In 1988 I was decorating an embassy in London for a construction company. They made me redundant six months short of the clause that would have paid me properly. I had two young children.
The embassy caretaker had noticed something that company had not: the man actually doing the work on that building was me. When the embassy let the company go, they handed me the rest of the job direct.
Eighteen months later the company came back and offered me a choice: walk away and forfeit what I was owed, or stay on less money. I refused both and went out on my own.
From that day to this
The work has come by word of mouth. One person who paid attention became a career.
The statues in Chiswick
On a job in Chiswick I finished the outside of a house that had carved statues on it. I painted them so they looked lifelike. The neighbours noticed. It is the same instinct as a tiled wall that lines up where nobody would have checked.
The two houses
Later I ran a big truck with all my tools on it. The logo on the side was two houses: one broken down, and one put right, standing next to it. No slogan. It is on the front page of this site because it is still the job.
That was thirty-eight years ago. I have never needed to advertise, and this site is the first time I have written any of it down.