Wayne Fereday
Owner
“That’s myself and my little sister in front of my father’s 1949 Dodge panel truck. I grew up in the business, Dad and my two older brothers referred to me as ‘the plumbers friend’. It was tough work back then – galvanized pipe that had to be cut, threaded, and screwed into elbows, couplings, tees, or any number of other fittings as it made its way toward various fixtures. Cast iron soil pipe, covered with sprayed tar, was joined together with oakum and molten lead poured carefully from my fathers ladle after he had dipped it from the pot on the roaring plumbers furnace. As a young eight year old, I would return home after a day’s work with black, greasy hands, scuffed knuckles, and a growing knowledge of a complicated, tough, yet absolutely necessary and honorable trade.
And I didn’t really care for it!
With more than ten years of on-the-job plumbing experience behind me, I found myself ready for a change. I took a sabbatical leave of sorts. I served as a missionary for my church that would give me an opportunity to escape the rigors of the plumbing trade, give service to others, and re-assess my future.
I was called to serve for 2 1/2 years in Italy. At the time, I knew nothing about design or art. But in the very early days of serving there, I began to notice the shop windows.
Whether is was menswear, sweaters, Vespas, pizza, sporting goods, or any other product displayed, the shop windows were works of true art. I was captivated by the creativity of the Italians!
Long story short, at the end of my missionary service I returned home to the plumbing business. In the early 1970’s, the decorative plumbing industry was in its infancy. Faucets and fixtures were beginning to show some style and design. My interest in design, form and function that had its birth in Italy led me to eventually establish Studio IL Bagno.”
-Wayne Fereday, Owner