JaxnBlvd-Then And Now

Christmas 2012 is where it all began when I made my very first sign as a Christmas present for my sister. I kept designing and creating after that and slowly built a following. My very first post on Instagram was of a custom that a friend of mine asked me to make. In writing this post, I had to dig pretty deep into my Instagram account to find old pictures. It was fun looking through old posts and seeing how much this little business of mine has grown and changed!

When I first started JaxnBlvd, it was just me (and my sisters helping when they could) painting on my living room floor. I was pregnant with my youngest and when my belly got too big, I moved the painting to my kitchen table. After I had my daughter, I decided to hire my first employee and the painting continued in my kitchen until there was an abundance of glitter and paint that was constantly stuck to my poor baby’s knees when she tried to crawl around. I had a shed built in my backyard and JaxnBlvd continued to grow from there. The shed was only about 8ft x 10ft but once I added AC and a TV for Netflix, it turned into a fun and functional workspace. The signs were all painted in the shed and we used my garage to cut all the wood, frame, ship, and store signs. The business was growing and now that we had a dedicated workspace, I was able to hire a few more employees.

JaxnBlvd continued to grow and we eventually outgrew the shed in my backyard. I had 6 employees at this point and finding space for everyone to work was becoming an issue. My garage was busting at the seams and the storage unit I had to rent to store extra signs was filled to the brim as well. The time had come to set up a brick and mortar and we opened our doors on November 13, 2015. It was so exciting that my business had expanded so much, but also a little terrifying at the same time!

With the expansion of our space we were able to have a dedicated place for our customers to shop and we also opened up space to support other local small businesses and carry their merchandise as well. We began hosting DIY Classes now that we had the room and they quickly became a customer favorite. Over time we started selling home decor and in the past year clothing, shoes, and jewelry. It’s been fun to branch out and offer a variety to our customers.

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In 2015 Hobby Lobby approached me wanting to use my designs to sell in their store. Ummmmm, yes!!! Working with Hobby Lobby has been such a great experience from the very beginning and it helped open up doors to work with other companies like, TJ Maxx, Marshall’s, Home Goods, Walmart, and Wayfair. It’s so fun to see your hard work come to life in different ways, and I still get a bit giddy anytime I see my work sitting on a store shelf.

I am constantly thinking of new design ideas and projects and this new year will bring some fun things I have been working on - the biggest being a new location!!! The location we are in right now is 30 minutes away from my home and from where most of my employees live. We've all been making the commute for the past 3 years and we’re ready for a shorter one. Our new shop will be in a great location and I cant wait to share more details soon!

This has been an exciting, crazy, tiring, stressful, and amazing experience so far and I had no idea when I made my very first sign that it would turn into all this! I have definitely learned a lot and as you can tell, our signs and our photography have come a long way too. I’m so grateful for everything that has transpired so far and I’m looking forward to much more!!

-- Kim