His borders break boundaries in decor.

• Author: Richter, Chris
• Position: PEOPLE - John Ham of Cultural Hangups Inc

John Ham is trying to relax. But he has been busy since his company, Huntersville-based Cultural Hangups Inc., hit the big time. In November, home-improvement giant Lowe's began carrying two of its ethnic-themed wallpaper borders in 304 stores nationwide.

One border features a black ballerina against a pink background; the other, a group of girls of different races sitting together. Lowe's plans to add other designs this year.

Ham, 38, is formally president of the company but calls himself chief operating officer. The concept was the idea of his wife, Cynthia, so he calls her president. He handles most business decisions, and she's more involved with design.

They never intended to get into the decorating business. His wife was pregnant in 1997 when she decided to turn a room in their house into a nursery. They couldn't find products with black-themed images.

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Cynthia had an artist paint a border and mural featuring images such as black angels and African symbols. "People came by to see how the baby was doing. And, of course, women always want to see what the nursery looks like," he says. He didn't give much weight to compliments--they weren't going to say the room was ugly, he adds. Then Cynthia saw a TV talk show in which another woman had a similar problem. That convinced her there might be a market. They had their first products by 2002 and sold through the Internet, trade shows, churches and about 200 small stores.

The Hams come up with...