About The Handmade Home
We first wanted to know when and how the business started and who became involved. “The business began in 2006 when as a new mom, I {Ashley} was looking for outlets and didn’t know where to begin. I had a desire to carry my love and knowledge for design into our home. But pretty, cohesive designs felt luxurious, unattainable, and reserved for the well-established… not families with children and dogs and, well, real life. Apparently, that was relatable and a lot of other people felt the same way. Because our love for breaking the rules and writing about them grew in a few years, and we were able to become a full time husband and wife team. We eat, breathe, and dream design… we want nothing more than to help others transform their homes into functional, realistic spaces that families can truly love and grow with. We now work together with both brands and clients alike, spreading our love for design and creating spaces for others. We don’t believe in the dream home, we believe in your home.
Inspiration is absolutely key to doing anything creative and innovative, so where does yours come from? “While it comes down to our passion for helping others, our children are our true inspiration. We find ourselves reflecting on them and what they would love from everything in color combos and our approach to realistic, fun ideas in the home more often than not. There’s a delicate balance between attractive design and true function, and we always try to strike that cord for realistic spaces. The inspiration behind everything is a little bit of a sponging process. You never know when it will strike, from a color combo at the grocery store to traveling and even spying something in movies or our children’s toys. Design and inspiration are everywhere.”
Has your community helped with building your business?
“We have an amazing group of both supportive readers and clients who have been absolutely vital to our growth over the years. We are continually humbled and grateful for who they are and how they make us better at what we do. Simply put, we couldn’t do what we do without them. We recently relocated, and are thrilled to build more relationships in our community locally, as well.”
We always love hearing people’s background’s to see how they got to where they are now. We asked Jamin and Ashley if they have a background or education in design. “Ashley has a degree in fine art and graphic design, which has been vital in helping us bring the beauty of design and their principles into homes and interiors. We also believe in diving in and self-educating yourself in things that you aren’t familiar with. It’s currently seen in our own growth and future steps we’re taking as a company. Education never ends and is currently evolving. It’s a vital part of who we are as a business.”
Jamin and Ashley work with clients locally and nationally which is pretty cool.“We have the privilege and honor of working with national brands to help develop content for them, as well as work with amazing clients both locally and nationally. They’re all incredible people and we’re truly floored and grateful for the opportunities that we have been given.” How important is social media and connecting with other bloggers and businesses for them? Very. “Social media has revolutionized the ability to connect and stay up to date on friends, clients and brands. We love using it as our own platform, but even more important is that we love seeing what other creatives are doing. How they’re using their talents in their corners of the world is amazing. They inspire us in more ways than we realize.”
One fun perk about doing what they do is traveling. “When we’re away, we love soaking up everything that we can. We were grateful to take a recent trip to NYC and absolutely try to take time off when we {realistically} can. While we love traveling for business, we also recognize our kids are only young once and want to take advantage of that time. We mainly go for family vacations. Not-so-shamefully, one of our repeat destinations is Disney World. Our kids are at that magical age, and we’re trying to soak it in while we can because we know it’s all too fleeting. Obviously we would love to expand on things as they’re older and can appreciate different destinations more.”
What has been your favorite space to renovate? “Last year, we had the privilege of renovating a section of the Ronald McDonald house in Nashville. It’s a true inspiration to see so many amazing people come together for an awesome cause. We loved this project not only because it turned out so beautifully, but even more because of the purpose behind the space. We were able to meet so many beautiful people who are going through such a hard time in their lives. This charity is one we love as Jamin is a survivor of childhood cancer. It’s a reminder of what really matters in life.”
We asked them if they ever saw the business being where it is now, and where they see the business in 10 years. “The business began as a creative outlet for us, and a great way to connect with people. We had no idea where it would be at the time. I was just a mom, writing on a laptop… fishing through fabric samples and paint chips, dreaming up silly ideas. We had no idea the journey that it would take us on. Through both the high moments and the really difficult, {because as many know, owning your own business isn’t always roses} it has been incredible. Both the good and the bad has molded us on many different levels both personally and professionally into who we are. We recently made a big move in order to make a much-needed change for our family, and grow our business in a new way. That was a scary leap of faith that took some bold persistence to see it through. When we were cleaning out our garage to make the move this past year, we were in purge mode. We were shocked when we came across some papers we’d held onto from college, in a dusty old box we’d stashed in the attic. I’d almost chunked it out of sheer exhaustion, but for some reason sat down to read, instead. As it turns out, we’d haphazardly scribbled our life goals in one of those dream-big-before-you’re-married-and-life-happens-romance-moments, circa 2001. Our main dream, was to own a design business together. But then life happened.
We’d completely forgotten about it until we discovered it while cleaning, some fifteen years later. To say we were humored would be an understatement, because that didn’t happen immediately and we didn’t even realize we were moving in this direction, until we did. Life is a funny thing and sometimes it can really blow you away. Apparently, it’s always been something on our hearts, and we’re thrilled to continue growing what we absolutely adore. We can only hope to continue to assist and inspire others, as well as expand our business and brand in new ways. We’re thrilled with the idea of growing and we’re always open to possibility… the beauty is that you never know where it will take you. You just have to be open to it.”
