Ideas often come from the most unlikely places, so an ordinary visit to the dentist did not seem to be the place an inspiration could occur. Lance Cheney sat in the waiting room before his appointment perusing an issue of Architectural Digest. The dentist was ready for him while in the midst of reading an article that caught his eye. This article described the important areas that could advance the efforts of architects and builders in the twenty-first century.

The one item that stuck with him on his way home from the dentist was that there was a need for texture in the architectural industry. Upon arriving back at his office, he saw why the article resonated. There before him on his desk were a mass of bundles of fiber, all for the express purpose of making bushes. What Lance developed from that day over a course of time was a textured tile, filled with fiber, that was to become Brush Tile.

Braun Brush is a family-owned business in brushmaking, whose heritage is now one of the oldest family-run manufacturers in the New York area. Begun in 1875 in Brooklyn, the company moved to Long Island after the turn of the last century. When Lance Cheney took over the business in the 1970's, he did not pursue innovative directions for Braun until after 2000.

Realizing that his knowledge of brushmaking materials and equipment might have further possibilities, Lance has taken on a creative vision for how those processes might translate for other fields. The Brush Tile emerges as a novel building material for architecture that can enhance the design features of modern building with an interest in humanizing the experience within a workspace.