Welcome back to The Beef! In conversation with us today is Troy Garza, from 209th Design and Muse 301. Tune in to hear the story of how he started painting at the age of 39, worked for his father’s company for nine years, and why he believes you have to do a lot of different jobs to realize what you don’t want to do. You’ll learn the difference between custom products and customizable products, and hear what custom means to Troy. We try to describe the experience of visiting the shop, to no avail, but we come closest by comparing it to Pinterest in real life. Troy shares the ins and outs of his daily work schedule, tells us how he goes about organizing parties in his space, and reveals why he has chosen to accept payment plans based on a handshake deal. Join us today to hear all this and more.
Key Points From This Episode:
• Why Troy would rather have a ponytail for the rest of his life than a mullet.
• The story of how Troy started painting at the age of 39.
• How Troy worked for his father’s company for nine years.
• Why you have to do a lot of jobs to realize what you don’t want to do.
• The story of how he started his current business, continuing his mother’s legacy in furniture.
• What his detailed approach involves and how he learns from his clients.
• The difference between custom products and customizable products.
• What custom means to Troy, and how it is a unique piece of art, no matter what it is.
• Why you can’t sell the experience of going into the shop, and why it is like real life Pinterest.
• The average turnaround time and how it depends on what else is coming in.
• How Troy can customize a party for you at his venue.
• The repairs that Troy does when people bring in broken furniture and why it takes longer.
• Why they have chosen to accept payment plans based on a handshake deal.
• His focus on building good relationships with clients and priority for peace.
• The in-depth conversations that occur when you customize furniture.
• How detailed the work is that he does on each piece.
• An introduction to Muse 301, their recently opened shop.
• Why each person in his shop has a philosophy behind what they are doing.
• How artists need to pick up other artists!
Tweetables:
“I didn’t start painting until I was 39, and I’m 47 now, so basically when I started off all I had was one goal, this entrepreneurial spirit.” — Troy Garza [0:05:42]
“To me, for something to be custom, means that it’s a unique piece of art, no matter what it is, if you’re delivering a show, and it’s like turning this table and you realize that it’s going to make the show better, that is like living art and that is what we specialize in.” — Troy Garza [0:15:19]
“Sometimes it’s not about the money, it’s about the customers and the clients coming in and then being able to tell us the history of certain things.” — Troy Garza [0:28:25]
Links Mentioned in Today’s Episode:
