We were lucky to catch up with Mindful Murals recently and have shared our conversation below.
Hi Mindful Murals, thanks for joining us today. We’ve love to hear an interesting investment story – what was one of the best or worst investments you’ve made? (Note, these responses are only intended as entertainment and shouldn’t be construed as investment advice)
We both (Thao & Kolten) can agree that the best investment we have ever made, is the investment we made in ourselves to leave our full time jobs to take a chance and start our own business. We faced such a difficult decision. We were both making livable wages but were beyond miserable working for someone else, constructing our days around someone else’s agenda. It ate at us day and night. In 2018, we made the decision to leave our jobs, bet on ourselves and that was the start of something beautiful! Now we were in control again. We can make our days how we want them to be. Don’t get us wrong, running and owning your own business is no small feat. In fact, neither of us have ever worked harder in our lives. However, the ownership we now have over our lives, well-being and happiness is something we would never trade back. Point being, if it’s the last thing you ever do, take a chance on yourself!
Great, appreciate you sharing that with us. Before we ask you to share more of your insights, can you take a moment to introduce yourself and how you got to where you are today to our readers
Mindful Murals is an artistic collaboration between San Diego artists/husband & wife Kolten & Thao French to bring more color and art to our communities. Since 2017, we have painted over 300 murals within Southern California, at schools, restaurants, breweries, offices and all over in public spaces. Our main focus over the last few years has been to transform school campuses with bold and colorful designs to replace the mainly taupe walls that seem to be the default within most of our schools. We want children to feel more engaged, safe and excited about being at school. We strive to create and paint artwork that does just that. This is a mission that is near and dear to our hearts and it took a lot of work to be able to create these paintings for schools. We had to obtain major insurance, much more than ever before, we became bonded. We even went to school to become licensed contractors just to have the ability to work within school districts. If the messages in our work resonate or even inspire one person, then our job is done.
Alright – so here’s a fun one. What do you think about NFTs?
Watch out… unpopular opinion coming! HAHA. We are not fans of NFT’s. As artists and collectors, we much prefer the old school, tangible form of art. We enjoy, paintings, sculptures, records and food. Tangible art. Much love to the ones out there selling their art in this form and profiting but its not for us.
What’s the most rewarding aspect of being a creative in your experience?
Having the ability to think of an idea, concept and then to bring it to life in a grand scale is a truly magical thing. Just the idea that you can make something and people want to buy it is a hard thing to wrap your head around. It brings on some funny feelings. Good ones i assure you! After years of being artists, we still bust out the happy dance with each art sale or commission. It’s incredibly rewarding to create and celebrate your own successes, not somebody else’s.
Contact Info:
- Website: www.mindfulmurals.com
- Instagram: @mindfulmurals
- Facebook: facebook.com/mindfulmural
- Twitter: @mindfulmurals
- Other: www.koltenfrench.com TIK TOK: @mindfulmurals
Image Credits
@koltenfrench, @thaofrenchphotography, @sandiegograffiti619
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