John Caldwell Takes over StJohn A/V Lines

John Caldwell has formed a new company, Grace Motif, to take over the North American distribution of his previous company, StJohn Group. The news came last week just as StJohn founder Kevin Leja said he was dropping the distribution portion of his business to focus on marketing consulting.

Caldwell and Leja had been partners at StJohn since 2000. Caldwell says the split with Leja was amicable and both parties are looking forward their new respective opportunities.

Based in Scottsdale, Ariz., Grace Motif will pick up the distribution of StJohn's former vendors, Artcoustic, Cabasse, Cineversum, and IMAGE Screens.

Grace Motif will serve the retail and residential custom A/V markets initially, with plans to address the hospitality, post production, simulator, 3D, church and worship commercial markets.

"I am launching Grace Motif to take not only these proven brands to the next level though fresh new marketing strategies, but [I] will also soon be offering a wider range of products and brands that address emerging lucrative market segments like, commercial A/V, professional A/V studio/production, 4K video, ergonomics, control software and lighting," he says.