When I graduated from UNC Chapel Hill and married my husband, Al, my hope was to start my own art studio and make enough “butter and egg” money to help support my family while staying home with my children. Looking back, I’m amazed to see how far we’ve come! I began my business in 1982 in my home painting small watercolors we sold for $8.50 at the Atlanta Gift Mart. We shipped 9000 paintings from our garage that first year. In 1987, we partnered with Lang Graphics to develop our first calander, Heart & Home, recording my love for family and farm in each of the 12 paintings. As our business grew, I realized we needed more space to work, so we built a studio in the pasture behind our house. The studio became not just a place to nuture my business, but it was almost like a second home. My children loved spending hours out there with me each and every day. In 1992, I began to work with our agent who brought a whole new vision to our studio. We began designing for a variety of home decor products. Now our art touches everything from dinnerware and furniture to stationery and children’s books! Over the past few years, our business has continued to grow and we moved into an even larger studio in 2002! One of the greatest joys of working in this industry is the relationships we have developed over the years; with each other, our licensees, and the wonderful support from those who appreciate our products. Every morning our staff meets, set our schedules, and count our blessings!

Susan Winget