Testimonials

SITTING IN THE OFFICE of his Clinton Township shop, his massive, plaster-coated hands resting in front of him, Louis Fedele reflects on his 50 years in the business. "I came from Italy when I was 14," he says. "I was working for my uncle, and would go two days a month to plaster school in Detroit."

It was at that trade school that Fedele learned the art of ornamental plaster. And while a lot has changed in the last half century, Fedele hasn't. When drywall chased the plasterers west, where stucco jobs were plentiful, he stayed. Now he's one of very few still doing ornamental plaster the old way. The secret to survival, he says, is passion and the support of a patient wife.

Beginnings: "I started working in plaster in 1954. I worked for my uncle. I was just doing regular plastering. I was 16 years old. You gotta work, work, work, and you don't ask questions, cause you're working for your uncle."

Louis Fedele

"Our professor & mentor"

Trends: "There's more being done now than there was 20 years ago. A lot more. People go away for a while and then they come right back. They go for something more modern and they go right back. It seems that way to me."

Plaster vs. drywall: "The plaster got slower and slower when drywall came in. That happened in the late '60s, early '70s. The plasterers all lost their jobs because they didn't want to go into the drywall business. They made a mistake, I thought. I always liked the ornamental part of the plastering. So I figured, I could put the drywall on straight walls and put the ornamentals on top."

The process: "I enjoy working with my hands. I mean, actually getting stuff done. Plaster tells you how fast you have to go because it gets hard before you know it. That's part of the challenge. See how quick you can do it. It's part of the draw."

The tradition: "I think the part that I enjoy the most is to work with a young person that wants to do it, really. That's what I enjoy most."