Keith Owen - Legend Plaster

The beginning of Legend Plaster traces back to a quiet kind of necessity. When Keith Owen moved into his 1895 home in northeastern Indiana seven years ago, he didn’t yet realize how much of it needed care. The interior walls were original lime plaster, cracking with age, and the stucco exterior, unusual for his area, was failing in several places.

He tried to find a contractor, but in his region, hardly anyone works on stucco homes. The single quote he received came in at nearly $70,000. For most homeowners, that would have been the end of the conversation, but Keith wasn’t someone to walk away from a challenge.

He began teaching himself the work in the evenings, watching countless hours of Kirk Giordano on YouTube. “He’s the man,” Keith says. He continued studying techniques, taking in the information he could find, and practicing slowly on small sections of the house. Eventually, he took a leap many wouldn’t consider: he bought a 40-foot articulating boom lift at an auction and committed to re-stuccoing the entire exterior himself. It was during COVID, while he was working 40 to 50 hours a week, so progress came in the margins. He used late lunches for stucco work, long evenings on the lift, and weekends devoted entirely to restoration.

“It was exhausting,” he said, “but somewhere in the middle of it, I realized… I kind of like doing this.”

What began as a necessary repair became the start of a deeper curiosity. Somewhere in the long stretch of repairing his exterior, the work shifted. A project that started as maintenance became something meaningful.

As he kept working on his house, Keith found himself going deeper into the world of lime and natural plasters. He began reading about their breathability, hydrophobic nature, and the long history behind them. The more he learned, the more interesting it became. Somewhere in that process, he came across tadelakt, and it stood out immediately.

“Tadelakt was like…the coolest of the cool,” he said. “Once I found it, I just kind of got hooked.”

While working a remote job he didn’t feel connected to, Keith realized he was ready for something different. “I’m getting too old to keep doing jobs I don’t fully love,” he remembered thinking.

One day, driven by curiosity and that feeling he couldn’t ignore, he typed “tadelakt workshop” into Google. New Age Artisans was the first result. The workshop was in Bozeman, Montana—a place he had always wanted to visit—and it happened to fall on his birthday weekend. The timing felt meaningful. He signed up.

The workshop in Montana became a turning point. Being surrounded by others who cared about the learning process and who weren’t locked into the competitive mindset he had seen in other trades had a grounding effect on him. He felt welcomed, encouraged, and reassured that following his pull toward plaster wasn’t strange or unrealistic. It was aligned.

“When the student is ready, the teacher appears,” he reflects.

From that moment, things began moving with more purpose. He returned home energized, practiced daily, and started saying yes to new opportunities. His first projects were in the interior of his own house, small jobs that stretched him technically and creatively. Then he moved on to working outside of his home for friends and acquaintances. One of the most meaningful projects was a plaster backdrop he created for a friend’s wedding, a piece that held emotional weight beyond the finish itself.

As he stepped more fully into the work, one steady source of encouragement came from his wife, Sydney, whose support played a meaningful role in his decision to leave his previous job and pursue plastering full-time. Her belief in his path, along with his own confidence, helped make the transition possible.

As he found his footing, the name for his business came unexpectedly while he was working in Big Sky, gaining experience with the New Age Artisans crew. Keith had been quietly trying to come up with a name, staying open to whatever felt like the right fit. “I was just trying to be open to whatever came to me,” he said. One morning at a gas station, an eccentric local told him, “Have a good day, legend,” and it struck him. Over the next few days, he began seeing the word everywhere—on signs, labels, even on the tag of his own pants. To him, plaster itself felt legendary: old, storied, and full of history. The name fit, and Legend Plaster was born.

Today, Keith is expanding his reach with the projects Legend Plaster has taken on, traveling as far as Louisiana. He speaks of networking with local design professionals in his area. While he has never stopped experimenting with different materials, he enjoys working with New Age Artisans’ blends. He values the consistent quality and the support of the in-house team, including their color specialists.

“The materials just feel right to me,” he said. “And the support behind them, the people behind them, make all the difference.”

Community has become one of the most grounding aspects of his growth. The tadelakt workshop introduced him to people he regularly keeps in touch with and who provide support and connection that can make all the difference. He mentions multiple artisans, people whose openness and generosity have made him feel like he isn’t walking this alone.

The Plaster Portal offered him a place to get answers and advice from experts, and the team encouraged him when he shared his interest in going from hobbyist to professional. He says of NAA and the plaster community:

“It’s not competitive. Everyone wants to see each other grow.”

As for what comes next, Keith has a steady vision. He wants to continue building Legend Plaster in a way that feels sustainable and true to himself. He hopes to take on architectural projects, deepen his knowledge through travel—especially a future trip to Oaxaca—and keep networking in the Midwest and beyond.

Keith’s story embodies the spirit of New Age Artisans: the belief that craft is shaped not only by technique, but also by curiosity, community, and courage. His journey began with a failing exterior wall, but what emerged was a practice that connects past to present, his skill set to a deeper sense of himself, and the realization of a creative calling that grew slowly and patiently.

Legend Plaster is still in its early chapters, but its foundation is strong. And if his story is any indication, what Keith is building will be anything but ordinary.