Today we’d like to introduce you to Lydell Martin.
Lydell, please share your story with us. How did you get to where you are today?
My wife and I started our business in a small flea market in Atlanta, GA. We opened as an airbrush shop, painting mostly on denim and t-shirts, after about two years in the business we were able to open our first art gallery/design studio. Business started out slow and of course my rent was much more than the flea market, long story short, after about six months we lost the business, it was tough for my wife and I but we were determined to make it work, one day one of my church members reach out to me and said that she had heard that JC PENNEYS was accepting minority businesses for vendors and that I should give it a try. Well, we decided to submit one of my ceramic vases to the buyers, we had to ship the vase to the corporate office in Plaino, Texas.
About five days later, the company called us and asked if we could come and meet the buyers to discuss how the product was made. That was a call that I was not really expecting to receive, was very happy at the same time. So my wife and I met with the buyers and when we got there, there was about 10 representatives in this small room, and the vase was sitting in the middle of the table, I had never been so nervous in my life, but it was at that time when I could hear my momma say, “watch what you Pray for.” They had many questions like, how big is my warehouse, or how many employees do we have, and that they have over 450 stores. At that time I just knew we would not be selected, but we ended up supplying over 200 of there stores. This was a big part of my startem as an artist and we forfilled the contract with Penneys and ended up painting over 5,000 vases with only three employees. (there is so much more to this wonderful story)
Since those days my work has been presented to leaders around the globe, also, the 45 president Barack Obama, Aretha Franklin, Harry Belafonte, Tiger Woods, Dorothy Height, and Ambassador Andrew Young to name a few. Many great things have happened since those days of JC PENNEYS, I have always felt that God prepared me for my story as an artist with JC PENNEYS, so much faith was built in me, I learned to trust my purpose in life.
Overall, has it been relatively smooth? If not, what were some of the struggles along the way?
There have been many struggles.
Please tell us about The Art of Lydell Martin.
My business started in a small flea market, but the type of work that was being produced there was for large corporations like, SONY RECORDS, COKE COLA, AT & T, AMERICAN RED CROSS and TURNER BROADCASTING.
My business was built on trust and integrity and I think that is why I’m so successful as an artist.
If you had to go back in time and start over, would you have done anything differently?
I often think about my days at JC PENNEY, If I had the internet and social media capabilities, I would still be one of there best suppliers. People when they hear my story some would ask why we did not outsource our product, but to me, I always felt better about saying my product is American made.
Contact Info:
- Address: 2832 THE MEADOWS WAY
- Website: www.lydellmartin.com
- Phone: 404-761-1080
- Email: lydellfx@yahoo.com
- Facebook: artistlydellmartin
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