Just Ten Tuesday #1

Ten years ago this March is when Jeff and I started Just Wright Designs. It’s been a long road with a few hard knocks but also some very exciting and amazing times.

This year I will be doing “Just Ten Tuesday” on the first Tuesday of every month.  I’ll list 10 random thoughts, ideas, pictures or little things about us and our journey. One day I plan on writing a book but for now please enjoy my Just Ten Tuesdays. 

If there are any questions you have or things you might want to know shoot me an email and I’ll do my best to answer them. We’re not expert business people but we love to share experiences.

1. Keep a scrapbook.  I wish I had a screen capture of our first site, it would be a good laugh. Shopping carts didn’t exist back then so we spent hours and hours at night (we both worked demanding full time jobs) trying to design a website with very little tools. Today we have so many options and the web world has come so far.
2. We’re a husband and wife team, along with my mother (Sue) and my assistant (Lauren). This is why you might get our voice mail when you call, we wear many hats. The quickest way to reach us is by email.
3. We worked out of our home and garage for years but we now have a studio space. If you are an artist thinking about moving your studio outside of the home make sure to take many things into consideration before making this leap. Business phones, commercial electricity and many other things are much more expensive in a commercial space.
4. I personally paint every Celebration Signature Plate®. This is why it takes longer to get one of our plates and why ours cost more than our competitors. We don’t use templates, I hand paint it all.
5. We did our first Bridal Show in July of 2003 and we still love doing Bridal Shows.
6. We have 3 dogs (2 yellow labs & 1 doxie) and 3 cats (all rescued, 2 studio cats and 1 home cat). Stay tuned for some furry friend fun this year.
7. We resisted opening an Etsy shop for years and regret it. I loved buying on Etsy but felt it was a venue where we’d just get knocked off. Truth is; we always got knocked off or copied even when we didn’t have our Etsy shop. It’s bad karma to copy, be creative and use YOUR imagination. Make sure to visit our Etsy shop. 
8. We have a WOW jar. We put any important, funny, not so funny or crazy things in this jar that have happened over the years. It’s a great way to go back and remember these times. Maybe I’ll start WOW Wednesdays posts soon.
9. We’ve lived in Texas 9 years. I grew up in South Florida, Jeff grew up in Seattle.
10. I hate cold weather and it’s been cold in Texas. I love the tropics, flip flops and tank tops so I can’t wait for warmer weather.

Have an inspiring day!