I was taking bad situations and finding the resources to make them better and training local people to take over leadership.
Q: How did you end up in rural New Mexico?
Mexico. I checked her out for three days and didn't say a word to her, and then finally I said to her, "You're the most beautiful woman I've ever seen. Will you marry me?" She looked at me and smiled and said, "Do you have trouble being direct?" In order to be with her, I had to move to New Mexico. She happened to show me this village, and I saw this building. The moment I saw it, I said, "I want that building."
A:
I was doing an art fair in Santa Monica, Calif., and I saw this beautiful woman who came from New
Q:
You got the building. Did you get the girl? A:
Oh yeah, I'm still with her, 15 years later. Her name is Chris Spanovich, and she's an internationally
known clay artist. When I told her I was going to open a coffee- house, the first question she asked me was, "What do you want to accomplish with the space?" I wanted the space to be done in a way that when someone opens the door and walks in, they immediately feel good about being here. And then I want people to look at the color scheme, the woodworking and the adobe walls, and then understand why it feels so good. People say things like it's an oasis in the middle of nowhere or it's just one of the best places they've ever been to. It's the environment.
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