Jeff Massey finds fulfillment in creating something unique and beautiful and watching it take on a life of its own. During his years as a co-owner of Bohlert-Massey Interiors, in Seacrest, Fla., Jeff Massey began building "just right" mirrors out of necessity. His partner, Susan Bohlert Massey, had specific ideas for her interior design projects, and Jeff created mirror prototypes to suit her decorating needs. Today, making mirrors has become a full-time gig. In the Florida store, 75 percent of Massey's mirrors were custom orders. A customer would come in with a particular size, color and design in mind, and Massey would craft it. Now that he's in Mobile, his business model has changed. He fashions mirrors for local and regional interior businesses to sell to the public. The career change seems to suit him. "I enjoy the hands-on process of creating something more than I do running a business," he says. "My process starts with wood and ends with this really beautiful object that will be in someone's home. It's very fulfilling." Massey doesn't make just any old kind of mirror. He builds trumeaus - mirrors set within a decorative painted or carved panel. To build one trumeau, Massey first goes to the lumberyard and chooses big planks of wood, which he then planes, cuts to size and makes into a rough, basic frame. "If I'm going to make a mirror that's 60 by 29 inches wide - a pretty standard size - I'll start with a 1-by-4-foot or 1-by-5-foot piece of poplar or pine for the frame. Then I create a lip that will hold the mirror," he says. Next, Massey uses layers of stains and plaster so he can chip into the finishes later, creating the effect of the plaster breaking away from the stained wood underneath. Then come the paint washes and waxes for the finish. After that, he gets to work on to the actual mirror. He cuts a piece of mirror to size, strips the protective coating from the back to expose the silver layer and puts a chemical on the glass to make it tarnish, like silver. Then, he reseals it, secures it to the frame and, finally, puts on a protective coating. "It's a great process that allows me to go back to projects and add an element I may have thought of while I was waiting for a step to dry," he says. "There's no assembly line to interrupt, so I can really give each piece the attention it deserves." Each of Massey's trumeaus is one of a kind. He cannot duplicate the finished product because the distressing process is so individual. "I really feel like I give them a personality. Each one has its own little story," Massey says. "They all have their own little quirky things, and when you look again you'll probably notice something that you didn't before. "People tell me to get the top five and make duplicates for the mass market. I'm just not into that. It's nice to simplify. I like knowing there are still people making things who are proud to do it. I think people appreciate that aspect." The businessman-turned-artist creates all types of trumeaus. When he built pieces near the beach, he liked working with shells. He also takes pleasure in the "kaboom" impact of the floor-sized trumeaus. Working with a bigger scale is fun. "I just sold one to Duh! in Pensacola, and it was honestly one I really could have kept for myself," he says. "But that's not the purpose. They've got to go on down the road." Find JEFF MASSEY ORIGINALS at these local retailers MOBILE Atchison Imports 921 Dauphin St. 438-4800 atchisonimports.com Villa Dauphine 3702 Dauphin St. 344-0020‎ villadauphine.net FAIRHOPE Marrakech Gallery 12 N. Section St. 928-9494 marrakech-home.com Photos by Foncie Bullard