When Nicholas Hall was a little boy, he wanted to grow up to own a restaurant just like his grandfather, Nicholas Graham, who emigrated from Crete in 1915.
“I particularly love breakfast food so I always imagined having a restaurant that focused on breakfast, especially pancakes,” Nicholas says.
At the same time, Nicholas loved drawing and painting and took art lessons when he was a child. “My Mom would say I was always happy when I was creating something,” he says.
So how did those two childhood ambitions fare when Nicholas became an adult? He isn’t a restaurant owner, but Nicholas does welcome guests to his Bloomington home. And he is a well-known local abstract expressionist artist specializing in mixed media paintings.
However, those two interests are only part of the life Nicholas has created. To follow the path to where he is today, start at the beginning when Nicholas was born in the small Ohio town of Fremont where he excelled in sports, especially basketball.
“My parents took me to a lot of musicals and, to this day, I love to go to musicals,” Nicholas says. “But I think I took guitar and piano lessons for about a month or so until the next sports season started and never picked them back up.”
Making Bloomington his home
After graduating from high school, Nicholas came to Indiana University in 1988 to earn an accounting degree in 1992 and get a job as an auditor at Price Waterhouse. After moving around the country, Nicholas returned to Bloomington where he purchased his current home in November 2023.
What he likes best about Bloomington, Nicholas says, is “there is so much creativity and openness and for someone who is curious like me, there’s always something new to check out.”
What Nicholas does now is create art, make Pockties, write music, perform around town (particularly on warm Saturday mornings at Two Sticks Bakery) and open his home for free monthly musical concerts and out-of-town guests.
“I like to say that we focus on fellowship and food and the music is always a wonderful bonus.”
About six years ago, Nicholas began diligently writing songs. “And haven’t stopped,” he says. “I love to write sing-song poetry. I enjoy being able to get an entire point across — beginning, middle and end — in a few verses and a chorus. There’s just something about it and it keeps drawing me back in.”
Creating fashionable Pockties
As for those Pockties, the idea to create the men’s pocket squares popped into Nicholas’ mind about seven years ago. The story goes that Nicholas was walking down the streets of Manhattan and noticed how even in New York City, men are no longer wearing ties with their suits and sports coats.
While Nicholas says he agrees that wearing a tie can be uncomfortable, it does help bring some color and pizzazz to an often-drab outfit.
Why not, Nicholas wondered, create a pocket square that would be easy to wear and approachable to more men. Thus was born the Pocktie — a pocket square made from recycled neckties.
“It took a while to find someone who had the patience to deconstruct a tie and reconstruct it into a Pocktie pocket square and boutonniere,” Nicholas says. “I got a ton of help and inspiration from my friends at IU’s Eskanazi fashion program, Mary Embry and Deb Christiansen.”
For the fashionable neckties that are used to make his Pocktie, Nicholas said he originally got most of his ties at Goodwill in Queens, New York, where they are sold by the pound.
“Ties are really inexpensive when you buy them by the pound and the ties that are given away in the New York area can be pretty amazing,” he says. “Since then, I have had people donate them to me from their father’s closet.”
Painting abstract art
For his art, Nicholas also believes in recycling. “I work with found and donated materials so I never know what I might use to create my art. I also appreciate the community aspect of using found and donated materials,” he says.
“I would label my work as ontological abstract expressionism. I enjoy seeing a piece unfold before my eyes. If I love what I see, I stop, and if I don’t, then I continue.”
With his art studio at home, Nicholas says he can work to his heart’s content. “My walls are my gallery. I am always happy to welcome people into my home to view my art.”
Bloomington Bliss Airbnb
Nicholas also has a studio in his walk-out basement which he rents on Airbnb as well as his own studio which he makes available when he is traveling and on some high-demand weekends.
Located in Nicholas’ mid-century ranch home in the Bryan Park neighborhood, the rental known as Bloomington Bliss is one of the highest rated on Airbnb. Renovated in 2024, the rental offers an open living room and kitchen with two bedrooms and a bathroom. The living room also has a pull-out couch.
“My home is the perfect size for me and it is set up perfectly for hosting house concerts and guests, too,” Nicholas says.
Graham’s Foundation for parents of premature babies
The Bloomington home also is the site of special gatherings to honor Nicholas’ son Graham. Born 15 weeks premature on Thanksgiving Day 2006, Graham and his twin, Reece, struggled to survive.
“We lost Graham after 45 days, and Reece spent four months in a hospital before finally coming home,” Nicholas says.
Knowing the roller coaster challenges of having a premature baby, Nicholas founded the nonprofit Graham’s Foundation in 2009 to offer support for parents of premature babies.
Since its founding, Graham’s Foundation has supported 175,000 families in navigating the scary journey of prematurity. Graham’s Foundation also has shipped 35,000 care packages to parents of premature babies.
The care packages contain a Preemie Parent Pamphlet and other information and resources to help parents know they are not alone in the fight to help a premature baby live and thrive.
“I host volunteer gatherings at my place every couple of months where we put together all the items that go into our care packages. We always welcome more volunteers,” Nicholas says.
The care packages also are an important reminder, Nicholas notes on Graham’s Foundation, that “life’s true measure is not the days lived but the lives touched.”
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Reach Jackie Finch at [email protected]
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