We’re excited to introduce you to the always interesting and insightful Mark Montoya. We hope you’ll enjoy our conversation with Mark below.

Hi Mark, thanks for joining us today. What was the most important lesson/experience you had in a job that has helped you in your professional career?

As a former giftware developer it was critical to ensure the sales force understand the background of the design direction.Staying ahead of trends was important . Salesmen are salesmen and that is basically just that.Most buyers are following trends closely so it is extremely important for everyone to be on the same page of understanding. Giving a salesperson some background knowledge helps them to sell a product or an entire line of goods.

As always, we appreciate you sharing your insights and we’ve got a few more questions for you, but before we get to all of that can you take a minute to introduce yourself and give our readers some of your back background and context?

Presently I am focusing on my artwork. I am aware of trends in painting styles and subjects as best as I can. There are so many wonderfully talented artists in the country. Previously I was working as a floral designer designing premade pieces for department stores. The importer that I worked for also had trading offices in Taipei, Hong Kong and Manila. Fortunately for me I was allowed to run freely developing products that they could show to their clients and collect orders to place with manufacturers in Asia . It was a dream job but after fifteen years of going full steam I had burned out. I then switched gears into garden designs creating a bit of English country style in Alabama. It was challenging for sure because the climate is so different.I am most proud of the time I went to the most remote place in China I had ever been . That day the only thing to eat were fried baby birds and a jelly like cake with earthworms on the top. Persevering all this all the area had for me to work with was straw and corn husk. I came up with a nativity set which ended up in Lord and Taylor. Many people have told me that I can make something from nothing.Recently I made a large bird from wire ,moss and weeds from the garden.

We’d love to hear a story of resilience from your journey.

Many times I was escorted into China by people that barely spoke English. Cold weather, rain and a few cases of pneumonia were all part of having my creations mass produced and see these things in big box stores.

What do you think helped you build your reputation within your market?

I hope that my reputation grew because the merchandise that I was creating was selling well in the stores.

Contact Info:

• Facebook: Mark Montoya
• Other: email: [email protected]