Mallory Paint Store

David is running the show at Tukwila these days and we're happy to have him supporting customers & our awesome Team Mallory Tuk. Drop in for great service or call for delivery, we'll make it happen! 💪

Happy Friday! Have you met Ashley at our Sammamish store? She's our go-to when it comes to picking the perfect pink, preparing Benjamin Moore paint, and an overall dose of positivity and sunshine. 🌞Ashley, thanks for sharing your happiness with co-workers & customers. You make a difference! We're thankful for you!

Also - shoutout to Handy Paint Pail for the Breast Cancer Awareness edition of our favorite pail.

Get Benjamin Moore paint, thousands of colors, and the best Old School customer service from your local Mallory Paint Store! We're on Everett Mall Way & we're here to help. 🌹🪴🌸🌼

Shout-out Jake, the manager of our North Spokane store on Nevada Street. He's observant, friendly, professional, and a real go-getter. We're lucky to have Jake on our team and we'd love for you to meet him. Drop by his beautiful store and say hello! 👋🙏

Good morning from our cutest customer 😍

PC: Ashley

WE. LOVE. SCUFF-X.

It's a beautiful day for some Benjamin Moore! Les at Gonzaga University has been staining the historical Huetter mansion on campus with Woodluxe. 💪💪💪

PC: Ralph

𝐏𝐚𝐮𝐥𝐚 𝐒𝐰𝐞𝐞𝐭 𝐀𝐫𝐭 | 𝐃𝐢𝐬𝐜𝐨𝐯𝐞𝐫 𝐋𝐨𝐜𝐚𝐥 𝟕𝐭𝐡 𝐄𝐝𝐢𝐭𝐢𝐨𝐧

𝑊𝑒'𝑟𝑒 𝑏𝑙𝑒𝑠𝑠𝑒𝑑 𝑡𝑜 ℎ𝑎𝑣𝑒 𝑃𝑎𝑢𝑙𝑎 𝑎𝑠 𝑎 𝑝𝑎𝑟𝑡 𝑜𝑓 𝑜𝑢𝑟 𝑡𝑒𝑎𝑚. 𝑅𝑒𝑎𝑑 𝑡ℎ𝑒 𝑠𝑡𝑜𝑟𝑦 𝑜𝑓 ℎ𝑒𝑟 𝑖𝑛𝑐𝑟𝑒𝑑𝑖𝑏𝑙𝑒 𝑗𝑜𝑢𝑟𝑛𝑒𝑦 𝑖𝑛 𝑡ℎ𝑒 𝑙𝑎𝑡𝑒𝑠𝑡 𝑒𝑑𝑖𝑡𝑖𝑜𝑛 𝑜𝑓 𝐷𝑖𝑠𝑐𝑜𝑣𝑒𝑟 𝐿𝑜𝑐𝑎𝑙. 🌹

Nothing will stop Paula Sweet from making art. Each twist of metal is meditation, every weld and hammer strike imparts her creations with gratitude and healing. Paula has flourished in her work as metalsmith and painter, thirty years of making art fortifying her inherent love of all things creative. As a child in the suburbs of New York she picked up a pencil and began to draw before learning to read or write. After taking a jewelry making class in High School Paula chose to focus on metalsmithing in college, realizing her passion for metal and fire, touching things and working with her hands soon earning her Bachelor’s in Fine Arts. During her time working in a New York foundry alongside two amazing women she was cautioned to temper her ambition. “Life gets in the way,” they said but Paula was determined not to let it. Armed with resolve and a spirit of adventure she began her journey west.

The year was 1989 and the state of Washington was more beautiful than she’d imagined. Life in Seattle was a constant blur of sound, motion, and color. Paula immediately got busy exploring her new backyard. From the Skagit Valley to the top of Mt. Constitution she immersed herself in the natural world breathing deep the fresh, Pacific Northwest oxygen. Brimming with inspiration Paula was ready to start creating again. Rather than giving in to space limitations brought on by her lack of studio Paula began to make jewelry on a little bench in the corner of her small dining room. Nothing would stop her from making art. She found her jewelry was well received by coffee shops and boutiques in the region. Shortly thereafter she moved to a larger apartment in Fremont and then in 1991 Paula met one of the greatest gifts life would ever provide, her husband, Charlie.

She got a studio, he got a shop. The well-paired couple fed each other’s creative spirits and Paula began to paint again. BallardWorks proved to be exactly what she’d needed. There she spent five years there enjoying a great community of people. During Open Studio Saturday nights visitors would come from the surrounding area with their children and families to experience the art. “Kids like my work,” she reminisces, “it’s colorful. I don’t use a lot of black. I love blues, yellows. Bright colors.” As people connected with Paula’s art they would share their interpretations, sometimes seeing their own thing and sometimes sharing her vision.

Paula watched birds; American Coots at the edge of Greenlake; Wild Turkeys at a museum in La Connor. They started to find their way into her paintings. “I was visiting a quilting museum because I like to do that in my spare time,” tells Paula, “and out in the backyard of the museum there were turkeys everywhere! The Docent told me they were trying to get rid of them.” She soon learned that the turkeys were considered a menace, causing traffic jams and destroying people’s property. Captivated by these beautiful, crazy birds Paula began taking photographs. The next day while walking through a Ballard car show she found herself still thinking about those turkeys. “I thought, ‘wouldn’t it be great if we could get those turkeys and rescue them from whatever was coming?’” So she painted it: a ’59 Cadillac surrounded by renegade Wild Turkeys and a vanity license plate revealing the spirit of freedom in her heart reading, ‘Let’s Go.’

In 2008 Paula began a combining wearable metal pieces with her paintings in a body of work entitled “Silver Linings,” each painting containing a hand-crafted one-of-a-kind silver brooch. The world had become an uncertain place and along with many others she was searching for a little piece of hope. “Silver Linings is about the things that I’ve come through personally,” she shares, “and that there is a silver lining on every cloud if you look for it.” Using scraps of silver she carefully shaped the curves and edges of her painted clouds. Everywhere Paula traveled she photographed clouds: stratus clouds in Dallas and cumulus clouds in the Skagit Valley. Her work had become a beautiful documentation of all that she had come through and the incredible places she had been.

“I really love the Columbia,” says Paula gazing at her painting. “We used to go down there all the time and just sit. Just look at the river and breathe. When the meadowlarks are out you can hear them singing from miles away; their call is so powerful and there’s so much open space that you can hear it.” Her painting ‘The Columbia’ depicts the warm, arid terrain of the Columbia River Gorge with the cold, rich blue of the river running through it. Framed with simple wood of a complimenting tone there sits on two ‘twigs’ attached to the frame a beautifully crafted metal meadowlark brooch. Suspended against the painted cerulean sky the meadowlark waits, beak agape with the echo of a call that can faintly still be heard.

Creating wearable art was now firmly a part of Paula’s repertoire. Why should art hang forgotten, lonely in a dark room? Why not allow components their thrilling escape, pinned to chests, draped around necks belonging to the faces which held adoring eyes? A quiet pasture is seen from above, soft textures of long, green grass beside a crystal stream. Inside a chain link fence two cows graze peacefully, unaware of the painting to which they belong. Paula reaches to the wall and removes the chain, now a necklace, and the two inch blue agate stone perfectly blended into the stream amidst the field. “You can wear it like this,” she says looping it once around her neck, “or like this,” she demonstrates with another loop. It is with a marvelous mind and great talent this artist creates, wishing her art to be enjoyed in new and exciting ways.

It’s 2024 and Paula is a warrior, nine years cancer free. Her current series is “Flower of the Month,” recently inspired by the success of her combination pieces. Instead of painting a background and affixing jewelry in a creative way in this new series Paula applies acrylic paint directly to the metal from which each flower is formed. “February is a primrose with an amethyst,” she says, “May is a hawthorn flower with an emerald.” The brooches sit vibrant upon their neutral bed, sparkling as light and shadows dance across each lovely visage. On the work desk beside the small glass case Paula’s sketchbook lays open, scrawled handwriting and drawings promising more beautiful things soon to come. Nothing will stop Paula Sweet from making art because for her, art is everything. Every brushstroke is meditation. Each completed piece is healing. In her beautiful world of metal and fire Paula Sweet finds freedom.

Celebrating Rian today. Creative, competent, colorful, wonderful human, we appreciate you. Thank you for all that you do. 🥳🥳🥳

These Buxton Blue HC-149 shutters had us at "hello." 🤩

Awesome meeting with our team today! It's great to get focused together & encourage each other. Let's goooooo!

Painting Pros - have you seen this in our stores? What do you think?

BY THE WAY.... did we mention Sara's back? This powerhouse is moving mountains in Spokane Valley. Let her provide you with some serious Benjamin Moore paint solutions. Free delivery for contractors. Amazing in every way. She's got you covered. Give her a call!

Mallory Paint Store We're your local Benjamin Moore retailer in Washington & Idaho and growing!

Visiting our Covington store? Let us share your pic with Bob! Using Benjamin Moore? Tag us! We love to celebrate our awesome Benjamin Moore family! 🥳🥳🥳

PC: Noah

𝐁𝐮𝐢𝐥𝐝𝐢𝐧𝐠 𝐄𝐱𝐜𝐞𝐥𝐥𝐞𝐧𝐜𝐞 | 𝐋𝐲𝐨𝐧𝐬 𝐏𝐚𝐢𝐧𝐭𝐢𝐧𝐠 & 𝐃𝐞𝐬𝐢𝐠𝐧
Mallory Paint Store - Discover Local 7th Edition

𝘙𝘦𝘢𝘥 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘴𝘵𝘰𝘳𝘺 𝘰𝘧 𝘓𝘺𝘰𝘯𝘴 𝘗𝘢𝘪𝘯𝘵𝘪𝘯𝘨 & 𝘋𝘦𝘴𝘪𝘨𝘯 𝘪𝘯 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘭𝘢𝘵𝘦𝘴𝘵 𝘦𝘥𝘪𝘵𝘪𝘰𝘯 𝘰𝘧 𝘋𝘪𝘴𝘤𝘰𝘷𝘦𝘳 𝘓𝘰𝘤𝘢𝘭, 𝘢𝘷𝘢𝘪𝘭𝘢𝘣𝘭𝘦 𝘢𝘵 𝘢 𝘔𝘢𝘭𝘭𝘰𝘳𝘺 𝘗𝘢𝘪𝘯𝘵 𝘚𝘵𝘰𝘳𝘦 𝘯𝘦𝘢𝘳 𝘺𝘰𝘶!

“You should think about painting again,” said the builder. It was 2001 and Chad was about to make a decision that would shape his entire future. He’d been in Washington for seven years now, leaving Texas had been another one of those ‘big decisions’. In Houston as a painter he’d been able to take full advantage of the warm subtropical climate by painting year-round but Seattle had been a different story. Endless rain made painting exteriors impossible for months at a time and the family man had needed to adapt to provide. This is how he’d met the builder who was now encouraging him to get a license and jump back in. With work assured and a contract secured he decided to take the plunge; Lyons Painting & Design came to life.

The painters of Lyons Painting & Design have a dream. In this dream they work with a team of capable people, they’re paid and treated well, and they’ve been given the opportunity to pursue a future in trade. It’s the same dream Chad Lyons had when he started the company and now his team has made it their own. With leadership and management tools in place, skills constantly in development, these painters push themselves to meet the highest standards in every aspect. “They do a lot more than paint,” says Chad with pride. Managing jobs, materials, hours, and expectations of production and client experience, these painters are trusted and empowered. Every individual is a representative of the company and what it stands for, carrying the values with which they are aligned into their personal lives and into the tight-knit Kitsap community. “Our brand awareness grows one person at a time,” he shares, and he’s right. The slow, healthy grow starts at the shop. In the early morning hours as the painters walk through that door they are skilled, valued, career-minded people. They have benefits protecting their families and interests. At Lyons Painting & Design they have a future.

Years ago Chad Lyons discovered a career path in painting and now he provides it to other painters through his business. “We want to provide what we’re not seeing as an offering from most contractors,” he shares. Over time he has developed a training structure which can take someone from apprenticeship through three painter levels and into leadership roles like lead, foreman, general foreman, and superintendent. Lyons has been focusing on hiring good, quality individuals then building in the skill set and training which can take any painter down the path of a successful career. “This is what we’re about,” says Owner Chad of the company’s model which systematically identifies and pairs personality and behavior types with the desired characteristics of a quality applicant. Hiring quality individuals is a priority, so Lyons offers an attractive package of benefits including health, vision, dental, 401K, a robust PTO program, profit share, and even gym membership; this along with good wages and quality workmanship places the company at the leading edge of the painting industry. “When you’re trying to hire career-minded individuals you have to give them something that looks like a career,” explains Chad, “it’s got to be more than a job that’s only based around a paycheck. We want the people we hire to already be aligned with who and what we are.”

In the painting industry product systems are used by professionals like Lyons Painting & Design to optimize performance and create outstanding results for their customers. Benjamin Moore manufactures product systems specialized for specific use from floor coatings to stain, cabinetry, siding, ceilings, pools, tennis courts, and more. “When it comes to product specification we like to be a part of the conversation,” says Chad. “Identifying whether a system is overbuilt or underbuilt is one of the ways we bring value to the table.” Clients with natural wood exteriors may wish a simple clear sealer to protect the wood’s natural beauty, but due to exposure or waterfront proximity may find themselves signing up for extreme weathering and maintenance. “We coach our clients by educating them on products and setting clear expectations,” Chad explains. “Siding has different characteristics whether it’s Hardy, cedar, or fir timber. The systems we recommend putting in place are designed to achieve the aesthetic our client wants but also protect siding materials from cupping, checking, splitting, and rotting.” Historic homes with seventeen layers of aged paint may not be a good candidate for high-build paint; cedar shingles exposed to wind-driven rain might not require super thick paint and primer. Looking at a project and understanding the needs of the end user allows Lyons Painting to provide the right system for every need.

While updating aesthetic and shedding outdated styles can provide motivation, painting a home is about protecting what is for many their largest investment. Harsh Pacific Northwest elements, susceptible substrates, and old coatings that have been stretched beyond their intended lifecycle leave many homes needing a fresh coat of paint. For over twenty-three years Lyons Painting & Design has been serving clients on the Olympic Peninsula and beyond, providing top-tier product solutions and educating clients on the protective qualities of the best architectural coating systems. “It’s our job to tell our clients ‘hey, this is going to be the best thing for you,’” Chad shares. “We do have clients that just want to change the color of their house but we’re able to really help homeowners protect their investment by sharing our knowledge and experience.” Partnering with reputable local builders and working with homeowners directly Chad and his professional team help customers by identifying key project elements and providing tailored solutions and product systems that will last. Listening to the customer helps them understand what’s really needed; homeowners on the verge of retirement may not wish to have their home painted again later when they’re on a fixed income; customers thinking about selling may be looking for budget-friendly quality. With every customer Lyons Painting & Design works diligently to provide great advice, beautiful finishes, and excellent lasting results.

Home improvement can be overwhelming even under the best circumstances so Chad keeps the repaint system as simple as possible. Clients looking for a home repaint will first receive a visit from one of Lyons Painting & Design estimators to assess the scope of work and determine what the customer is looking for. “Well, I want a paint job,” the customer might say but sometimes the need is more specific. “We’re thinking about moving soon.” “I’d like to increase the value of my home.” “I don’t want to paint again for fifteen to twenty years.”—each answer allows the estimator to set clear expectations and to make sure the recommended product fits the situation, ultimately setting the client up for success. After the client accepts the estimate it’s time to decide on colors. Mallory Paint Store’s color wall offers thousands of Benjamin Moore® colors to choose from and friendly guidance from paint specialists who know what’s trending. Clients may also decide to work with an interior designer who will help them achieve their color goals and more. “We see hundreds of colors in homes every year and can recommend some popular colors,” says Chad, “but if you’re talking ‘mood’ and ‘feeling’ in a space we’re going to recommend you to interior designers we work with who have the background and education to bring that vision to life.”

Once the color has been selected it’s time to get on the painting schedule. Summer exterior painting schedules fill up fast thanks to this region’s short window of good weather, and interior projects may be scheduled year-round. “By the time June comes around we’re often booked out through September and beyond, it depends on the weather,” Chad glances out the window, “right now we’ve got sun but ten minutes ago it was raining,” he laughs. With likely add-ons and change orders while on the job, Lyons Painting makes sure to schedule with flexibility. “When a client asks, ‘hey since you’re here could you take a look at— ‘whatever it is, we set a timeline and accommodate where we can.” Good communication from Project Coordinator Tiffany keeps customers comfortable and informed and allows for follow-up towards the end of a project’s duration. Questions like, “Did results meet your expectations?” and “How was your experience with our team?” provide feedback for the team of consummate professionals who measure themselves against it looking for ways to grow and always choosing to pursue excellence in every aspect of their work.

Every year this company selects a theme and uses it to fortify the foundation of the dream they share. Last year it was ‘Excellence’; this year the theme is ‘Efficiency’. “We asked ourselves ‘if we could hone in on just one thing, what would make the biggest difference?’,” says Chad, and instead of letting go of the previous year’s goal they decided to build on it. “Efficiency means we’re not duplicating effort. We’re hitting timelines. With efficiency added value comes into play,” he shares, “but it’s important to remember that you can’t be efficient at the expense of excellence.” For Chad and the team at Lyons Painting & Design systems are a way of life. Each person in the growing family of painters is invested in building positive, life-long relationships with builders, vendors, clients, and each other. “Building relationships is never done,” shares Chad, “it’s an ongoing process and it takes a lot of effort.” To this group of local painters the effort is well worth it. Together they dedicate themselves to providing quality, inside and out, with each coating and every interaction earning happy clients for life.

𝐃𝐨𝐢𝐧𝐠 𝐈𝐭 𝐑𝐢𝐠𝐡𝐭 | 𝐓𝐞𝐧𝐡𝐮𝐥𝐳𝐞𝐧 𝐏𝐚𝐢𝐧𝐭𝐢𝐧𝐠 & 𝐂𝐨𝐧𝐬𝐭𝐫𝐮𝐜𝐭𝐢𝐨𝐧
Mallory Paint Store - Discover Local 7th Edition

𝑊𝑒'𝑟𝑒 𝑓𝑜𝑟𝑡𝑢𝑛𝑎𝑡𝑒 𝑡𝑜 𝑘𝑛𝑜𝑤 𝑔𝑟𝑒𝑎𝑡 𝑝𝑒𝑜𝑝𝑙𝑒 𝑙𝑖𝑘𝑒 𝑆𝑐𝑜𝑡𝑡, 𝑀𝑖𝑐ℎ𝑒𝑙𝑒, 𝑎𝑛𝑑 𝑡ℎ𝑒𝑖𝑟 𝑡𝑒𝑎𝑚. 𝑅𝑒𝑎𝑑 𝑡ℎ𝑒 𝑇𝑒𝑛ℎ𝑢𝑙𝑧𝑒𝑛 𝑃𝑎𝑖𝑛𝑡𝑖𝑛𝑔 & 𝐶𝑜𝑛𝑠𝑡𝑟𝑢𝑐𝑡𝑖𝑜𝑛 𝑠𝑡𝑜𝑟𝑦 𝑠ℎ𝑎𝑟𝑒𝑑 𝑖𝑛 𝑡ℎ𝑒 7𝑡ℎ 𝑒𝑑𝑖𝑡𝑖𝑜𝑛 𝑜𝑓 𝐷𝑖𝑠𝑐𝑜𝑣𝑒𝑟 𝐿𝑜𝑐𝑎𝑙 𝑚𝑎𝑔𝑎𝑧𝑖𝑛𝑒. 𝑃𝑖𝑐𝑘 𝑢𝑝 𝑦𝑜𝑢𝑟 𝑐𝑜𝑝𝑦 𝑎𝑡 𝑦𝑜𝑢𝑟 𝑙𝑜𝑐𝑎𝑙 𝑀𝑎𝑙𝑙𝑜𝑟𝑦 𝑃𝑎𝑖𝑛𝑡 𝑆𝑡𝑜𝑟𝑒!

Giving back is a lifestyle for Scott Tenhulzen, owner of Tenhulzen Painting & Construction Partners. Since the founding of his business in the year 2000 Scott has been nurturing core values in his employees with a strong emphasis on teamwork, growth, and quality. For twenty-four years motivated by their shared desire to develop positive growth Scott and his team have worked hard to strengthen the heart of the painting industry: the painters.

It was the summer of ‘99 and Scott was looking for a summer job between college semesters, eventually landing at College Pro Painters. Having been raised in close proximity to the family’s remodeling firm Scott was familiar with the industry and dove into business head first. The new franchisee owner was eager, beginning long weekend trainings in early March, driving from Washington State University all the way to Mill Creek. “Go Cougs,” says Scott with a grin. “It was a madhouse; fifty of us prepping and painting a house over the course of a weekend. There was a lot of training that happened through that process. It felt like second nature to me.” Immediately he began to recruit college peers and was soon running a crew of twenty-five people. Despite the short duration of work, three months of painting then back to school, Scott laid a strong foundation by focusing on quality right out of the gate. At the end of the summer as his crew returned to their studies he found himself racing to finish touch-ups and complete the remaining jobs making him two weeks late for college. He’d received an award from the franchisors but more importantly he’d received a crash course education in business ownership which would change the course of his life. Scott was hooked.

The next summer he started his own painting company and hit the ground running. Tenhulzen Painting had a nice ring to it and he already had all the equipment he needed. In addition to a quickly growing customer list Scott’s remodeling connections were looking for good painters and Tenhulzen Painting fit the bill. As their reputation for consistency and high-quality finishes developed homeowners began to ask for things outside of the painters’ regular scope of work. “My father told me ‘Someday your clients are going to demand that you get into the construction side of business’,” says Scott with a chuckle, “and sure enough, I started getting calls.” Until that point he had been referring all requests for door installations, trim, full window replacements, and rot repair but had been finding that the referred work hadn’t been completed to the satisfaction of his clients nor had it met his own high standards. Scott’s wheels were turning as his vision began to take shape. He would do right by his customers, help them be able to get good work done, and his team would be the ones to do it. An experienced carpenter was brought on, then another, and as the construction division slowly grew Tenhulzen Painting & Construction blossomed in the remodeling market.

Over the years it became clear that for people considering a home remodel choosing to work with one company from start to finish would provide great peace of mind. Most projects take time, sometimes months from the initial design process to permitting and planning meetings, schedules derailed by unexpected obstacles. “Right now we’re focused on producing quality results faster and better,” shares Scott. “We’ve been looking at all of our processes and procedures, taking out things that are in the way. We call it ‘lean remodeling’.” Experience has taught Scott and his team that good systems streamline projects and can alleviate unnecessary stressors for all from the home remodel experience. “What we do is pretty different for a painting company,” he says. They use Buildertrend, a communications platform with estimating and project management software, to keep their clients in the loop and to manage various elements of each project. “Our clients get a portal with access to the schedule and daily logs as our painters report the work they’ve done and what’s next. They get to see pictures of the progress and our team gets to take pride in their work, it raises the level of trust,” Scott explains. Now when clients are considering hiring a separate painting company and contractor they can instead choose to rely on one company with the resources to handle everything. “It’s simplified,” says Scott, “we’ve got good communication, a good reputation, and the quality to back it up.”

In 2009 Michele was hired as a part-time bookkeeper at Tenhulzen Painting & Construction. She was certain she’d discovered something special at the then-small company when she accepted, unaware that her future roles would include Vice President and eventually wife. In her personal life she had fallen in love with his humble attitude, his pursuit of self-growth, and his desire to give back. Professionally she found herself engaged with the work. Scott had invited her to work alongside him in the field, sharing aspects of painting that could only be learned through hands-on experience. He was very busy with estimates, the business was demanding but he still made time for the things and people he cared about. PCA meetings filled evenings as he worked tirelessly to uplift the painting industry, a passion evident in the way that he talked about and treated the painters in his circle; so Michele uplifted Scott. Believing in his mission she came alongside offering support and new structure. Her keen observations and fresh perspectives brought new energy to the growing company and she realized this life was a good fit, she was having fun. Motivated and inspired Michele decided to go all in.

For the past several years there has been a shift within the company, a changing dynamic with a surge of increasing professional pride and an overall sense of ownership. “It’s been really interesting,” shares Michele. “Most of our staff have grown into their current positions and some wonderful people have stepped into leadership roles while still doing production—the pre-planning, quality control, and efficiency has been pretty inspiring.” Cultivating craftsmanship has always been one of Scott’s goals—at times even a motto—as he has worked to grow valuable skill sets within his team, one of his many ways of giving back. Acknowledging and training capabilities helps professionals grow in their careers and helps them to value the trade and company they’re a part of. Before working as an estimator at Tenhulzen Painting & Construction Matt worked as a helper at a smaller painting company nearby. “A friend of mine referred me,” he says of his recruitment. “At the other company when I asked questions like, ‘When will you teach me how to spray?’ They told me I’d have to wait seven months before I could even touch a sprayer. When I came to work at this company it was instantly way better.” Upon joining the Tenhulzen team Matt quickly learned the ropes of professional painting, working his way into a management role in his first year. “I worked my way up really fast,” he laughs, “if I’d stayed with that other company I’d probably still just be a painter’s helper.”

Scott his trusted leadership staff have made a point to encourage growth within their team wherever it is possible, an environment in which the capable craftspeople have flourished. Good conditions and resources have enabled sharp minds, these tradespeople are ready for anything. So why not boats? Enter Tenhulzen Marine Services, the newest division of the company. “I’m very passionate about it,” smiles Scott. “We have a boat of our own and as we’ve performed services on it our dock neighbors have come by asking, ‘Can you do this on my boat?’ It’s a different painting aspect for our team and we’re good at it.” There is a natural crossover for many of the existing systems and technical coating aspects between painting and marine services and the team has found that they enjoy the work. “It’s a unique offering,” he shares. “A lot of our clients have yachts of their own and after their boats have been sitting during the winter it can be time to have some work done.” From bottom resurfacing to the application of durable varnish both inside and out, Scott and his team have become true coatings experts, challenged and inspired by the love of all things marine.

Investing in community is an important value to the entire team. “Scott is a big ‘give-back’ kind of person,” shares Michele. “Our company believes in giving of yourself and paying it forward. There’s a true element of caring and consideration for our neighbors, our coworkers, our families,” she smiles. “I don’t think it would be any fun if our team didn’t share this mindset.” Local organizations offer opportunities for the people at Tenhulzen Painting & Construction to partner up with the company and individually, performing community service projects around Mill Creek and in their home communities. “I was involved with the rotary club for a long time and now Paige has picked it up,” says Scott of his Project Coordinator. “She’s taken on the Community Service Co-Chair position for rotary and is really helping drive a lot of our community projects.” In a few days the company will come together in a coordinated effort to clean Mill Creek in it’s new Adopt A Street program. For the painters it’s just a natural continuation of their consistent “giving back” mindset; for the community of Mill Creek Tenhulzen Painting & Construction will be the first local business to step up in this way and hopefully the first of many.

Tenhulzen Painting & Construction is truly a one-of-a-kind business, strong core values offering a firm foundation for returning clients and happy painters. “Michele has been working on the structure of our platform,” shares Scott. “We’ve been in business for twenty-four years and we’re strengthening our foundation so we can take our team of thirty people to the next level, like Matt,” he nods across the table to the estimator. “For me, this has been more than a job,” Matt shares the heartfelt words. “In my time here I’ve learned a lot; I’ve grown with the company as well as in life and in my work.” Finding people who are willing to understand and personally share the core values and goals, who have fully bought-in to the spirit of the company has made every difference. “If a person is focused on teamwork and growth, safety, quality, pride—and not just in their day-to-day work but in their regular lives then they’re going to be a good fit for us,” says Scott, “we can always teach a skill set but we can’t teach character.” When it’s all said and done it’s the people that make the company whole and unique. Working together towards a common goal this group of craftsmen are happily taking part in their community, proudly doing good work, and are making the world more beautiful one quality finish at a time. At the heart of everything is this simple philosophy which they have all learned to live by: treat people right and do the right thing.