Born into a family of hard workers and creative thinkers, Jana Mullen, along with her partner Karmen Locke, built their faux finishing and painting company, Creations by J & K, with these attributes. It took them a while to settle on the work that would utilize their talents while allowing each more time with their families. A week after they officially started Creations by J & K, Karen Cundiff asked them to do the faux finishing and painting for Hearth and Home's Symphony show house room. After that, they didn't even have time to print business cards. Word of mouth kept them almost constantly busy. Specializing in old world and highly textured finishes, they transform ordinary rooms into warm and personal spaces inspired by the past. Their tecxhniques change floors, walls, woodwork, ceilings and even fixtures into focal points. Jana and Karmen are members of the Artisan's Consortium, a groups of faux finishers, muralists and wood decorators. They were trained by one of the most respected instructors in the country, Martin Allen Hirsch. They also work closely with Deb Drager, of Drager Design Studio. She is a master faux finisher and the exclusive local distributor of the products they use. According to Karmen, "The product line we use is second to none and is considered cutting edge in our industry." "With a product based distributor in town, we can get questions answered immediately and don't have to guess or experiment," adds Jana. One of our newest trends in murals is to have it painted on a canvas which can then be installed by J & K. They then pull the faux texture around the canvas giving it a unique and very rich look. Jana explains, "Customers love this because if they move, they can take thier mural with them." They also offer imprinting which allows the client to have any picture or image they want on their wall via an imprinting process. Unlike the canvas murals, imprinting is a permanent application.

J & K's projects are as varied as their clients tastes. They recently created a cave like bathroom complete with the faux three dimensional stones. Another client was going to tear out their glossy white painted brick fireplace until J & K worked their magic and turned it back into brick. They just completed the new Tall Grass Executive Offices and Office park.

Even though Karmen and Jana work independently at times, they prefer to do most of their jobs together. "Coming from a constructions background, I tend to be more linear and structural, while Karmen is more creative and artistic." says Jana. Jana's sister-in-law Ronda McKay is now beginning to work with the team on some of their projects.

In addition to staying busy with J & K, Jana still handles the family oil business at Casado McKay. Jana has been a member of WABA since 1997, and Karmen has been a member since October of 2003. Jana and Karmen are also members of the Remodelers Council and are helping remodel their booth for the Home Show. They just completed judging for the Fall Parade of Homes.