Linda and Jack Oldham always knew their children weren’t the typical toy-hungry youngsters who wanted to own the shiny, noisy gadgets they saw advertised in TV commercials.
Instead, the young Oldhams had an early appreciation for all things artistic, and Linda made sure she and her husband fostered their creative pursuits, which included having a fully functional “craft table” open for action at any time of the day or night, depending on the kids’ moods. The craft table held crayons, paper, scissors, leaves, glue – anything that could fashion a creation, or be made into one.
“I remember us sitting around making billions of things,” says Todd Oldham, the oldest sibling. “We made everything… I can’t think of what we ddin’t make.”
The early days of aesthetic pursuits set each Oldham child on a path in the arts. Todd, 39, is a well-known designer of buildings and fashion and the owner  the owner of Todd Oldham Jeans. Robin, 37, is the owner of Dallas-based Smashing Times, a franchised mosaic business. Brad, 35, heads up Brad Oldham, Inc., where he produces functional architectural castings and tiles for such a hot spot as Emeril’s (as in the famous chef, Emeril Lagasse) in New Orleans. And Mikell is an actress and kindergarten teacher living in Georgia.
But how did one family produce four distinctively different and talented artists?
“My parents were very sensible,” Todd says. “They encouraged us to think out of the box.”
Adds Robin: “We were very ‘Curious George’ kids. I think that was mom’s way of keeping us busy – and not so mischievous.”
Making the Grade – and Everything Else / As the children grew up, the entire Oldham family took the concept of “homemade” to a new dimension, repainting their bicycles, stripping furniture and creating Christmas ornaments, cards, pictures frames, even backyard play forts.
“Our forts when we were little were not just normal forts,” Robin say. “They were spectacular.”
Linda, Robin and Todd made clothes. Christmas presents were originals. Jack pitched in through his passion for wood carving with items such as a TV stand, headboards, and dressers. And then there was the bathroom vanity, which Linda says was made from an old television set – the kind with the doors on the front. After gutting the set and adding the countertop, the old box became a piece of functional art.
But it’s hard for the Oldhams to pin-point one childhood situation or event that first sparked their creative spirits.
“They were all curious children, so you didn’t have to work too hard to get them to do something,” Linda recalls. “I loved it when they would make a card or picture and come and hold it up to me. It was just the most gratifying thing to see them make the effort to complete something. And to be so happy they could give it to someone.”
Perhaps the affinity for the arts was born out of periodic jaunts to garage and thrift stores. Or maybe it was frequent moves to new places, such as the Oldhams’ four-year stint in Iran.
“It was scary, but we really enjoyed it,” Robin says. “It think that probably changed our lives more than anything – maybe that has a lot to do with making as well… you had to be pretty inventive and ingenious.”
And maybe the bent for creativity was born out of a celebration of a day that most people would never spotlight – the neighborhood trash pickup day.
“Walking home on garbage day was like the best day in the world,” Brad says.
Adds Robin: “You could find good stuff.”
As shocking as some of the findings were – “some things you could tell were obviously long past anyone’s redemption,” says Linda – the Oldham children could see how to transform almost anything, including an old Crisco can.
“We cut the top out and put a basket on top, and that was our barbecue for the fort,” Robin says, “until we caught my nightgown on fire, and then we weren’t allowed to play in the fort.”
Together in Work and Play / In spite of the family’s ambitions to create something different, bizarre or simply functional, the siblings say they rarely fought. Instead, the Oldhams say they encouraged each other to succeed.
“Everybody had their own thing they were doing,” Linda says. “There wasn’t competition at all. I don’t remember anybody trying to outdo anybody.”
According to the Oldhams, growing up in a household of artists helped each one to appreciate individual abilities, so much so that they practically gush when speaking of each other.
Like most families, crazed schedules often keep members stuck in isolated places, but the Oldhams try to get together a few times a year. With Todd in New York, Mikell in Georgia, Linda and Jack in New Mexico, and Brad and Robin in Dallas, sometimes the logistics are tricky. But work often brings them together on special projects.
Todd has moved somewhat away from fashion and into designing and renovating buildings. His latest project is rejuvenating a New York club called Veruka, and he’s turning to Brad and Robin for their expertise, and to Mikell because she’s his “cheerleader.”
“We’ve always been close,” Todd says. “I think we’ll always be happy to work together.”
