in handy. She’s attuned to the specific properties of materials that work best in certain lighting. Grabbing a sample that contains holographic glitter, Runkel takes it outside in direct sunlight to show off its sheen. However, it’s not all just glitter and cowhide, Runkel’s product works in residential hospitality and health care, both in horizon- tal and vertical applications. Be- cause the surface is nonporous, it is nonstaining and naturally antimicrobial. Incredibly, there is no detectable odor in her workshop. The product has no VOCs, and it’s safe for the most sensitive patients.


180 DSD


who collects western art. Runkel experimented with different methods of placing cowhide into the resin until she found a way that worked. Trial and error is something she’s familiar with, having developed the product and built the business from scratch.


“I’ve had to teach myself how to do this, because there’s no manual and no one to ask,” says Runkel. “Each new embedded material requires testing and experimentation. Some materials require more testing and sam-


ples than others.” Runkel comes from a gemol- ogy background and was look- ing for a change of career. She wanted a business she could put her name on. Although she built the business on a lot of experimentation and had to learn about how chemicals interact, she’s hesitant to call herself a scientist. Runkel is also modest about calling herself an artist, although her finished products, like one containing a swirled, pearly copper pigment, are beautiful and could most


definitely be considered works of art.


“I’m really a capitalist with an artistic flair. I don’t consider myself an artist, although I hear this a lot,” says Runkel. “I see it as developing a product that is reproducible while allow- ing a platform for designers, architects, builders, as well as restaurant and bar owners, to use their own imaginations; they can come up with their own ideas.” Regardless of her title,


Runkel’s gemologist eye comes


Runkel has built a successful business because she envisioned a versatile and customizable product that can fit just as easily in a hospital or a rec room (she’s preparing to produce a kids’ craft table for a 50,000-square- foot mega mansion). It’s commercial, it’s residential, and it has a natural home in the hospitality industry. Runkel is routinely asked to do large-scale projects for bars that are over 100 linear feet—like at Gloria’s in Addison, where the finished product is seamless because it was poured on-site. Runkel has big plans for expanding the business with branded partnerships. No doubt this next phase will be successful like her other projects, because the root of Luminexa’s magic is Runkel’s imagination. 2


LUMINEXA SURFACING


1819 Peters Road, Suite 17 Irving, Texas 75061 214-441-2108 luminexa.com


Alaena Hostetter is a Dallas-based journalist who writes about all of her favorite things: art, fashion, culture, music, entertainment and food.


Photograph by Bill Bolin


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