Daily Inspiration: Meet Nicole Huey

Today we’d like to introduce you to Nicole Huey.

Alright, so thank you so much for sharing your story and insight with our readers. To kick things off, can you tell us a bit about how you got started?
Hmm… how far back should we go? I grew up with my dad running his own construction business since before I was born so I’ve always been surrounded by woodworking of some kind. I can remember as a young kid walking into his shop and loving the smell of fresh-cut lumber. As a child, he let us help with various small projects especially if it included sanding, painting, or demolition (the extra FUN stuff!). Fast forward to my teen years a bit and I worked summers with him plus any day I had off school. Working with my dad doing construction (mostly renovations in downtown Atlanta, Decatur and East Point area where his name was widely known) was how I earned money for my 1st car. I learned the basics of using major tools such as a circular saw, nail gun, and more.

I also greatly enjoyed woodshop in school and because of my background, the teacher allowed me to help others in the class with using sanders and band saws. I was also used by the art teacher for a few art projects around the school including getting the bulldog posters drawn up and painted for events.

Given my love of construction, my goal was to one day take over my dad’s company and be the only female running a successful construction company in Atlanta. Things didn’t quite work out that way BUT I managed to stay in the homebuilding industry. I worked for a big-name home builder for 12 years designing & engineering custom cabinetry for homes ranging from $300k to $1million+, requested by multiple VPs for their personal homes, also assisted in design centers in Atlanta, Nashville, and Charlotte. It was my “dream job” at the time. I was able to not only be part of the planning of cabinetry but also got to walk framed homes and telling builders where to move water lines, gas lines, countertops, and more. Thankfully, despite only being in my 20s and a female in a male-dominated industry, I earned respect by many of the builders and installers.

The Recession of 2008/2009 came which caused many in my department to lose their jobs, myself included. I worked from home with the homebuilder here and there when they needed part-time help since they wanted someone educated in their CAD software but it wasn’t enough. So I made a name for myself for the next three years hand-painting on mugs. In this time, I had my two kids and ended up with some health issues at the time so it put a halt to that.

I knew I needed to find something for my creative mind. I continued painting but on canvas with acrylics and watercolors since I’ve always loved drawing and painting, Anything creative really.

Then, I was asked to virtually teach some art classes to homeschool kids, so I did that free for a few years. My goal was to help unlock everyone’s creative side because everyone has it, they just need to find it! They loved it and even many parents ended up learning how to paint. Goal achieved! Parents were messaging me with their kid’s paintings and even their own they made as gifts for friends. I started a blog just to kinda keep track of my art and so Wild Ivy Art Journey on Instagram was created.

Sometime later, I found someone on social media who painted on wood to make signs and more. I thought, “This is definitely me! I could be doing this! Mixing my love of wood with paint!” So I enrolled in her “sample week-long class”. LOVED IT! Then I secretly (behind my husband’s back) signed up for her year-long course AND for a business course, which I’ve never done in my life! (No worries! I told my hubby probably five days later because I felt so guilty and he was not mad. He could see my excitement and passion.)

So here we are … I kept my blog name Wild Ivy Art Journey because I like to think that a piece of our journey will become a piece of someone else’s journey.

Alright, so let’s dig a little deeper into the story – has it been an easy path overall and if not, what were the challenges you’ve had to overcome?
My journey has been full of exploring and adventures you could say but with that comes a variety of hurdles.

Losing my job during the recession was a BIG hurt to our finances. We prayed for answers. Finding a job in the home building industry was like a needle in a haystack. We found out we had to move and I had to give up my dream car at the time. Then our miracle baby came! After years of being told I could not have children, I had our 1st child, so I was able to give her my full attention instead of relying on someone else. My husband provided for all three of us with just what we needed. So while it was a financial struggle, we were thankful and content with what we had. I was blessed to have an amazing Manager at my previous job to keep me in mind for any side work they needed in designing so that helped too.

Next thing ya know, our 2nd child came along. (Yes, we were shocked again!) This is when I started hand-painting on mugs as a business. I was taught that I should be ready at a moment’s notice to be able to take care of myself and my family without relying on anyone, including my husband. I started that business which helped pay for some bills, dance and art classes for my kids, and vehicle maintenance. My husband still took care of most things but it was nice to have my own side hustle money so to speak. Health issues for myself came up and I had to stop my business. It hurt my heart so much for so many reasons. I still have customers and friends who reach out asking for a handpainted mug every now and then.

Fast forward a few years to now… We moved during the pandemic so that was an adventure! Buying a home is a struggle in itself but during the pandemic, it was worse. Thankfully, after many prayers, tears, and more, we found our home with the help of some wonderful friends. This new-to-us home was the perfect setup for running this new biz of mine! We just had to build up the tools and supplies, which post-pandemic has been another financial hurdle. Wood prices alone are nothing like they used to be.

I feel the struggles have helped me learn more about me, who I am, who I want to be, and who I do not want to be. I probably wouldn’t change the past but I’m definitely learning from all that I’ve been through.

As you know, we’re big fans of you and your work. For our readers who might not be as familiar what can you tell them about what you do?
I love wood and painting so of course that is what I work with. I also can be knowledgeable (or a quick learner if need be) with some CAD-style programs so I do some designs using a program.

I make most of my own wood signs… as in I physically pick out the wood at the store, load it in my van (or my husband’s truck if he’s with me), sand it, cut it to sign lengths, likely sand it more, stain it, design it, paint it, frame it, and whatever else needs to be done to complete a wood sign from start to finish!

I’ve created little home decor items like the block families (pets included 😍) you’ll find posts on my social media to bigger items like outdoor signs and mail holders using pallet wood.

Some of my designs are freehand and some are stencils BUT I design and cut my own stencils, something you don’t find every day. It gives customers that “custom” feel when they can see something they ordered from me is not something you’d see in just any home decor store. It will have my own twist to it and sometimes the customer can even add their twist to it because I have the ability to change up a design or words or images.

I like to think that I help someone make their house a home in THEIR style the way we are slowly going with our own new-to-us home. I hope anyone who takes a glance at my website, social media, or online shop finds that I care for their home decor (indoor or outdoor) as much as I care for my own.

We hope everyone joins our social media to follow along on our journey and hopefully find a piece of ours to become a piece of theirs!

Contact Info:

• Website: WildIvyArtJourney.com
• Instagram: www.instagram.com/wildivyartjourney
• Facebook: www.facebook.com/wildivyartjourney
• Other: www.Etsy.com/shop/wildivyartjourney