by HJ HOLTZ | Apr 9, 2026 | About Our Company
Spring’s arrival is heralded by blooming tulips, dogwoods, and other flowering plants. Another marker: Historic Garden Week, the annual April event sponsored by the Garden Club of Virginia.
H.J. Holtz & Son is proud to be a part of the 2026 tour in Richmond, with two client homes featured on Thursday, April 23.
In 513 Henri Road, the Holtz wallpaper team previously installed grasscloth behind bookshelves, for added impact. At 6004 York Road, to prepare the home for this year’s tour, Holtz decorative artists covered walls in Venetian plaster, installed fresh wallpaper on a ceiling, and painted trim and woodwork in the family room.
“We’re often called in by clients who want to freshen their spaces before [Historic Garden Week],” says company president Rick Holtz. “This is a big deal, and they want their homes to shine. We’re glad to help.”
Historic Garden Week gives ticket-holders access to spectacular homes and gardens typically only available to the owners’ family and friends. The tours showcase private spaces and also floral arrangements crafted and donated by Garden Club members from across the state.
The tour was initiated in 1929 as a way to raise money for historic Kenmore, the Fredericksburg home of Betty Washington Lewis, George Washington’s sister. Since then, the tour has been canceled only twice: once during World War II and in 2020, due to the COVID pandemic. Proceeds support the ongoing restoration and preservation of Virginia’s historic public gardens and landscapes across the state as well as a research fellowship program in landscape architecture.
Scheduled this year for April 18-25, Historic Garden Week encompasses 33 tours located in towns and counties, as well as specific properties, including Morven Farm – a research property operated by the University of Virginia – and Little Oak Spring, part of the Mellon estate in Upperville. Tour guides stationed at each property offer insights and information.
Richmond has three tours: South Gaskins Road on Tuesday, April 21; Church Hill, hosted by the Council of Historic Richmond, on Wednesday, April 22; and Westhampton on Thursday, April 23. Tickets are sold for morning or afternoon sessions.
For more information and to purchase tickets, visit gcvirginia.org/historic-garden-week.
by HJ HOLTZ | Jan 26, 2026 | Employees, About Our Company
Painter Kenny Ebright holds two unique positions at H.J. Holtz & Son: He’s currently the only team member who is certified to use Fine Paints of Europe, and he’s second in longevity to only company president Rick Holtz. Ebright was hired 30 years ago, just nine months after Rick Holtz joined the company founded by his grandfather.
“Rick and I have been through everything together, done everything together; we’ve bonded,” Ebright says with a chuckle.
Ebright says his education at the hands of the “old-timers” was essential in learning how to do a job the Holtz way. “I was taught very well by the people here,” he says, pointing to the leadership provided by founder Herman J. Holtz and his son and successor Richard L. Holtz, Sr.
Part of what he learned, Ebright says, is how to focus on the task at hand. “I look at my work differently than some other folks,” he says. “I think about what’s the fastest and best way to get the job done. If they give me two weeks to do a job, I work to get it done sooner, so we have a couple of days to go back and double check – then you don’t have to go back to fix.”
Last year, Rick Holtz asked Ebright to speak to a group of contractors who were visiting the shop to learn about effective business strategies. “Rick called me into the conference room, introduced me to all these people, then said, ‘You can ask him questions; I’m out of here.’ And he walked out the door.”
Ebright says the contractors wanted to know about the Holtz culture, organization, work flow, how he runs his painting team. “I told them, the goal is always to work toward the time goal. You can’t let time catch your feet, you’ve got to stay ahead on your feet. That’s how you make money.”
After three decades with H.J. Holtz & Son, Ebright knows what’s expected of him and delivers. “People here know and respect me,” he says, “because I give them respect, too.”
by HJ HOLTZ | May 20, 2024 | About Our Company, Designer Projects
Sometimes, more really is better.
Last year, H.J. Holtz & Son was a contributing sponsor to the inaugural Spring Tablescapes Showcase, a fundraiser for nonprofit Little Hands Virginia in which designers decorate tables for a formal, ticketed luncheon. For this year’s Tablescapes Showcase, Holtz & Son went even further, partnering with Spectrum Paint and Benjamin Moore to serve as stage sponsors, constructing and painting a podium and paneled backdrop to enhance the existing stage in The Jefferson Hotel ballroom.
“The room is gorgeous, and the tablescapes created were over the top,” says Taylor Keeney, executive director of Little Hands Virginia. “We wanted the stage to be decorated and be its own focal piece. Holtz did a fantastic job. They took our vision and executed it flawlessly. They truly went above and beyond to make sure the stage complemented what we wanted this event to be.”
Keeney also credits Holtz carpenters and painters for their quick turnaround, noting that planning began in early April for the May 2-3 showcase. The Holtz team built a four-feet high podium – with hidden shelf – and an 8-feet-by-16-feet paneled wall backdrop that was finished with crown molding. Both structures were then painted in Benjamin Moore colors to match the invitations, program and branding that Little Hands Virginia had already established.
“They worked under a very short timeline and executed beyond what everyone expected,” Keeney says. “Their work really amplified the mission of this organization to help with this event.”
Founded by Keeney in 2019, Little Hands Virginia is the only organization in the region that focuses exclusively on providing essentials – diapers in particular – to economically disadvantaged families with young children. The 501(c)3 organization accepts donations – both monetary and goods – and works with community partners for distribution to families with children from birth to age 3.
H.J. Holtz & Son President Rick Holtz says it was an easy decision to become involved.
“Little Hands Virginia does great work in supporting families in our communities who need it the most,” Holtz says. “We’re happy to play our part in helping them get the word out about Little Hands and what people can do to support their mission.”
Keeney says Holtz & Son was approached to be a sponsor last year because of recommendations from designers contributing to the first Tablescapes Showcase. The collaboration has been a great fit.
“It’s always really enjoyable to work with the Holtz team,” she says. “Their willingness to get involved and do what they did speaks to who they are as a company, too.”
by HJ HOLTZ | Aug 22, 2023 | About Our Company
It was an opportunity too good to pass up.
For the past 10 years, H.J. Holtz & Son President Rick Holtz had kept a casual eye on commercial real estate listings, contemplating a change.
The company’s location at 3106 Moore Street in Richmond, within easy reach of several major thoroughfares, was a sweet spot when the company moved there in 2002. Situated at the corner of Moore and Summit streets, the lot offered a large side parking area – necessary for the company’s trucks – and a large building that could accommodate both office and shop areas.
But 20 years is a long time. Over the last two decades, Holtz & Son has grown, adding more trained painters and paper hangers, and expanding its carpentry division to provide wraparound services, as so many home projects require wood repair.
Beyond the front doors, the neighborhood changed, too. When the company moved in, Scott’s Addition was filled mostly with light industrial businesses and warehouses. A scattering of homes and restaurants were on the edges, but the district attracted little attention.
The area began to shift in the early 2000s, as a few warehouses were converted into apartments. Growth slowed during the Great Recession of 2008-2009, but developers quickly returned with more aggressive plans. In 2017, the city changed the neighborhood’s zoning from light industrial to mixed-use, allowing for a bevy of businesses to fill the area.
Now, Scott’s Addition is a hive of activity, day and night. That’s not bad when the Holtz team is looking for lunch, but it creates significant barriers to Holtz & Son expansion.
“There’s just nowhere for us to go,” says Rick Holtz. “We’re hemmed in on every side. And there’s no way I could afford to buy out any of our adjacent neighbors. The property values are just too high.”
Already feeling pinched in the space, the Holtz & Son team faced even greater demand during and after the COVID pandemic, as people upgraded and improved their homes. “Suddenly, everyone was inside their houses, looking at the walls, and realizing they didn’t like what they saw,” Rick Holz says. “Demand doubled. We want to meet demand, for both clients who have worked with us before and new clients. But that became really hard to do.”
Even though much of the work the company does is in customers’ homes, a surprising number of tasks happen in the shop.
“We need space to prep and spray cabinets, build and paint furniture, and paint all types of items our clients ask us to paint,” Rick Holtz says. “We’ve used every inch of the space we have here. There’s just nowhere to go.”
He had almost given up on finding a new location when he had lunch with his friends who work with Benjamin Moore and Spectrum Paint. “My friend and associate Rob Reynolds mentioned that he had a friend who was retiring and might be interested in selling his building,” Rick Holtz says.
He quickly acted on the tip, finding Old Dominion Body Works, just off Hull Street Road, near its intersection with Chippenham Parkway. With almost 12,000 square feet, the shop is double the size of Holtz & Son’s current location.
“We’re acquiring a down draft spray booth, and we’re able to give the Holtz Built carpentry division, which is growing so fast, an even larger dedicated space,” Rick Holtz says. “We’re also going to be able to have multiple projects of varying sizes going at a time, which enables us to finish a job faster. That’s good for the customer who wants their project to move quickly, and it’s good for the customer who’s waiting for us to get to their project.”
H.J. Holtz & Son closed on the sale in May and renovations began immediately. “We’re serving as our own general contractor and are doing as much of the work ourselves as we can,” Rick Holtz says. “Really, we can do it all, except for the plumbing, mechanical and heavy-duty electrical work.
“It’s exciting for our team to work on our own space,” he adds. “We’re getting to show what we can do, and we’ll get to enjoy the finished product. We’re really having fun with it.”
Stay tuned … there’s more to come.
