Today we’d like to introduce you to Wendy Weller.
Hi Wendy, can you start by introducing yourself? We’d love to learn more about how you got to where you are today?
Hi there! My name is Wendy Weller and I am the owner/operator of House of Paint & Design Co. We are a full-service paint company specializing in everything beautiful. I am a widowed single mother of two children, Kayti (19) and Gabe (8). I have 7 cats, two dogs, and two fish.
I am a Saint Louis transplant and am originally from Davenport, Iowa. I have been on my own since the age of 15 and moved to Saint Louis in ’93 at the age of 17. I come from a very chaotic childhood in a single-parent home & was raised by my father. I have a younger brother who also lives in Saint Louis. my brother moved in with me at the age of 17.
When I first moved to Saint Louis, I worked in the restaurant/bar industry and rose to run some of the greatest clubs to ever hit Saint Louis nightlife. I was the bar manager and corporate trainer for Having a Nice Day Cafe, GM of Nectar & Miso Lounge while I went to school to become a paralegal while anticipating working on my law degree. I worked in the legal world for about 10 years as a senior litigation paralegal.
While working on my bachelor’s degree from UMSL in Criminology with an emphasis in law, I met my late husband, who was a carpenter for the union. The Union would have lulls where there was no work which equaled no pay or they would be required to work out of state, which was very hard on our blended family.
I have always been one to think outside of the box, so I created a FB group called Handyman STL which is like a buy-sell-trade group but for contracting services only. This creation was an effort to create a side income for my late husband and an attempt to make up the financial lull when the union didn’t have work.
This group was (is) such an incredible success and not only did it create supplemental income for our family but also gave many small contracting businesses an edge to be seen that wasn’t possible before without sinking a fair amount of money in a marketing budget. I remember the first time I posted in my own group so well. It was like a timid hand raise and I said, “I can paint! If anyone needs a room painted, please let me know!”
And just like that, a business was born. One that would become highly sought!
I come from a long lineage of cabinet makers, body techs, faux finishers, wallpaper installers, and everything in between. It’s crazy because all my life I fought the idea of anything blue-collar and had dreams and ambitions of being a criminal defense lawyer.
Fast forward 5 years into owning HOP, my husband took his own life in 2017 & left our family in complete shambles. My C-PTSD was firing off like crazy and it wasn’t until after my husband’s death that I was diagnosed with c-PTSD. The C stands for the complex. I had suffered complex, chronic & repetitive traumas as a child including rape, neglect, abuse, abandonment & pretty much everything in between.
Because of my early career in the restaurant/nightclub industry, my relationship with alcohol was that of a professional alcoholic. The more I drank, the better the fun factor and that was good for my career at that time. I didn’t know or feel that I suffered from alcoholism, which is basically a sub-symptom of C-PTSD.
There was a lot of therapy, multiple stints in an outpatient facility, a DWI, and finally a stay in a 30-day facility in July of 2018. I can proudly say I have been sober since July 2018 & am doing very well. Better than I ever knew I could live.
My company, HOP, has been a lifesaver for me. Being able to have this creative outlet has been so good for my soul and my healing.
Can you tell our readers more about what you do and what you think sets you apart from others?
We are a specialty boutique paint company. We specialize in everything beautiful and pride ourselves on our high-end work in any zip code.
I encourage you to take a peek at my business page: House of Paint & Design Co.
Contact Info:
- Email: houseofpaintanddesign@gmail.com
- Instagram: @houseofpaintanddesign
- Facebook: House of Paint & Design Co.
- Youtube: Wendy Weller @House of Paint & Design Co
- TikTok: @houseofpaintanddesign
