Member Feature

Submitted to What's New

We might be biased, but we think that Creator's Studio is the best place on the interwebs, and it's precisely that great because of our strong and supportive community members. Today we're going in-depth with another member feature; our previous features have been Wild BillRustic Duck FurniturecookbookrecipesofloveHojitisuChunky MermaidSueHTraderGee,  Colors,  TheRoboticsNerd, and most recently CreativelyLiving

You are in for a treat with this entertaining interview with The Navage Patch (Blog: navagepatch.com). 

Why did you join Creator's Studio?
The answer is as obvious as it is simple. Why does a married man do anything? Because his wife tells him to! And besides, when she told me, I misheard her and thought she said, “Join the Creatures Studio,” which sounded like some sort of cool hangout for horror movie geeks like me. Alas, the only horror I found was all the new projects on my honey-do list that she wanted me to share here.

What's your favorite part of the Creator's Studio community?
There’s so much to love – where do I begin? First and foremost, we love the challenges – and they can be challenging, mind you. I’d love to have been a fly on the wall for the meeting when you guys dreamed up the “Sayonara Summer” challenge. I think it may have gone something like this:
Scene – a round conference table in the executive suites on the 200 th floor of Rust-Oleum Tower. Captain Rustoleum leans forward and places his knobby elbows on the polished mahogany table. He chomps his cigar and looks through a thick curtain of blue smoke at his vice presidents, lawyers and accountants. “Okay, people, summer is over. Let’s say goodbye with a Challenge for the grunts in the Creatures Studio.” Captain Rustoleum says. A bespectacled lawyer leans in and whispers, “Uh, it’s the Creator’s Studio, sir.” Captain Rustoleum glowers at the lawyer. “Creatures. Creator’s. Whatever! Just send them some white, red and shiny gold spray paint. Let’s see what they do with that!” His riotous laughter cuts through the acrid smoke. The gasp that arises from the seated ranks of vice presidents, accountants and lawyers can be heard by Larry and Steve all the way down in Shipping and Receiving. “What was that?” Larry says. “I don’t know. But it can’t be good…”


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We also love getting our hands on new Rust-Oleum products like the Imagine line of spray paints before they are released into the wild. It makes us feel special. I like to walk down the street with my can of Imagine at my side, just spraying things here and there and shouting “Imagine THIS!”

I can tell by the looks I get that everyone is jealous.

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And finally, we love the people here – the crafters and creators, the writers and readers. It’s great to get feedback on our projects and give the same to others.

How would you describe yourself/occupation to a complete stranger?
I’m a lot like Bob Villa, but without the beard.  Or the TV show.  Or the adoring fans. … Or the money.


What creative areas do you like to focus on?
I’m always finding creative ways to drive Handan nuts. It usually involves large and complicated projects started without warning and without a plan. Fun fact: The Navage Patch is a direct result of Handan asking me to change a faucet in our master bath several years ago, but instead, I tore out the entire vanity trying to get the uncooperative faucet detached. We ended up replacing and installing an entirely new vanity, counter, cabinets and sink. It was our first big DIY, and it just kept snowballing from there. But I was finally able to replace that faucet…

What is your favorite Rust-Oleum product? How has it helped with your DIY projects?
Well, I got really excited this summer when I saw a Rust-Oleum contest on Instagram. I could swear it was “Spray a New Wife,“ and I was all ”Oh, heck yeah! Send me a case of that stuff!” Turns out it was a “Spray New Life” contest, which was cool, too, because we use tons of Rust-Oleum spray paint around here, especially in the summer. I’m still waiting for the new wife spray, by the way. (I’m looking at you, Rust-Oleum!)

What interests you most about DIY projects?
Not having to pay someone to do something that we can usually do better.

What's the best DIY project you have completed and how did you accomplish it?
That would be a toss-up between our guest bathroom renovation and our laundry room renovation. Both required tearing out old flooring, wall removal, electrical work, laying new subfloor, hardwood floor and tile floor, installing pocket doors, putting up new drywall, taping and applying joint compound to the new drywall, building custom cabinets and lots and lots and lots of painting.

What's the most difficult project you have tackled?
That would be a toss-up between our guest bathroom renovation and our laundry room renovation. They both made us want to Hulk Smash our house into smithereens at times.

If you could create any type of project (with no limitations), what would you design and why?
Wait, do I have to do the project, or am I just conjuring up the idea for some other sucker to do? If I have to do it, I’m going to go with something simple, because I’ve had a life’s worth of complicated projects already. But if I’m creating a project for some other schmuck (or group of schmucks) to do, you better believe it’s a brand new house, custom-designed from the foundation up by Handan and me! My wife is a civil engineer, and it is our dream to someday design and build a home that is totally and completely ours.

Tell us something about yourself that most people don't know about you.
Handan and I spent our first year of marriage living and working in Afghanistan.

What's the best advice that anyone has ever given you?
I worked on a tobacco farm when I was a kid. Right next door was a horse farm. An electric fence separated the two properties. During my first year on the farm, a wise and worldly teenager brought me to the property line, turned to me and said with great authority and gravitas, “Don’t ever pee on this fence.”

What book(s) are on your nightstand right now?
Arabian Nights

What's your all-time favorite food

A dry martini.