Meet Jessica Johnson | Crafter

We had the good fortune of connecting with Jessica Johnson and we’ve shared our conversation below.

Hi Jessica, we’d love to hear more about how you thought about starting your own business?
My thought process behind starting my own business was simple. I just wanted to wake up every day, doing something I loved. I was already creating and decorating parties for friends and family just for fun. So, I thought why not turn this into a business. I started off doing parties and balloons and later found a love for paper crafts. That’s when I decided to rebrand and launch my business: Jessie Fay Designs.

Can you open up a bit about your work and career? We’re big fans and we’d love for our community to learn more about your work.
I create handmade items using different paper craft techniques. My style can literally be whatever the customer wants. That’s what’s fun about what I do, bringing my customers ideas to life. I took a risk and decided to leave the field of social work and do crafting full time, after my mother passed. The job became too stressful, and my husband and I had just welcomed our second son into the world. I needed something to do, besides being a stay-at-home mom, so I turned to crafts. I bought a Cricut machine, and I have been using it ever since. It was relaxing and exciting to create different things, I always refer to it as “craft therapy.”
The toughest challenge was just getting started. I knew I wanted to open an online shop, but I was afraid to put myself out there and honestly didn’t know where to start.
I just want people to know, that if you have a desire to do something, just do it! Once you get started everything will fall into place when the time is right. You don’t have to wait until everything is perfect. Be patient and have faith that things will work out. Do the research, put in the work and you’d be surprised how far you can go. Every journey has its challenges and mistakes will be made; things won’t always go as planned but everything is a lesson learned and helps you become a better person and business owner.

If you had a friend visiting you, what are some of the local spots you’d want to take them around to?
I wish I had a better answer for this question, being a true homebody who loves to sit at home and binge watch tv series. Memphis has plenty of restaurants and bunch places to choose from. When I do go out, it involves something creative and relaxing.
I love Printing with a Twist and going for a nice walk by the river, downtown. All the parks and gardens have beautiful, relaxing scenery: Dixon Gallery, Memphis Botanic Gardens, and Shelby Farm Parks. I love a good play and musical, so I would definitely recommend The Orpheum Theatre. If you love to laugh, I recommend Chuckles or if you just want to have a relaxing spa day go to Bow Tie Massage.

Shoutout is all about shouting out others who you feel deserve additional recognition and exposure. Who would you like to shoutout?
I would like to shout out my family. They are my biggest support system, especially my husband, who encourages me to keep going when things seem hard. Shout out to my boys whose smiles brighten my day and laughs remind me to enjoy life.

Website: JessieFayDesigns

Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/jessiefaydesigns

Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/jessiefaydesigns