The Painted Ladies — Local Undercover

Tell us a little bit about who you are and what you do:

My name is Jeni and I am the owner and creator of The Painted Ladies! My husband Jonathan and myself have always been entrepreneurs, I think the only retail job I’ve ever worked was when I was in high school for a pizza parlor!

We built houses in the white mountains for many years and after the economic crash we had to figure out a new business idea and that’s when we combined my husbands love for woodworking and my love for painting to create The Painted Ladies.
Everything we make is hand painted by myself and my boys and each canvas is made by my husband from reclaimed wood!

Let us know more about your business name - how did you come up with it?

My husband Jonathan came up with the name The Painted Ladies! If I remember correctly, we were all sitting in the living room one day brainstorming ideas and he proposed The Painted Ladies. At the time we chose it because it sounded a little funny and promiscuous, we thought it would grab people’s attention! Later on we began calling our paintings the ladies!

What is your signature style / item? How did it become so?

Our signature style is the reclaimed wood and distressed vintage decor look! Our style has definitely changed over 12 years to include a lot more of my sons cactus themed modern art, but everything is still painted on reclaimed wood canvases!

My husband, being incredible at woodworking, also builds all of our booths for shows and markets from reclaimed wood, so it’s definitely an incredible feeling when people recognize our booth or our products before seeing our business sign!

What makes your business unique to the industry?

I think what makes us unique in the home decor industry is our style and want to get away from the trends and norm. There are many incredible sign businesses out there, some of which we are close friends with! What I find is many home decor businesses stick with neutral tones, black and white, and more modern. I hear customers compliment us all the time on how refreshing it is to see bright colors in our work. We often use bright pinks, turquoise, greens and reds to catch your eye.
What makes us stand out in the huge industry of small businesses is how we run The Painted Ladies. It is completely family run. As I mentioned before my husband hand cuts every canvas, United States silhouette and cactus. My son Jonah hand paints incredible original art pieces and paints the most talked about pet portraits in Arizona. My youngest son Cayden bounces around woodworking and helping me paint, he’s becoming quite talented at both. My daughter-in-law, Jonah’s wife, lives with us and takes on the website, social media and all things marketing! And I hand paint most of the humorous signs and cute Arizona themed things!

What's been your biggest roadblock when it comes to business and how have you been able to overcome?

There are countless roadblocks and people who will tell you no in the small business industry, but I am incredibly grateful that I am able to work with my family as we all keep each others head above water. Whenever we are faced with a problem or wanting something we don’t have yet, whether it is being accepted into a big show or making a deal with a retail store, we see ourselves in the end. What I mean by that is feeling that excitement of being accepted or making a detail before it has happened. Living like you’ve already reached your goals and you are enjoying the fruit of your labor. It is so easy to spiral down if things aren’t going your way, so the most important thing is to keep your mind focused on why you are here and what your goals are.

How has your business had to adapt amidst the Covid-19 Pandemic? What are you doing to navigate the situation?

Like many small businesses, COVID-19 took us by a bit of a surprise. I’ll admit, we were worried at first but we had faith that things would work. We began by looking at our website and online presence and what we would do to keep others spirits up and keep our income coming in.

Jonah has had a lot of downtime to create some gorgeous original pieces that we have turned into new prints, my daughter-in-law and myself have started a cooking show every Sunday to leave the week on a good note, and Jonathan has had down time to catch up on custom orders and make some new creations himself.
Although a large portion of our income came from in person shows and markets, our Painted Ladies family has really showed up for us. My family has been so grateful that we are doing as well as we are. Remember to keep the end in your sights.

What is your favorite part of what you do?

My favorite part of what I do is how close I am with my family. We are always together, creating, talking, making food, and growing together. I am so grateful that I am able to watch my sons figure out who they are. Of course living with family can get a little messy with opposing ideas and literally messy... but at the end of the day we all are able to work towards the same goal and eat some good food.

**What is your must do local activity?**

My family is huge on food. They are the biggest critics and for boys who grew up loving chicken nuggets, I would say they have a pretty refined pallet now surprisingly! My husband always does research on restaurants before we go out, some of our favorites end up being little hole-in-the-wall places! If I had to recommend just one place to go checkout it would have to be Little Miss BBQ in Phoenix on University Drive by the Airport. They have the best BBQ I have ever tasted. And their smoked pecan pies are to die for. But remember to get there early! They usually open around 11am and on the weekends you need to be there at least around 8am to ensure you get their BBQ before they sell out!

Where to find The Painted Ladies:

Website: thepaintedladies.org
Instagram: the_paintedladies
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/thepaintedladieshomedecor