b'NTCA MEMBER SPOTLIGHTPassion for excellence, knack for creativity drive Utah tile setterTarkus Tile brings award-winning true craftsmanship to Salt Lake City areaMark Christensen, owner/By Lesley Goddin, Editor craftsman of Tarkus Tile in Lehi, UtahYouneverknowwhereyourhouse, he said.I was very for-path will lead. Such was the casetunatetolearnconstructionskills forMarkChristensen,ownerofandcommonsensefromhim, Tarkus Tile, whose passion for tilewhich helped me so much.workwasignitedonaroadtripOncehereturnedtoUtahto fromUtahtoArizona.In1998,complete college, he did jobs for asa21-year-oldcollegestudentfriends and family. Happy with the withdreamsofvisitingMexicolevel of income tile work afforded and beyondbut little cash in hishim,at22,hestarted Tarkus Tile pocketheworkedafewdaysin Lehi City, Utah, near Salt Lake with a tile setter friend to make aCity, and got his contractor license few bucks.a year later. I was immediately intrigued withThefi rstyearswerehard,he thework,andendedupstayingsaid.Iwasselftaughtforthe forsixmonths,Christensensaid.mostpart,havingtofi gurealot His boss threw him into the fi ofthingsoutonmyown,mak- re immediately,settingtilestraight- ing a lot of mistakes, but I stuck away,andChristensenlovedit.with it, learning and growing with When his boss decided to relocate,everyjob.Twentyyearslater,I he passed on his Target tile saw tohavemanagedtobuildadecent Christensen.reputation and client base in my It makes sense that this exposurearea. I work mainly solo with the totilecouldigniteChristensensassistanceofmythreeteenage passion.FromthetimeIcouldsons on occasion. Tarkus special-walk, I was working alongside myizes in mainly high-end residential dad,installingcarpetinhisbusi- work, both new construction and ness and building stuff around theremodeling, with an emphasis on 58TileLetter | 2020'