If you’re new here, you may not know that LKN doormats & more isn’t my only business.
I’m also the owner of Platinum events & travel, and for more than 20 years I’ve worked in the travel and hospitality industry helping clients plan cruises, vacations, and adventures around the world.
That might make it seem a little odd that I also sell doormats.
Trust me, nobody is more surprised by that than I am.
But when people see our “Departures & Arrivals” doormat and ask where the idea came from, the answer is actually pretty simple. This design represents two parts of my life that unexpectedly came together: my love of travel and the business that grew from one of the most challenging chapters the travel industry has ever experienced.
Travel Was My First Business
Long before I ever sold a doormat, I was helping people explore the world.
Travel has never been just a job for me. It’s something I’ve genuinely loved for most of my adult life. I’ve been fortunate enough to visit more than 40 countries and more than 200 cities, and I still get excited every time I board a plane.
As a travel advisor, I’ve spent years helping clients experience that same excitement. The anticipation before a cruise. The countdown to a bucket list vacation. The feeling of stepping off a plane somewhere completely new.
Travel creates memories that stay with us long after we’ve unpacked our suitcases.
Then 2020 happened.
When the World Stopped Traveling
Like many people in the travel industry, I watched my business come to a sudden stop almost overnight.
Cruises stopped sailing. Flights were canceled. Vacations were postponed indefinitely.
For someone who was used to constantly planning trips and helping clients travel the world, it was a strange adjustment.
Suddenly, I had time.
A lot of time.
Like many people during COVID, I started experimenting with hobbies.
First, I was going to become a wreath maker.
I think I successfully completed two. Maybe three.
The supplies for several others are still sitting in my basement waiting for me to become the person I thought I was going to be in 2020.
Then came sourdough.
Unlike the wreaths, the sourdough wasn’t entirely by choice. Bread seemed to disappear from grocery store shelves as quickly as stores could stock it, and even yeast became difficult to find.
So like many people, we started making sourdough.
To this day, there’s probably still a sourdough starter living somewhere in my refrigerator. Maybe one day I’ll check to see if it’s still alive.
The point is, I wasn’t searching for a new business.
I was simply trying to stay productive while waiting for the travel industry to recover.
Enter the Cricut Era
Then I bought a Cricut.
Looking back, this was probably the moment everything changed.
I started making coir doormats using plain mats from IKEA. I’d create stencils with the Cricut, drag everything outside, and spray the designs with Flex Seal.
What nobody tells you is how messy that process is.
Between the overspray and the coir fibers, I managed to turn parts of my lawn a lovely shade of black.
The mats looked great at first.
Then people started using them.
The paint wore away. The coir fibers shed everywhere. The designs faded in high traffic areas.
The more mats I made, the more I realized I wasn’t happy with the product.
If I was going to sell something, I wanted it to be something I believed in.
That search for a better solution eventually led me to sublimation.
And that changed everything.
Unlike painted coir mats, sublimation permanently infuses the design into the material itself. There was no paint sitting on top waiting to wear away, and no trail of coir fibers finding their way through someone’s house.
The process was completely different, but the finished product was exactly what I had been looking for.
Better quality.
Better durability.
Better customer experience.
Without realizing it at the time, that shift from painted coir mats to sublimation was the moment LKN doormats & more truly began.
How This Doormat Came to Be
One of the things I love most about sublimation is that it allows me to create designs that reflect the things I genuinely care about.
Which brings us back to this doormat.
The airplane. The flight path. The heart.
Every part of this design has meaning.
Travel has been a huge part of my life for more than two decades. I’ve built a career around helping people leave home and explore the world.
But the truth is, I was a traveler long before I became a travel advisor.
Over the years, I’ve been fortunate enough to visit more than 40 countries and more than 200 cities. Some trips were carefully planned, others were spontaneous adventures, but every journey reinforced something I’ve always known about myself: I love discovering new places.
Travel has shaped some of my favorite memories, introduced me to incredible people, and given me experiences I’ll carry with me for the rest of my life.
But the longer I’ve traveled, the more I’ve come to appreciate something else.
Coming home.
There’s a unique feeling that happens after a great trip.
You’ve explored new places.
You’ve collected memories.
You’ve probably brought home a few souvenirs you didn’t need but couldn’t resist.
And eventually, after all the airports, cruise terminals, train stations, hotel rooms, and long travel days, you arrive back at your own front door.
Home feels a little different after you’ve been away.
Sometimes it feels even better.
Why Every Traveler Needs This Doormat
This doormat celebrates both sides of every journey.
The departure.
And the arrival.
The airplane represents adventure.
The heart shaped flight path represents a love of travel.
And the words “Departures & Arrivals” remind us that while we may spend our lives exploring the world, there is something special about returning home after a journey well traveled.
As someone who spends a significant amount of time thinking about travel, I can’t think of a more fitting welcome mat for a traveler.
It’s a small reminder of the places you’ve been, the places you still want to go, and the fact that every great adventure eventually brings you back home again.
Not bad for a business that started with unfinished wreaths, a sourdough starter, a Cricut machine, and a lawn covered in Flex Seal.
Sometimes the best journeys are the ones you never planned.
Ready to bring your love of travel home?
Whether you’re counting down to your next adventure or reminiscing about your favorite trip, our Departures & Arrivals doormat is a simple way to celebrate the journeys that shape us. It makes a thoughtful gift for travelers, cruise lovers, travel advisors, flight attendants, pilots, and anyone whose heart is always planning the next getaway.
