The Ultimate Class Recap!
Our week in the studio with the ultimate class!
We had an incredible week in the shop with the Ultimate Class! They made some incredible pieces and were such a great group of artisans. We really look forward to seeing what these alumni go on to create and do! We wanted to share some more stories and photos from the week with you.
Class in action
Class projects
One of the great things about the Ultimate Class is that students work together on real projects that they can add to their portfolios. We chose some really ambitious pieces for this class, and the students really rose to the challenge!
what an incredible week! It’s back to client work for us now but we feel so grateful we were able to host at our shop and be a part of these new alumni’s journey!
We had a blast!
Read about our Mondays on Main Kick-off and see if you can find yourself in the photos!
Our First ever Mondays on Main was so much fun!
When it started raining 20 minutes before the kick-off party, we weren’t sure how things were going to turn out! Instagram was down so we couldn’t update anyone on the status of the party so we just decided to roll with it and hope for the best! After about 30 minutes the rain stopped, the sun started to peek through, and you showed up!
The music was great, the food was wonderful, the axe throwing was so much fun, and the company was even better. We are so grateful to the food truck vendors, smokey mountain axe house, and our friends who played live music and sold antiques.
Missed it last week? We’re doing it again!! Join us Monday, November 5th, 5-7 PM for more food, music, and fun! 16 Main Street Canton, NC 28716
Mondays on Main
Our new event! Food trucks, live music and more hosted at our shop
Join us for the Mondays on Main Kick-Off Party this Monday!
We are beyond excited to be hosting & putting on this event at our shop (in the parking lot!) We love the community we have in Canton, and are grateful we have the space to be able to facilitate bringing people together! Is is going to be a blast and we really hope you’ll join us tomorrow.
Food trucks | live music | antique vendors | axe throwing& more!
Smokey Mountain Axe House is coming out to offer axe throwing! If you’ve never thrown an axe for fun, it’s time. You can check out their website to learn more here
Our vision is to be able to make Mondays on Main a regular thing for our community but we need your support to make that happen. So come on out and have some fun with us!
Success In 5 Days
Learn how CCI’s Ultimate class sets students up for lifelong success in just 5 days
A week of training, a lifetime of success, support, and knowledge.
The Concrete Countertop Institute’s Ultimate Class is just one week away, so we thought it would be the perfect time to highlight our favorite aspects of the program for anyone who might be on the fence or thinking about signing up.
dedicated lifetime support
When you join the ranks of the Ultimate Class Alumni, you have full access to support from the trained staff at CCI for as long as you need it. CCI really is dedicated to helping its students and alumni succeed. They are an incredible resource to have at your fingertips whether you’re just starting out in business or have been at it for years.
We have so many stories of ways CCI has supported us throughout the years. They have helped us with technical questions when we’ve gotten stuck, recommended our work to potential clients, and always been there to offer support and advice! Now year’s later we are still involved with them because the relationships we formed at CCI are lasting, supportive friendships that have served us both professionally and personally. (One of our fellow alumni even gifted us a new mixer after our shop flooded.)
2. practical business training
When we first took the Ultimate Course all those years ago, we were surprised at how much of the course was dedicated to marketing and mastering systems to actually run a successful business. We assumed the course would be 100% concrete-focused, don’t get us wrong, there is a ton of concrete, but when we finished the course we had a way better grasp on the business side of creative concrete.
We walked away not just with the concrete skills that are still serving us to this day, but also with extensive operational knowledge, sales scripts, marketing techniques, pricing guides, and more.
Even if the course 100% focused on the concrete skills it would be worth it, but the fact that you also walk away armed with the tools you need to succeed as a small business owner is the cherry on top!
3. Alumni success
If you want to know if this program can really make you successful in the concrete world, you only have to look at CCI’s alumni network. CCI alumni have proved time and time again that the training works.
“I don’t need to brag about my own accomplishments when so many of my alumni all over the world have used CCI training to build a foundation that made them successful.”
4. Portfolio building
When you’re first starting out in business it can be tough to get new clients to trust you for their projects. After the Ultimate Course, you have your diploma, but also several new projects to add to your portfolio. We work on class projects together as part of your training and portfolio building. In the past we’ve built sinks, lounge chairs, and more.
This course is the full package. It prepares you with concrete skills, specialized training, business & marketing training, lifetime support, and portfolio pieces.
You can sign up with a totally refundable deposit of $1000. We know travel plans are uncertain in Covid times so if you have to cancel for any reason, you will receive a full refund of the tuition up to the day before class!
October 4-8, 2021
canton, NC
breakfast, hot lunch, class materials, and more included
We're Back In Production!
Our first time back in production since the flood
This week we were able to start producing in the shop again!
While we still have a long road ahead of us to get the showroom ready and the shop back to it’s old self, we were able to get enough cleaned and replaced to start producing concrete again. It’s an incredible feeling to have leaned on and been supported by our community in our time of need.
We’ve got just a few wall panels left to make and install
There is still a lot to be fixed and organized, but we finally recognize the shop again and that’s truly special!
With only a few employees and a lot of catch up work to do, everything is a team effort!
Getting ready for the Ultimate Class!
For those who don’t know, we’re hosting The Concrete Countertop Institutes Ultimate Class October 4-8. We’re so thrilled and have been working hard to clean up the shop from the flood and finish as much of our front room as possible.
If you’re interested in registering or learning more about the Ultimate Class, check out the button below!
We’re so thrilled to be back to doing what we love!
Follow along on Instagram as we continue to get the studio ready for CCI!
Thanks for being the best part of what we do!
Floridian Ranch Install
Beautiful location for a fun install!
Unique Ranch Install
We had a ton of pieces in the shop ready to be delivered and installed in Florida when the shop flooded. Thankfully we were able to save the pieces and they help up wonderfully! Last week we headed down to Florida for the install.
We were so thankful we were able to get this done for our clients. It’s been a rough few months but it felt great to pull off this install. What do you think?
Concrete & Cocktails: Grapefruit Bourbon Sidecar
Concrete & Cocktails: Grapefruit Bourbon Sidecar | Recipe and more!
After these past few weeks, we could really get down with a nice cocktail, so we hope you’ll join us in unwinding with a Grapefruit Bourbon Sidecar!
The ingredients
2 ounces bourbon (we used Heaven Hill)
3/4 ounces of Grand Marneir
1 & 1/4 ounces of fresh grapefruit juice
We love the simplicity of this drink! It only takes 3 ingredients to make and is the perfect summer to fall transition drink.
the recipe
The recipe for this is as simple as its ingredients. Simply combine all the ingredients into a shaker with ice. Shake, strain into a coupe glass (we chose a variation on this), garnish, and enjoy!
The Finished Drink!
We loved the grapefruit sidecar. Try it and let us know your thoughts
Studio Clean Up Progress
Cleanup progress after the flood
We know we sound like a broken record at this point but we wanted to say again how thankful we are to everyone who has helped us out during the flood aftermath!
We are finally starting to see some progress even though it feels slow at times. We know we have a long road ahead of us and it has been so comforting to know that we have a strong community full of people who care.
The Before
This is one of the better pictures we have of right after the flood. With about 6’ of water in the shop at the height of the flood, everything was scattered and caked in mud.
The Progress
We will keep you updated as things progress! If you’d like to donate to the GoFundMe, we’ll link it below. We’re looking forward to creative with concrete again as soon as humanly possible.
Heartbreak, Hope, & A Very Big Thank You!
Devastating news followed by a renewed sense of hope and community
Heartbreak & Hope
On Tuesday, August 17th our small town of Canton, NC suffered a devastating flood. I want to, before anything else, address how blessed we are to have our home, and our family safe. There are roughly 30 people missing, and countless homes and businesses have been destroyed.
We moved to Canton, North Carolina because of the spirit, the community, the people, and the mountains. Lauren’s family is from this little paper town, and we love it with all our hearts. We felt a sense of authenticity here that we’ve rarely experienced elsewhere, and that authenticity is what makes Canton the perfect place for a craft like ours. We are home here. We love this town, and we love her people. That authenticity got a little more real today, in the wake of a devastating flood. Despite their tragedy, there are already parked cars lining the streets of downtown of people coming to offer help in any way they can. Canton is a strong town, and we will come back stronger. That said, there are a lot of people hurting. Unfathomable damage was done to homes and businesses throughout Haywood County, and there are people in need. We suffered that damage ourselves, and are now faced with rebuilding an entire business. We want to be extremely clear here that we feel blessed. Our family is safe, our home is intact and safe, and not everyone in town can say the same.
Our new shop is located in downtown Canton and was under about 6' of water. The damage to the shop is overwhelming. Nearly all of our equipment was destroyed along with lots of damage to the building itself.
We were getting close to finishing our showroom and getting that open to the public and of course, this has essentially put us back at square one with that. It will likely be some time before we are able to re-open as we need to clear out the shop and replace at least 90% of our tools and equipment.
wow & Thank You!
A GoFundMe was set up to help us replace our equipment and get us back up and running. We didn’t have any expectations going in but wow our community really showed up! The Gofundme goal of 10k has almost been met! We are truly overwhelmed by the kindness and generosity all of you have shown to us during this challenging time.
With our goal almost being met, we have a unique opportunity to help other surrounding small businesses as well! The damage to other small businesses in our community is staggering and we want to make it clear that any donations we receive above what we need to re-open will be donated to other local businesses who suffered losses.
This shop means the world to us and we are truly heartbroken over this loss, but the love poured out by this community has filled us with so much hope. We know we have a long road ahead of us but we have hope we will be able to re-open and get back to doing what we love!
Thank you for your continued support and for being a part of our special community. If you'd like to donate to or share our campaign, so that we can show some support to other surrounding businesses, we will link it below.
Again we want to thank you from the bottom of our hearts. We believe in Canton and we know it will come back from this stronger than ever. We’re paper town proud!
Help Us Welcome Our New Team Member!
Meet the new team member!
This is an exciting week at Lawson Design because we are welcoming a new team member into the family!
Kate is our new Administrative Director. She'll be your go-to girl for quotes, all things communication, and more.
Kate is new to the Asheville area where she lives with her husband Lee (my cousin!) and her pup Linus.
““I’m excited to work alongside Caleb at Lawson Design. I can’t wait to learn more from him about the concrete process and gain a better understanding of the craft. I look forward to getting to know each client personally and growing alongside Lawson Design!” ”
We wanted everyone to get to know Kate a little better so we asked her to share a few of her favorite things!
Kate was an art major in college with a focus in ceramics! She loves to make pottery.
She loves slow Saturday mornings filled with making bread and reading books!
Lee and Kate love hiking and camping in the summer (they both spent the summer working at Camp Ridgecrest!)
We’re so excited to have you, Kate!
This Month In The Studio
August in the shop
Color Exploration
We’ve been experimenting with different pigments and color combinations for new pieces!
Large House Project
We’ve currently got about 12 pieces in production at the shop for an outdoor kitchen and bar/backsplashes for ranch home in Okeechobee fl. Each house in the area sits on about 40 acres!
For this project, our client wanted a white-washed wood look and texture so we decided to cast against wood. It’s more time-consuming, but when you cast against wood you get that awesome grain texture. We then grout the top in lighter color and polish that down to original grey giving it the desired wood grain look and feel!
It’s looking great so far! We will be sure to share the finished pieces, so be on the lookout for those!
Wall Panels for the showroom
We’ve been working away on the wall panels for the showroom whenever we have a minute in between client work. We still have quite a few to make but are getting much closer to the goal and seeing a lot of progress.