Christyn Ford shared their story and experiences with us recently and you can find our conversation below.
Christyn, so good to connect and we’re excited to share your story and insights with our audience. There’s a ton to learn from your story, but let’s start with a warm up before we get into the heart of the interview. What do the first 90 minutes of your day look like?
I am my best in the morning. One of those crazy morning people. I get up between 4-5am depending on where I’m working. My day starts with yoga and meditation. Then journaling and a gratitude list, so I don’t lose sight of the blessings in my life. Then all of the office work that keeps my business going. Answering emails, sending estimates, writing contracts.
Can you briefly introduce yourself and share what makes you or your brand unique?
I am a tile installer. I install all aspects of tile, from flooring to showers to custom mosaics. I am an artist through and through, and the artistry of this particular trade is what I fell in love with.
I started in the trades in 2008 in San Diego, California. I worked as a helper for a woman that was a tile installer. Over time I was made part owner of that business, and became the companies lead installer. I experienced a lot of success with that company, we had a crew of 15 working for us, we worked on some of the most prestigious homes in Southern California. The Razor house in La Jolla is one of the better known homes we worked on (Alicia Keys owns that hose now).
In 2018 I decided to dissolve our partnership over issues we were having, and packed up my life and moved to Golden, CO. That is where I started Lotus Tile. I made the decision to focus on smaller projects that were more artistic when I started this new evolution of my career. I have started to work on more custom made mosaics. My first professional custom mosaic was a pizza oven for the Woody’s Pizza food truck, be sure to check it out if the truck is in your area! That was probably one of the coolest projects I have worked on. I would love to ultimately move my career in that direction and do mostly custom work like that.
I also have a passion for teaching. I am working with 2 local shops to host hands-on DIY classes for anyone who would like to learn to install tile. Classes where you will actually get your hands dirty and install some tile. One set of classes will be focused on teaching young women who are interested in getting into the trades. My goal and dream with this is to one day have a trade school for women.
Great, so let’s dive into your journey a bit more. What part of you has served its purpose and must now be released?
Being a woman in construction is not easy at times. With my previous company we worked on a lot of sites around men that were less than happy to see women on site. There was a lot of “bullying” that happened. I have been in the industry for almost 2 decades and to survive earlier in my career I had to become a very hard person. In the last few years I have learned that this part of me is no longer needed. I have shaped my company into one that allows me to work for wonderful people, on small sites, away from your typical “gruff” construction worker. It allows me to be myself, and not constantly have to watch my back or fight for my place in the industry.
Was there ever a time you almost gave up?
Before moving to Colorado I had a company with my ex-girlfriend. She was an emotionally abusive person and it took me a very long time to see it. She had me believing that I was worthless. I was so beaten down at one point I thought that taking my own life would be the answer. I was ready to give up on life. After my attempt failed I woke up a new person. I saw my worth, I saw the abuse, and couldn’t believe that I allowed another person to push me so far. After that, I decided to leave that person, leave that company and move my life to a new state to start over. Today, I am SO thankful that I am here, and thriving!
I think our readers would appreciate hearing more about your values and what you think matters in life and career, etc. So our next question is along those lines. What’s a belief or project you’re committed to, no matter how long it takes?
My end goal for my career is a trade school young folks, especially focusing on teaching young women the trades. I have always had a passion for teaching, and I see the needs of the trades going forward. For every 7 tradespeople getting out of the trades, only 1 person is coming in to replace them. We need more young people pursing the trades. I am working on developing this trade school/ program to help bridge that gap.
Okay, so let’s keep going with one more question that means a lot to us: Have you ever gotten what you wanted, and found it did not satisfy you?
The prestige of large projects, for celebrities, getting those 6 figure checks for projects, having my name on some of the most notable homes in Southern CA…. That was all something I thought I wanted. Things I thought would make me happy. And at the end of the day I wasn’t happy. Life moved fast, I rarely had time for myself, I was always stressed out. I never appreciated things in the moment. Money and prestige in my industry did not bring me the happiness or fulfillment I thought it would. This is why I decided to structure Lotus Tile the way I did. Smaller projects, creative projects, a wonderful clientele, and a quality of life I couldn’t have dreamed of.
Contact Info:
- Website: https://www.lotustile.net/
- Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/lotus_tile/
- Linkedin: https://www.linkedin.com/public-profile/settings?trk=d_flagship3_profile_self_view_public_profile
- Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/lotustilellc
