I love those that I mentor. This is where Paul Rene is socially most effective. Their overburdened, poorly paid teachers cannot reach them and therefore, they are labeled as troubled. What troubles these precious babies is the disrespect of their fast-moving minds and the sedating curriculum that attempts to make them something other than themselves. And now automation, robotics, AI, fentanyl, etc, are all colluding to make them useless. Hell NO!!! Not on my watch. We will teach them how to create a job for themselves, how to build their own table and take a seat. Excuse my passion.

I was 1 of 7 furniture designers to appear in Ellen's Next Great Designer. If I were not among like-minded rule-breaking creatives, the experience may have been unbearable. We stayed on the 17th floor of a tired Holiday Inn. We had the floor to ourselves, reminding me of The Shining with Jack Nicholson. Due to strict COVID precautions, our key cards were taken. We were to stay isolated in our rooms except during filming. To ensure compliance, we had hallway police. If we wanted a cup of coffee, they escorted us down 17 floors and back. After one night, the creatives were having no more of that. On day 2, we started planning our escape. Paranoid that mics and cameras were secretly embedded, a few of us flipped over a mattress, disassembled a room phone, and took down a few vent covers to ensure our plans or need for social contact were not being listened to. Nothing was found, so nightly masked parties began in the fire escape stairwell. Not sure how it was done, but party stuff got smuggled up and past Ellen's Next Great Designer hall police. It was the nightly storytelling and peeks into the other contestants’ backgrounds and design philosophies that got us thru long days in front of cameras on cold sets with milquetoast lunches.

$15 minimum wage; a deficit of empathy? Wealth does not sustain a nation, so history teaches. It is steadfast adherence to natural law and higher values that keep individuals and nations aloft. Income inequality on a day-to-day basis, for millions of Americans in the richest country on earth, means the lack of food and shelter. I grew up in the church being the 10 Commandments – those great universal moral laws.  Later in life, I learned about natural law, which is instinctual – not taught. Natural law, the highest of which is self-preservation is a stronger force than moral law. When one is desperate for food and among those with plenty, he or she will take from others – forced to act immorally – if required to survive. History again is full of examples. I know what it feels like to be food and shelter insecure with a wife and children. I experienced that for 16 years. Therefore at Paul Rene, we pay all of our artisans who handcraft our works of art a livable wage. $15 is not a livable wage.

We are like trees. The tree eats carbon dioxide and returns to us the very breath and energy of life – oxygen. The cracks tell the story of what it has endured to give us life. It has been tried, but it didn’t break. Those cracks enhance its beauty and therefore, its value. As I see it, you and I are like trees, with limbs, born with a purpose. We too have to endure hard trials so that we may give oxygen to others – the lessons and insights gained throughout our life’s journey.

We couldn't find protective masks for our team, so we partnered with a local fashion designer to manufacture our own. With a single social media post, orders poured in from across the country. Some bought to donate to the most vulnerable. In addition to hiring a few sewists, a couple of bored teenagers unable to attend school received training to assist in the effort. It's beautiful to experience what ordinary Americans can do when our backs are up against the wall.