Please accept our apologies for the technical issues you encountered yesterday when trying to view the video of Caleb Lawson. The problem has been resolved, and there is an active hyperlink at the end of the fourth paragraph. It is a great video and we would encourage you to take a couple of minutes to watch it. Again, our apologies for the inconvenience.
There is an aspect to The Collaborative that is about inspiration, and stories can be one way to accomplish this. While more of a glimpse than a story, today’s blog is a spotlight on someone local. Even though we are probably not in his industry, there is plenty of inspiration here for all of us.
The first thing you encounter on the Price Concrete Studio website is this opening line, “We specialize in designing beautiful, functional art for any space…” With its proprietor, Caleb Lawson, at the helm the studio not only has a desire to create beauty but also to do its work in beautiful ways. For Caleb, it matters how he interacts with those who are laboring with him in the daily grind of running a growing business, it matters how they serve their customers, and it matters how he relates to other companies that are working in the decorative concrete space. Caleb is constantly seeking to figure out what are the implications of his Christian faith for his work.
There is no doubt that Caleb struggles with the same things the rest of us do—insecurities, failure, doubt, and fear. However, Caleb remains motivated to continually strive towards an excellence that is rooted in virtue in how he does business as well as in what he produces.
When The Collaborative wanted to capture local stories regarding faith and work, we reached out to Caleb to be one of our first participants. Hear Caleb firsthand–
Watching Caleb from a distance, it seems like he is one that embodies the idea of lifelong-learner. We have just heard his desire to grow in his trade as well as in his understanding of faith and work. Not to mention, he along with his wife, Lauren, are learning the joys of raising and chasing twin toddlers these days. Furthermore, Caleb gets that lifelong-learning requires intentionality and effort.
For example with regards to his industry, last week 23 concrete artisans from all over the United States, and around the world (three folks from Canada, and an artisan from London, UK), converged on the Price Concrete Studio shop. The goal was simple: spend two days picking each other’s brains and building something special. The result was a mammoth concrete table that Caleb had been designing with Jeff Girard, president of the Concrete Countertop Institute (where all of these folks were taught concrete.) They slung mud, talked shop, and developed a deeper sense of community within their band of decorative concrete artisans. Participating in and carving out the time to engage with fellow artisans is a beautiful image of collaboration with all walking away having had the opportunity to grow.
Another example is for the past eight months Caleb has been participating in the Gotham Fellows Program, which is a faith and work curriculum that takes you on a deep-dive theologically, spiritually, and relationally. Caleb reflects on this experience,
Gotham fellowship has changed the way I view faith and work.
“While I have always believed that they are, in many ways, inseparable, I feel I’ve been better equipped to live that calling out through the Gotham curriculum. More than the curriculum though, the community aspect; discussing ideas, getting deep about what we are reading, and the emphasis on building the Kingdom through community and pursuing excellence at work to God’s glory has been life changing for me. I want more!”
This small peek into Caleb Lawson and Price Concrete Studio moves me to push harder for excellence in my realm of work while striving for greater beauty in what I have the opportunity to create.
What We Are Thinking About
PRAYER: People of Paris and Sri Lanka
CONSIDER: Applying for Next Year’s Gotham Fellows Program
EASTER: How might the Resurrection matter for us every day?
Crosland Stuart, of Crosland & Company, LLC, works with The Collaborative on marketing, recruiting, and content creation. Additionally, she also works in the areas of foundation consulting, communications, and is a literary agent.
Thanks for photo by Adeolu Eletu from Unsplash
