Meet the Sisters
There’s two of us, and yes, we really are sisters. It isn’t just a gimmick for the shop name; we’ve been together since the beginning. We grew up in a small town in Ohio. It isn’t super tiny - we did have more than one stop sign. But you can make the drive through the whole of our downtown in under a minute and thirty seconds unless you hit a red light or stop at the ice cream shop. And before you ask; yes, there are tons of corn fields and yes, we’ve run through them.
But back to the sisters … there’s two of us, Stefanie and Amanda. I’m Stefanie, and I’m the voice behind the content here on the blog and our Instagram. I’m older by a little more than three years, and I’m also three inches taller (trust me, it’s a big deal in our family of chronically short women). Amanda is the younger, (shorter), more outgoing sister. It was her initial artwork that led to the creation of our shop in the first place. Of course, they say don’t go into business with family. Or do they say it’s best to go into business with family? I’m not totally sure, but I know that it’s been working out great for us so far!
We founded our shop in 2018, but it was in the works long before that. Our mom instilled in us a love of art from the very beginning. We were those kids that were always entering (and winning) the coloring contests and art shows around town. Our gifts at birthdays and Christmas almost always included new art supplies or craft kits. High school electives? Art, of course.
The shop was born from our desire to stay connected. Back in small-town Ohio, so it was easy to feel connected to family and friends. But as adults, we both moved to big cities and we found ourselves three states away from each other. Sure, cell phones and video calls make it easy to talk to each other, we get it. But it wasn’t enough.
It started with a Christmas present. Amanda got bit by the creativity bug that holiday season and crafted two signs. One was for me and my husband, the other was for our daughter (the height chart that we eventually listed in our shop).
After that Christmas, we realized that we both loved our day jobs, but we loved creating things as well. We got ourselves an Etsy account two months later. We realized that our business was a way to stay connected through something we both love no matter what direction our lives take us.
We are inspired to create things that we would place in our own homes or give as gifts to our family and friends. That’s actually how most of our pieces have come to fruition so far - they’re either hanging in one of our homes or decorating the walls in a family member’s living room.
Yes, we are two sisters running what some people would call a hobby. We aren’t pumping out signs from a warehouse and we aren’t swimming in orders. The cutting and sanding happens from our garages. Painting happens between our day jobs, our trips to the gym or the grocery store, and caring for our families. We are still living our regular lives, we just have a super cool side-hustle. Our goal is to continue to grow and share our creations with people across the country. We want to send a positive message with each piece we create so you can bring joy into your home decor just as we do with our own. Our business is rooted in love, and we want to share that love with you!
Ready to learn more about each of us? I truly had no idea how to put together a proper introduction post on the two of us because every time I tried, either both of us were working, or one of us was working and the other was at the gym, or someone had a four-year-old begging her to play Frozen Legos. In an effort to combat our busy schedules, I fired off a a string of questions via text message so blanks could be filled in where I wasn’t able to answer for Amanda. Let’s get to it!
What’s your favorite memory of growing up in Amherst, Ohio?
Stefanie: I loved being outside - I still do. We would play in the backyard every day as kids, or go to the park with the huge wood playground and the rocket slide. In high school, we ran cross country which was great because we ran all over downtown and out past the corn fields (I swear I only went through the fields like … twice). And everyone knew everyone else. I didn’t realize how much fun that was until I moved away and learned that waving to people you know while on your way to the grocery store doesn’t actually happen that often.
Amanda: The best memory of growing up in Amherst is hard to choose, so I’ll narrow it down to location. It’s a small town but that in itself created so many memories that I’m so grateful for; being five minutes away from Lake Erie, Hastee Tastee, Hot Dog Heaven, a one-screen movie theater the events downtown like the Tree Lighting and Dancing in the Streets.
Throughout all our art classes, what was your favorite medium to use?
Stefanie: Paint, though I always got scolded for using too much on my canvas. So heads up if you’re buying a painting done by me, it’s probably going to have some weight to it!
Amanda: Oil pastels
Now we live in different states. What’s your favorite part of living where you do now?
Stefanie: Columbus is so much different than Amherst. There’s so many differing points of views, new things to discover, new food to try, but living in a suburb of the city has been truly the best part. It’s surrounded by everything, but still feels small enough that it isn’t overwhelming. And as an Ohio State alum, nothing beats Columbus on game day!
Amanda: The best part of living in Tennessee is the location. Tennessee is beautiful and the more mild weather was a huge selling point for me. It’s not super far from family but also not super far from the beach or the mountains. Perfect middle ground.
What’s your favorite piece to create?
Stefanie: I really love it when someone asks me for something I haven’t yet tried. A friend came to me with an idea for a sign that she could gift to her friend and I tried a new paint technique that had way better results than I thought I could get. A customer asked if I could combine two listings into one and a new product was born. And a family member recently asked me if I could do something similar to white-washing on a frame but with gold, and I liked that so much that I’m trying it with two more projects and different colors next! I like having my creativity stretched and I love having new ideas thrown my way. It shows me that I can do better than I thought I could and that I shouldn’t limit myself just because I haven’t tried something yet.
Amanda: My favorite pieces to create are the flag or any piece that has a touch of personalization from whomever is ordering that piece. I know that each person buying a piece wants to finish a spot in the house or to give it as a gift, but getting to help someone personalize a sign or bring their idea of something to life is really special to me and I’m glad they chose me to help them do so.
What’s your next idea for the shop?
Stefanie: That’s difficult to say. Once I get a wave of creativity, three or four pieces show up at once (and my poor husband has to deal with the “creativity” all over the house). Right now with that white-washing frame technique that I mentioned earlier, I’m looking to create some nice 8x10 inch pieces and the theme that’s jumping out at me is inspirational quotes and Bible verses for some reason, so I’ll roll with that and see where it takes me.
Amanda: The next idea I want to make is a new version of the flag. Flag 2.0
What do you think is the best part of being in business with your family?
Stefanie: The best part of working with family for me is the same reason I only let Amanda cut my hair (she owns Studio Meraki down in Tennessee, she’s legit) - she gets me. I can blurt out the most random thing in the middle of my train of thought and it makes sense to her because she’s been dealing with my off-the-cuff remarks for her whole life. I don’t have to explain things in detail or even use the right words for things sometimes because she knows what I mean. Plus, we grew up together so our values are incredibly similar and they form the brand we are collectively working so hard to grow.
Amanda: My favorite part of being in business with family is actually being in business with family! The Sister Sister Shop has helped me already in so many more ways than I ever imagined. I get to create pieces which I truly enjoy doing. It has helped me created pieces for my house and my own salon that I look at and they remind me of family. It’s nice to be able to be a part of something that brings my family closer together all while helping to support us financially.
Well, there you have it - a more in-depth look at the sisters. Also, if the photo above doesn’t sum up our relationship, I’m not sure what else does. So do you feel properly introduced? Do you want to know more? Ask away! Leave us a comment, send us a message, or even follow us on Instagram for a better look inside The Sister Sister Shop and to stay connected with us as we grow!
PS - Have you figured out which one of us is which yet?
