Today we’d like to introduce you to Jessica Wood.
Hi Jessica, can you start by introducing yourself? We’d love to learn more about how you got to where you are today?
I’ve always been crafty. As a kid, you could find me stealing the scissors and glue. I’d sneak to my room to cut up magazines for collages, photos for scrapbooks and paper to make beads. Glitter and stickers were my favorite toy. As an adult, I continued to be a maker and in 2012, I received my first Cricut cutting machine. I pride myself in making things. For our wedding in 2014, I made our wedding invites and all 20 centerpieces were rolled or folded paper flowers. Thousands of paper flowers. I taught my friends and we’d have flower-making parties – bring your own glue gun!
Our son was born in 2016, and I started using my Cricut and heat transfer vinyl to create little onesies for him. Through friends and word-of-mouth advertising, I became the neighborhood tee shirt lady. Which led me to open an Etsy store in 2017. Now, I have two Cricuts and they are both put to work everyday!
For Christmas 2018, my husband bought a small laser engraver for me. I was very intimidated by this little machine, my medium had always been paper and vinyl so wood and acrylic were out of my comfort zone. But a few months after Christmas, I broke out the machine and some wood scraps and started burning. I am totally obsessed. I now have two lasers and a CNC cutter.
Alright, so let’s dig a little deeper into the story – has it been an easy path overall and if not, what were the challenges you’ve had to overcome?
Oh heavens no! In 2017, I think my Esty store had five sales. I was so discouraged. But through some Etsy Facebook Groups, I was able to gain insight on creating better keywords, taking more professional photos of my items, etc. And since then, the site has been a great resource to getting my items out there. Even though I make 2-3 tee shirts a day now, I’m still making rookie mistakes. And I can admit I’m dramatic – crafting meltdowns are inevitable. Bless my husband for always being supportive and helpful. He’s always ready to go grab another shirt from the craft store when I need it.
Thanks – so what else should our readers know about EdelweissAndyDesign?
I know it’s a silly name. It’s not catchy or memorable, so it may not be the best way to get business but it’s special to me. The story goes that when I was born, my mom sang the song “Edelweiss” from The Sound Of Music to me. This has been my favorite movie and song my whole life. So when our son Andy was born, naturally, I sang it to him.
I absolutely love that I get to create custom items for folks. I pride myself in making each design unique. Whether it be through Facebook, Etsy or email, when a customer reaches out to me, I tell them that no one else is going to have what they have. Each person receives a digital mockup of their request and no two designs are alike. I create wood-burned ornaments and acrylic keychains that can’t be found anywhere else. Custom names, businesses, bands, sports, hobbies, etc.
My current project is making tee shirts – these say “Family Ever After,” and they’re being used to announce the official adoption of a little girl into her new family. It is an honor to be a part of this!
Can you talk to us a bit about happiness and what makes you happy?
Oh, for sure my family and traveling. My kids, Mia and Andy are so fun and adventurous – Mia is 16 and Andy is 5. They’re always on the go, involved heavily in soccer; we are always out a field cheering them on.
We are so lucky to have been able to travel all over the US and much of Europe. In 2019, we took a cruise through the Baltic – Denmark, Sweden, Estonia and Russia. And the year prior, my husband took me to Austria and of course we took photos all over the key spots where the Sound of Music was filmed. My photo here is taken at Leopoldskron – the scene where the children and Maria fall out of the boat!
Contact Info:
- Email: edelweissandydesign@yahoo.com
- Instagram: @edelweissandydesign
- Facebook: facebook.com/edelweissandydesign
- Other: https://www.etsy.com/shop/EdelweissAndyDesigns
