Who is Farmhousefive?

Therese Dekker is owner of Farmhousefive. The Farmhousefive name stands for the Dekker family of Five living in a Farmhouse. A one hundred year-old Farmhouse! Luckily for me there are many rooms in this house. I am so lucky to have a large office, a large art room, a packing room, and I live 3 doors down from the post office! Since I live in a small town our post office closes at 4:00 pm. I can never get to the post office by 4:00 pm so I have to drive to the next town to meet the 5:00 closing time! Crazy, I know!

How long have you been in business?  9 years

What products/services do you offer?

Kids Wall Art & Decor: Heavyweight Matte Prints ready to mat & frame, Canvas Wall Art ready to hang, Wooden Name Meaning Signs, Wallpaper Cutouts, Nail Covers/Drawer Knobs, Door Hangers, Hair Bow Holders.

What sets you apart from your competition?

I try to keep my prices reasonable for moms on a budget. I realize that kid’s artwork won’t be on the walls forever, just for a few years until the child grows out of that theme. I put a lot of detail and thought into each drawing. I like my art to be clean, crisp and colorful. I think we offer some really unique items that other shops don’t have like our “Art from the Heart” where you get to design a spiritual piece using your child’s theme and add a favorite scripture or saying to it. 

The Wood Name Meaning Signs are popular and unique. You chose adjectives that describe your child along with their bedroom/bath theme. They are really fun. 

Any wall art print you see on the site can be made onto Canvas. Canvas wall hangings are the perfect touch to any bath, nursery or kid’s room. Your canvas is ready to hang right out of the box–no framing required! Most canvases come with ribbon (ribbon on boy’s canvas is optional). You will quickly notice that you’re hanging artwork with the look and feel of an original painting. There is no glass to break which makes each piece very kid friendly. The canvases can be easily wiped down with a damp cloth.

Finish off the look with a custom made wooden Nail Cover:

These will cover those ugly nails and they can also go on a dresser.

Last, but not least, we offer another unique item called PicturePals. Each 8×10 print shows off a standard 6×4 photo. What a cute way to display a cherished photo! Just browse through the themes and one will be made just for you.

Why did you decide to start your own business?

I have been drawing / painting for 21 years consistently in one venture or another, but when someone suggested I try doing children’s artwork since there was not much of a market out there, I thought I’d give it a shot and found that I really loved painting children’s themes. I was into folk art at the time and so this was a nice fresh fun road to go down! This horse painting is a mixture of folk art and kids art:

How did you get started?

I started on Ebay and grew my client base quite a bit.. met a lot of friends along the way! In 2005 I wanted to branch out and have my own website. I designed my own but it wasn’t what I wanted and it took so long to get it all together. By the time I got it finished I didn’t like it! I found Simply Creative through another site or friend (I can’t remember) but when I saw Amy’s style I knew I had to have her! It was the best decision I made for my business! 4 years later Amy is still patiently answering all my silly questions! She is wonderful and I love when she designs a new site .. they are so fun to browse through! We just can’t say enough about Amy!

What is your hottest selling product at the moment?

My Name Meaning Signs. I worked hard at making something uniquely my own and that is why I think it sells.

Any advice for someone just starting out?

Be your own creative person! Follow your own creative path. Stay focused and determined it will pay off! DO a lot of networking with other online businesses. I am in a wonderful group “OKID” .. we are friends and all do children’s items. I don’t know what I do without them! We formed this group about 8 years ago. So find a few friends and get a support group going. It only pays off. There is so much knowledge between all of us. Also, I highly recommend Amy to design your website. You never get a second impression, so make it count with her creative talent!

Thank you, Therese! I love learning more about your business and seeing how much it’s grown since we started working together so many years ago. This month, Farmhousefive is offering 20% off to Simply Creative blog readers – use the coupon code SC20 at checkout.

Who is Expressions Paperie?

Expressions Paperie is an online stationery boutique that offers new and exciting paper products each and every day.

How long have you been in business?

Expressions Paperie was started in 2008, although we have been selling our products online for 6 years now. What a journey it has been and we are thrilled to finally have our own website.

What products/services do you offer?

We offer a variety of paper products including invitations, note cards, announcements and thank you cards. We also have gift tags, address labels, shower games and much more! Best of all, everything is personalized to your liking.

What sets you apart from your competition?

We strive to have the most excellent customer service around. Emails will be responded to in less than 24 hours, guaranteed! Our products are printed on the highest quality paper using a laser printer. All products are shipped as soon as we receive an approval.

Why did you decide to start your own business?

I was unhappy in my corporate career and felt like I wasn’t going anywhere. I longed to be at home creating stationary to brighten others’ days. I knew leaving corporate America would make me happy. So there I went, out of my day to day routine and into my home to dream up my very own stationery website.

How did you get started?

I first got started when I was in college and needed some extra spending money. So I decided to design note cards and who doesn’t love getting pretty, fun notes from all their friends?! It quickly blossomed so I decided to branch out into invitations and party items. The rest is history!

What is your hottest selling product at the moment?

• Candyland Birthday Party Invitations
• Bounce House Invitations
• Royal Family Note Cards

Any advice for someone just starting out?

Dream beyond your imagination, the best is yet to come!

I’d like to thank Megan for being our first customer “In the Spotlight”! I always love learning more about my customers and their businesses. Right now, Expressions Paperie is offering Simply Creative blog readers 20% off their order with coupon code shoppe20. Click here to start shopping!

I’m going to start a new monthly feature here on the blog where I showcase a Simply Creative customer and their business.  It’s called “In the Spotlight”. If you’d like to participate, let me know. I have a few simple questions for you to answer so my blog readers can get to know you better. It’ll be lots of fun and hopefully it will send some traffic your way! Alright, who wants to be up first? ;o)