01/10/2024
Hi Everybody! Wow, it's been quite awhile since we've posted on here. There's a reason why we've been absent, not an excuse because there isn't a good one, but a reason nonetheless.
Since we've last posted we had just welcomed our third child into the world, Jared was still working a full-time job elsewhere and I was managing to keep three kids alive and keeping Twisted Grove Designs running enough to supplement our income along with satisfying our passion.
Let me explain. When we came back from our mini break from selling in 2020 (pre-pandemic) we only offered our Unity sign in our Etsy shop. This was a one-of-a-kind piece in a style we created ourselves (thanks to my sister who got married in 2018 for the opportunity to create her one) that got traction in the eCommerce world fast! It grew so fast that I was not able to keep you up-to-date on here and something had to sit on the back burner. Honestly though, I'm an 80s baby and social media + me didn't quite get each other yet along with all the new platforms to keep up with.. it was a hot mess. 😅
Fast forward 4 years, we still only offer the Unity sign (with a few other wedding items) in a wide selection of styles and have sold almost 9,000 special pieces to 9,000 lovely couples who want to symbolically show their commitment of the sacred covenant they have formed with God.
It has been nothing short of just a pure blessing that we have been able to symbolically bring marriage back to scripture. We absolutely love what we get to do!
We grew so much in 2020 that Jared was able to leave his job and work full-time with Twisted Grove Designs along side with me as I couldn't keep up by myself! Since then, we haven't regretted that decision one bit. Again, a blessing!
It was just the two of us (along with tiny munchkins running around) creating, customizing and building these unique signs for couples all over the world!
In 2021 I asked a dear friend of mine to help me out a little by taking on some of my work load. She was able to work from home and provide me with the needed materials to create and complete all of the pieces we sent out. She is absolutely perfect and I can't go on without her! 🥰
In 2022, we hired our first employee and he has been a God send. Literally, I prayed for exactly him.. it was ironic (of course it was God) because he fit all the criteria that I specified to God in my prayers. He is still with us and continues to help us grow!
In 2023 we hired our second employee! He has been working for us part-time and has made production in the workshop (aka our basement) a little less stressful! Once again, a God send! 🙌
Also in 2023 we welcomed our fourth baby!! He has been the perfect addition to our family. I worried about having another baby in the chaos of owning and operating this small business of ours, but he has made it so easy to handle both his needs/wants and running the business at the same time.
Now in 2024, Happy New Year by the way! 🎉 We are still growing and currently in the process of building a shop to house the workshop, offices, shipping and just taking the entire business out of the house! Let's be real, I hated operating this business out of my home because at times I felt, and still feel, that I'm loosing my house to a business with saw-dust everywhere, worrying if my kid stuck a toothbrush in a customer's box (that actually happened 🫣) and constantly telling my kids to stay out of certain areas of their home because, well... business!!
We hope in this new year to now keep up with you! We are local to Appomattox, VA and want to show our community that we are here to support them and their event/wedding needs! We are sponsoring our first rec team (our son's basketball team) and hope to sponsor more this year and the years to come. We hope to reach out to wedding/event venues to help them with their events by offering a variety of unique customized signs and more.
If you are a follower (after many years of us lying dormant) from afar (you probably forgot you followed us on here 🙃), we're here for you too! We want to show you what we've made in the years past and what we currently offer along with hopefully creating something special for you as well!
This goes for everybody, if there is something unique or something you'd like us to customize for your event, wedding, home, honestly whatever it may be, please reach out to let us know! We are always over the moon, excited to create something new or even to tweak a design we already have. We absolutely love to help bring to reality what you are thinking of!
If you've made it this far then you are a true follower of Twisted Grove Designs and we love you for it!
Keep your eye out for us in your feed as we will be posting every week, if not, more (but not too much to be obnoxious 😜).
In a nutshell, we have been truly blessed by God to have this opportunity to do what we love! His plan is bigger than our dreams and we are so excited for what's in store for Twisted Grove Designs!
Check out our shop if you are interested in what I have been rambling on about!
https://twistedgrovedesigns.etsy.com
