The following article is a wonderfully informative, inspiring, and really interesting read from an artist who is a much loved and respected member of the IDAL board and family- Margaret Von Kaenel.
I am a longtime member of SALI/IDAL and a past President – 2009 – and would like to share the importance of becoming a member of IDAL.
First – a little background: after two downsizes in the shopping center management industry in 1998, I decided to go back to my beginnings as an artist. While remodeling our kitchen, I painted a chef mural. The kitchen designers snapped a photo of the completed kitchen including my mural; ran it as an ad which garnered interest from two magazines who featured me in articles. This happenstance put me in touch with 2 local stencil businesses (Heart of The Home stencils/Laura Cox and Gifted Hands/Ryan Marshal) who informed me about IDAL. They also introduced me to faux finishes and Lynnette Harris’ book “Making Money with Your Creative Paint Finishes” and Pierre Finkelstein’s book “The Art of Faux.”
Back then, in the dinosaur days, there was no fast internet or googling information. However, having found two organizations that helped me start my business – the Society of Decorative Painters (35,000 members) and the Stencil Artisans League Inc (4,000 members), I immediately joined both. SALI offered an outstanding business insurance program and I joined at the appropriate level to purchase the insurance.
From my press in the two magazines – Window, Walls and Floors and Better Homes & Gardens, I was able to participate in various St Louis Designer Showhouses from 2000 to 2011. Some of the rooms I was able to create on my own and some with notable St. Louis Interior Designers. It was while working at the Show Houses that I met fellow artisans Mark Tillman and Jeanne Meyer. I realized there must be more of us out there so in 2001, I requested a zip code list of SALI members in Illinois and Missouri. Knowing the zip codes, I called out those in the St. Louis area and mailed out a request to meet in my home to establish a Missouri chapter of SALI. About forty artisans showed up, voted me as chapter president, which started the incorporation process to become a SALI chapter. We were awarded our Chapter certification at the 2002 SALI Convention, my first one and I was hooked!!! A week of being together with like-minded artisans – learning, painting, troweling, and having fun.
Fast forward to 2007, I was asked to run for the board, and once elected, was placed in the leadership track to become President of IDAL (SALI having changed its name in 2008 to the International Decorative Artisan League). And I continue to be a member of IDAL to this day (2024).
So, all that background aside – Why join IDAL? Throughout my IDAL experience I experienced/sampled numerous manufacturers’ products and received instruction ranging from simple glaze faux finishes to glamorous sophisticated European textural finishes. The instructors the IDAL Board brought to the conventions each year were cutting edge and renowned in the industry - some names include: Pierre Finkelstein, Nicola Vigini, Melanie Royals, Lynn Brehm, Sheri Hoeger, The Pro Faux Boys, Faux Effects, Modern Masters, Star Scenic, Kelly S. King, Jennifer Ferguson, Cynthia Davis and Gary Lord, among many others.
A lot of those mentioned had books, stencil companies and products, plus offered overseas travel/workshops, of which I partook. Golden Artist Colors was also very much involved with IDAL and introduced some of us to Salon Forever, the premier international decorative painting group. Several Salon artists became IDAL instructors. Some of the experts I had the honor of taking classes from included Pascal Amblard, Carolina d’Ayala Valva, Pierre Finkelstein, Helen Morris, Matts Carlsson, Natalie Hallberg, Jean Sable, Lucretia Moroni, while others who also taught at IDAL were Lynne Rutter, Arlene Mcloughlin, Lori Wilson, Jennifer Carrasco, Frederike Schulz, Patricia Swanson, and Gert-Jan Nijsse. I apologize if I leave anyone out.
As I attended more IDAL conventions and loading up on classes, I was able to hone my mural and trompe l’oeil skills so much that in 2014 I applied to Salon Seattle, never expecting I would be accepted into this prestigious awe-inspiring group.
So, to finish, since 1999, my membership in IDAL greatly shaped my successful decorative painting business. I have grown in business, in clients, and educationally in a way that encouraged many friendships, great decorative painting trips and a wonderful sense of camaraderie in St. Louis, as well as across the country and the globe. My advice to anyone in the decorative painting business or just starting out would be to join IDAL – it really pays forward.”
Margaret von Kaenel
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