When asked what he’s up to six out of seven days of the week, Rick Bachman will answer, “I’m thinking of making some stuff outta wood today.” And make some stuff he does, meticulously working away inside his suburban shop. For more than three decades, Rick and his wife, Linda, have been creating everything from bashful deer answering nature’s call in hand-articulated pulls to life-sized butlers devoted to the art of storing wine.

The artist life began humbly for these two. It was born out of Rick’s talented hands and Linda’s uncanny street smarts. Over the years, the couple experimented with various mediums—children’s furniture and ceramics, dollhouses and inlaid pictures—before Rick and Linda finally found their niche in The Laffing Stock. Rick and Linda’s three daughters have fond memories of everyone piling into their 1980 Ford F-150, turning the radio up every time Tim McGraw’s “Don’t Take the Girl” came on and traveling cross-country to that weekend’s show. Setting up before dawn, making lifelong friends with loyal customers and fellow artists, and collecting endless Holiday Inn points sprinkle Rick and Linda’s memories with the kind of happiness only artists can understand.

Based out of Colorado, Rick and Linda create every piece in its entirety by hand.  Combining Rick’s expert craftsmanship and Linda’s keen eye for color, the whimsical artwork of this no-coast duo can be found at roughly 20 local art shows annually and a select few galleries nationwide.

Although the life of artists has its inevitable bumps in the road, Rick and Linda can’t imagine it any other way. They remain passionate about what they do, reveling in knowing their art brings smiles to faces and chuckles to bellies, as they travel side-by-side enjoying their life well lived.