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According to Pete, his secret doesn’t lie
in focusing on the future, but instead on
taking a look back at the past. He does
this by finding old materials, revitalizing
them, and crafting them into totally new,
one-of- a-kind pieces. After saying he was
fortunate enough to turn his passion into his
profession, Pete credited his upbringing for
laying down the foundation of his success.
“My father taught me everything. He
was an engineer and a carpenter and, from
the time I could walk or knew what my
name was, he’d pop me up on his workbench
with him,” said Pete. “I watched him and
absorbed everything he did; he taught me
how to swing a hammer, use a combination
square, and not curse like a sailor when you
inevitably hurt yourself.”
Pete could have never known, when he
was a boy, that his roots would one day give
him wings and allow him to take the plunge
and open his own furniture business.
For years, Pete lived in Nashville and
was able to work with companies that had
a variety of celebrity clientele. This allowed
him to start building a reputation and a
brand. Once more and more people became
aware of the quality pieces he produced,
his business began to take off. Although
his business was expanding in Nashville,
Pete’s wife Camille, who was his fiancé at
the time, was from Madison, Mississippi,
and had a lot of family here.
“Nashville was going great for me but
Camille and I wanted to be closer to family
and since she has such deep roots in the
area, it made sense to move. We had lots of
friends in Nashville, but we didn’t have
family,” said Pete. “We moved here, got
married, and now I’ve been working on
building up a new clientele, here.”
Although his business has ebbed and
flowed throughout the years – wading
through new cities, new clientele, and new
opportunities – his craft has only grown.
Because everything Pete crafts is made to
order and completely customized, he
makes an effort not to hold inventory to
ensure consistently unique pieces.
“I work with companies that go into old
homes and deconstruct them nail for nail
and board for board and that’s where I get
a lot of my materials,” said Pete. “I want to
use material that has a story and has lived a
life for 100-200 years and give it a whole
new life. The materials I work with have an
old soul, and that’s kind of how the name
came about.”
One such example of this came five
months ago when he built a sliding barn
door for a client. He heard that the home of
Thomas Stockdale, who was a Mississippi
Confederate officer during The Civil War,
was going to be torn down and sold for
scrap in Summit, Miss. Pete was able to
travel to the home, which was marked as a
historic landmark, before deconstruction
started, and walk through the property.
According to Pete, just walking through it
felt like an old piece of history.
“It was amazing to see these old wall
boards and old pieces that you just can’t
find replicated in homes today,” said Pete.
“I was able to take those old boards and
make them into my client’s sliding door.
When I presented them with the final
piece, I printed off the history of the
home and gave that to them as well.”
While that experience was memorable
for Pete, another client that has stuck out
to him over the years was Big Machine
Records. Big Machine Records, which is
the label for dozens of chart-topping
country artists, contracted Pete to build a
large chandelier for their CMA after-party.
This chandelier was crafted completely out
of steel and was a whopping 7 feet by 7 feet.
“That project was totally nerve-wracking
for me because here I was making this
massive, heavy, light fixture that would be
hung 20 feet in the air over the heads of
some of the most famous country artists in
the world,” said Pete. “I was a nervous
wreck, completely, but it turned out great.”
These days, Pete works out of his shop
on their property, alongside Camille, who
graduated from Ole Miss with a marketing
degree and handles all the marketing and
promotion for Old Soul Art Co. According
to Pete, she is the important piece of the
puzzle who helps him stay focused and
keep his head on straight.
In addition to Pete and Camille, Old
Soul Art Co is comprised of their three
rescue dogs, which he calls his children and
also his supervisors. Both Pete and Camille
are huge advocates for rescue and adoption
and are passionate about providing
“furever” homes to animals in shelters.
In fact, they are working to make a portion
of client purchases available as a donation
to local animal shelters.
Just last week, he and Camille moved
his father, who is now in his 80s, here from
New Jersey. “My father and I have always
been close, so having him here now in the
shop with me is nostalgic and great,” said
Pete. “He is the man that taught me what
I know in this profession—and in life.
Although he doesn’t build much anymore
on his own, he’s a part of Old Soul Art Co.
He’s another example of how something in
the past can birth a whole new life, which
he has done for me; now, I’m able to do
that for others.”
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To learn more about Old Soul Art Co,
visit www.oldsoulartco.com
60 • November 2018