But instead of remaining in the arguably safer world of home renovations, their new book, New Life, Old Love (out this week; $24.95), focuses on the couple’s twenty-five-year relationship, with honest and poignant looks at how they met, the sacrifices they made to open their home décor storefront in Jackson, Wyoming, and the various hurdles that endangered their relationship while they were building their careers.
Coming out of these obstacles, the couple writes, they always emerge stronger and with more proverbial tools in their belt. They claim they don’t fight—they negotiate. Their breakneck schedules aren’t new—Melly has always written detailed lists of goals she hopes they both achieve each week. And they don’t need breaks from each other; instead they’ve found that spending time together fuels the creative spark they need to keep their business ideas fresh.
But rather than being a book that only applies to their marriage in their circumstances, New Life, Old Love is a more powerful guide to what it means to be a partner, how to turn differences into complementary strengths, and when to listen rather than push. It’s an optimistic and engrossing read that perfectly ties in their trademark phrase—Be flexible!—with genuine advice for how to accomplish just that.
The Tripps have embarked on a West Coast tour to launch the new book, with their first stop at Barnes & Noble at the Grove. The room was packed with bloggers and VIPs, a few of them wearing Be Flexible! T-shirts and waiting for up to three hours in line to get their books signed. Playfully teasing throughout, the couple truly appeared to practice what they preach: Melissa laughed with loving exasperation at Rusty’s slew of dad jokes. Rusty gazed adoringly at his wife as she fielded questions from the audience. It was everything that megafans of the couple wanted to see, and we were able to cap off the evening with a quick Q&A with the pair.
LAW: For those out there who haven’t read your book yet, how did you get your start?
Melissa Tripp: As a couple, we met at a party during our first week of college. Early on we knew we wanted to work together, in some capacity. So we opened the furniture store in Jackson, Comb+Honey. The name is a play on structure, plus the function inside. The store was set up like a series of rooms—where Rusty built most of the furniture, and I would find amazing pieces to accentuate the design. After we were featured in the local paper, the LA Times did a story on our business in the weekend magazine, HGTV found us, and the rest is history.
LAW: When did you first know you’d done something big?
Rusty Tripp: I remember coming back from lunch one day and seeing a whole slew of news vans parked outside the store. I had to work my way past the crowd all standing in front of the display—I remember it so clearly, it was this living room display with silver accents and a sapphire-blue midcentury-style piece I’d built—I’d had this gorgeous walnut from a guy up in Billings, and never knew what to do with it until—
MT: [laughing] Honey. Stay on target.
RT: See? She keeps this train running. Anyway, the room display was breathtaking. Melly had created a waterfall feature on the wall using some river rocks from our trip to Laramie. The blues all shimmered together in this totally otherworldly way, and the people with cameras around their necks all just stood there, staring. Not even taking pictures, just staring like they’d never seen anything like it before. That was when I knew.
MT: We’d already been featured in the Casper Star-Tribune by that point—
RT: Right, so this was just before everything exploded. After the LA Times feature, everything changed. But that moment was when I knew it would.
LAW: I have to ask: What’s it like working with your spouse?
MT: Honestly? It’s amazing. I can’t imagine another life.
RT: She keeps me grounded, keeps me on task—you’ve already seen that [they laugh], and it’s true: we’re two halves of a whole.
LAW: It’s amazing how many people want to know:
Do you ever argue?
MT: You mean, how often do we negotiate? [laughs] We have disagreements, sure, but they’re the same kind of mild together-all-the-time moments that every couple has. When it comes to our business, we don’t argue. We’re in this together, and stronger when we’re a team.
LAW: So what can we expect next?
RT: Now, that we can’t tell you quite yet. But trust me, later this