R & J Expression's Story: What started us down this path
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My husband and I moved into our first home a long time ago. And it was truly just that, a first home which was a disaster. Our foundation of our home wasn't in great shape. We didn't want to spend the money to redo the old panel walls due to if we replaced the foundation we would end up replacing the walls again. Eventually we decided that this little house needed more investment than what we were willing to put into it (he wanted to tear it down, live in a RV in our driveway, and rebuild a new house - Not going to happen with 2 kids, 2 dogs, a mom, and the two of us. NOPE). We bought our new house and ideas just started flowing to me. The house was brown inside. Literally, everything was brown, the paint, the trim, and the windows. I needed some life and character. I started with our living room because we spent all of our time in there. I decided on a very rustic shiplap wall in grey. My husband built some floating shelves for all the electronics and hid all the cords. We then painted the room grey. I was completely amazed that just a simple color change can completely change the flow of a room. It opened it up and it felt inviting!
I then had a charge of energy to start on my next item. I had an old dresser that I really had no purpose for anymore now that this new house had a closet. So I did a ton of research and went out and bought my first can of chalk paint. It's all been rolling since then for the furniture piece. I started buying pieces (once I ran out of my own to redo) and selling them through social media. Then for Christmas the first year in this new house I ask my husband if we could make signs with this CNC router machine that he had more so for a hobby. Heck yes he can carve anything into wood! So I proceeded to search out my pins on Pinterest and found 3 sayings for the names we had drawn for the gift exchange. We started playing with different kinds of sayings and stain. I brought a few to work and posted on Facebook. I started getting tons of requests from friends and family to put their dearest most treasured sayings on wood for them to keep forever on their walls. At this point it was just a hobby. I was making a little extra and still doing some furniture, but by no means was making any kind of business out of this. I'm brave but not that brave. Each piece or each sign I would finish would be better than the one before it and I had found a passion for it.
In November of 2018 I was approached by a fellow refurbisher asking me to co-sign in her small store in Lincoln. At that time I wasn't ready to take the leap or take the risk, plus I wasn't okay giving a percentage of my hard earned profit on each sale made. So I went on my merry little way until she approached me about actually renting some space from her in her new shop around the corner. SO SCARY!!!! Being an accountant I sat down and "crunched" the numbers. How many signs and pieces would I have to sell in order to have rent paid for? What would happen if I didn't make the sales, and how would that affect my incoming cash from my real day job? Could I sustain? After talking to my husband and me getting even more excited with each passing day we both agreed and signed the contract. The next month was a whirlwind. I started a new business, came up with a name, started a Facebook page, got business cards, spent countless hours in the garage making product for the grand opening, and OH YES, started a new day job, which required a lot of traveling in the beginning.
We recently pulled out of the shop and chose a paint line we could stand behind. The road has been rough and bumpy, but we have had so much fun. I love showing my children that if you stick your mind to anything you can and will succeed.
And now here we are. We are bringing custom signs and refurbishing furniture. We just recently became an online retailer for Wise Owl Paint. If you are in Lincoln NE look us up. We would love to see you!
I then had a charge of energy to start on my next item. I had an old dresser that I really had no purpose for anymore now that this new house had a closet. So I did a ton of research and went out and bought my first can of chalk paint. It's all been rolling since then for the furniture piece. I started buying pieces (once I ran out of my own to redo) and selling them through social media. Then for Christmas the first year in this new house I ask my husband if we could make signs with this CNC router machine that he had more so for a hobby. Heck yes he can carve anything into wood! So I proceeded to search out my pins on Pinterest and found 3 sayings for the names we had drawn for the gift exchange. We started playing with different kinds of sayings and stain. I brought a few to work and posted on Facebook. I started getting tons of requests from friends and family to put their dearest most treasured sayings on wood for them to keep forever on their walls. At this point it was just a hobby. I was making a little extra and still doing some furniture, but by no means was making any kind of business out of this. I'm brave but not that brave. Each piece or each sign I would finish would be better than the one before it and I had found a passion for it.
In November of 2018 I was approached by a fellow refurbisher asking me to co-sign in her small store in Lincoln. At that time I wasn't ready to take the leap or take the risk, plus I wasn't okay giving a percentage of my hard earned profit on each sale made. So I went on my merry little way until she approached me about actually renting some space from her in her new shop around the corner. SO SCARY!!!! Being an accountant I sat down and "crunched" the numbers. How many signs and pieces would I have to sell in order to have rent paid for? What would happen if I didn't make the sales, and how would that affect my incoming cash from my real day job? Could I sustain? After talking to my husband and me getting even more excited with each passing day we both agreed and signed the contract. The next month was a whirlwind. I started a new business, came up with a name, started a Facebook page, got business cards, spent countless hours in the garage making product for the grand opening, and OH YES, started a new day job, which required a lot of traveling in the beginning.
We recently pulled out of the shop and chose a paint line we could stand behind. The road has been rough and bumpy, but we have had so much fun. I love showing my children that if you stick your mind to anything you can and will succeed.
And now here we are. We are bringing custom signs and refurbishing furniture. We just recently became an online retailer for Wise Owl Paint. If you are in Lincoln NE look us up. We would love to see you!