Everyone has a story. What is so great about this is that no two stories are alike, but so many stories intersect and impact each other. We want the world to know our stories and how they have intersected into a beautiful life- not for our sake, but so the world will see the Mastermind behind it all.
We hope what is shared below will offer you eternal hope and light.
We’ll be married 5 years on February 11, 2022. We have 3 boys- our 2 Irish Twins and the 3rd on the way (January 20! These last 5 years have been a whirlwind, but we'll hit the highlight points for you below.
First you need to know that both of us are believers in Jesus Christ. We took two very different paths to get there, but there's a Proverb that says, "He who is forgiven much loves much". That quote sums up both of our stories well.
How we met and married is another whirlwind story, but in short, a friendship of 7 years turned into a respect and deep love all within about a years time. We were married at the Logos Theatre, where we both met Christ and where we both now serve full-time with our whole family (Justin as Puppet Master and Jenn as Marketing and Fundraising Director).
A year into our marriage, we started talking about our dreams of owning a home, raising a family, and slowly the budget started to creep in and squelch some of those thoughts. We were told by the founder of The Academy of Arts Ministries, Dr. Nicky Chavers, that each person "has a million dollars worth of gifts inside of them; it's our job to get them out."
So, on a laptop and at 6 months pregnant with our oldest, I started the JStudio.Artistry Etsy shop. At the time I was the graphic designer for the ministry where we served, so the shop contained prints of all kinds. It eventually honed to just Scripture and inspirational quote prints and I sold a print or two every few months.
About 3 years later, we began talking again about our financial dreams and determined we needed to get out of debt and formed a plan to pay off our house. We both began brainstorming about what we could bring to the table, and later that week while at a friends house, I found Justin literally UNDER their dining table. When I asked what in the world he was doing, he said, "I can do this. I could build this."
So, that's when JStudio.Artistry officially became a family affair. Justin designed and built our first table in May 2020 and the rest is history!
We still work full-time in ministry at The Logos Theatre and The Academy of Arts Ministries, and our goal is to pay off our house (shooting for October 2022), then build our next home (with a shop attached!)
We never in a million years could have dreamed this up, and we're both surrendered to God in all of this. He is our Captain, and if He decides JStudio is no more, we will praise Him. But for now, as long as He is breathing life into it, we're loving creating, crafting, and growing it together.
Our hope is that God will use our lives and this business to encourage the weary, breathe life into the lifeless, and introduce hope and peace into the hearts and homes of those we have the privilege to meet along the way. He is GOOD, and we believe the BEST is yet to come.
Thanks for journeying with us!
Justin, Jenn, & the Swain babes
PS- if you want to know more about the details of our story, like how we came to know God and have Eternal peace and hope amidst all the darkness in our world, drop us a line on our CONTACT PAGE. We'd love to share with you personally how you can know too!