The following was an article published in the Frisco Arts newsletter today.

By Kevin Lofgren, CEO and Founder of Farstar

My wife Shari and I moved to Frisco in 2002 and were immediately drawn to the spirit of the city. In 2007, I was looking for a place for my company, Farstar, to call home and discovered an abandoned 90-year-old home on Main Street in Downtown. After some research, I learned that the location was a home until the 1990s, when it was converted into a string of failed restaurants. The location was most famously known at one time as The Thirsty Turtle.

I looked at what I thought was an eyesore and pondered the possibilities of transforming it if the sky was the limit. I had a vision of designing a place where form meets function – where the people in this unique company could be inspired to do great work.

At Farstar, we house a collective creative genius that combines the power of art with the power of technology to create a perfect blend of effective results for our clients. Life is filled with dichotomies like ours where we have housed a new technology company in an historic home and added custom, modern art pieces into the infrastructure of this 90-year-old house. I believe that the yin and yang of the old house as compared to the modern art makes us feel balanced. It also helps us feel inspired to greatness.

Most recently, we added a statue of our mascot, Copernicus, to the front yard landscape. You might have driven by and noticed him. He was inspired by our logo and created by local sculptor Stephen Bates. And if you’ve been inside our office, you have seen the numerous art doors and room dividers created by local artisan Albert Scherbarth. We had the luxury of working closely with both artists who were able to convey the feeling we wanted to evoke in our workplace. They were able to listen to our dream and make the vision a reality. You could say that we have a local artist exhibit sitting in our offices. Come and take a look during the historic homes tour this winter.

I love art and wish I had a formal art education to tell a Picasso from a fourth-grade water color, but what I love about art doesn’t come from books. I love the way a piece of art moves me. As a lover of the arts, I aim to support and nurture that love. This year, Farstar is sponsoring the Frisco Arts Gala to show our support for the tremendous job Frisco and its citizens do to capture and further the spirit of the city that I love through its efforts in the arts.

While our offices are nearly complete, I will always endeavor to inspire creativity in everyone that I meet. It is my hope that other business owners will make the effort to contribute to this community and commission local artists to enhance their company’s culture and experience for employees and passersby alike. The house and renovation were wonderful gifts and opportunities we seized. I know I will never take these gifts for granted and will continue to maximize our impact on the community through contribution to the arts.