ensure that your business aligns with your values. We work hard, channel our creativity, and count our blessings as we build our business client by client.
Contact Info:
- Website: www.MurphyWoodArt.com
- Instagram: @MurphyWoodArt
- Facebook: @MurphyWoodArt
- Youtube: @MurphyWoodArt
- Other: TikTok @MurphyWoodArt