The beginning of my business
when I was in college full time, living with my parents, and didn’t have time for a job, I decided to start painting on some scrap wood to make a little extra money. That was over 10 years ago now, and my business and skill has evolved significantly since then!
I have been into art and lettering as long as I can remember. Every folder and notebook in school was covered in doodles and bubble letters. I took art all through high school, and even thought about going to art school for college. I ended up pursuing a degree as a physical therapist assistant instead. I still always had that drive to create in the background.
my first signs were on scrap boards I found at the farm, or that my brother in law gave me from pallets. My lettering was okay, but not the cleanest or prettiest. The first few years I used only reclaimed wood like barn wood. Over time the quality of the wood I used and of my lettering improved.
I taught myself how to use a jigsaw, sander, table saw, and all the tools with occasional help from my dad. I didn’t have my own tools, and they were all of my dad’s older tools he didn’t use much.
my first craft shows
I participated in my first craft shows a few years later. Shortly before that I started buying quality plywood and learned to make frames for my signs. My lettering became neater, and I had a lot more fonts that I could do. I also started doing some wood burning.
The first craft shows went well, and I sold a decent amount of my signs. I didn’t have a lot of storage at our first home to stockpile my signs to keep doing craft shows, so I quit doing those besides a few small ones here and there.
by that point I had a lot of loyal local customers that were ordering custom signs frequently. Even once I had our first child, I was getting occasional custom orders that I would slowly complete.
my business today
I continued to take the occasional custom order the past couple years, but haven’t done a whole lot with my business until recently. We finished up the farming season, and I didn’t go back to my normal schedule as a PTA. I started posting in my Facebook group more, and making signs.
i sell my signs in our local coffee shop in Chesaning, big rock coffee and events. I also did a vendor pop up with lots of Christmas products.
Now I also have my own nice Milwaukee tools that my husband has bought me over time. My main tools are a jigsaw, sander, brad nailer, table saw, and impact. The only hand me down I have left is my table saw that my uncle gave to me.
recently I have been getting more creative with my painting, and doing more designs and art on them. I also have been burning a lot more cutting boards. All of my work is done 100% by hand with no use of stencils or stickers.
another thing I added this year is handprint/footprint crafts for babies and kids that are hand painted designs. My son always loves doing them, so I figured I would share the fun with other families.
our second baby is due any day now, and I’m not sure when I will be going back to my normal job. I am thinking of taking my small business to the next level of going back to craft shows, or even starting an Etsy page.
I hope you check out my Facebook group, and enjoy looking at my work. All of my art is made with love 100% by hand❤️