Entrepreneur runs trendy wood-painting business

When JasmineNolenwas onmaternity leave, HGTVwas her go-toTVstation. She fell in love with the popular show, “Fixer Upper,” in which marriedTexans Chip and Joanna Gaines remodel homes by inserting their rustic charm (and a lot of shiplap).

“It mademe think, ‘I could spruce some things up in here,’” Nolen said. Two years later, she sat on a brown leather couch in her living room, surrounded by a refurbished desk and bench, a shiplap featurewall and a light fixturemade froman antique ladder that hangs fromawooden beam. Everything’s been made or refinished by her and no furniture is safe froma distressed finish or new coat of paint. “I’ve touched everything in this house.”

Her first projectwas a barmade out of wooden pallets for her husband Jason’s 40th birthday. Nolen learned howto build it froma YouTube video. Her second projectwas a sign with lyrics froma popular Christian hymnpainted on, made fromleftoverwood fromthe bar. She posted the sign on Pinterest and it blew up in popularity, with people askingNolen to sell copies. That’s howher Etsy shop started last October. “I do everything frombuy thewood to treating thewood to selling thewood,” she said. She’s since made over 300 online sales.

Now, the 37-year-old Cooper City resident is taking it one step further, by teaching people howto make their own signs.

Nolen’s business, Paint theGrain, takes the concept of “paint n’ sip” parties— where groups paint a landscapewith their friends over a glass of wine— but swaps the canvas out for awood sign that they’ll stain and paint.

At a Paint theGrain event, Nolen can fix clients up with a ready-made design of their choice, or they can submit a custom idea. Eitherway, a vinyl stencil she’ll make gets placed on a block ofwood they’ll sand and stain.

“They don’t need artistic ability to do this,” Nolen said. “I think it stands its part because people actuallywant to hang these on the wall. They’re proud of what they’ve done— and they can say ‘I really made this.’”

Paint the Grain isn’t the firstwood sign painting business to exist.

In December, Forbes deemed “pallet parties”— gaining their name fromthe pallets ofwood the signs come from— the “hottest” at-home event. “The crafting activitywomen are nowenjoying has simply shifted, and relocated, with drinks provided,” the article said. “The latest hit creative activity is at-home sign-making nights.”

Craft It, a painting class franchise based out of Deerfield andDelray, offerswood signs to paint for $65with a minimum of 12 people, according to itswebsite. Nolen charges $30 per sign with a minimum of five people. She says Paint the Grain is the first of its kind in BrowardCounty and her ability to make custom orders sets her apart fromthe rest.

Right now, she’smaking a laundry room sign for a customer with clothespins attached. “Lost Socks seeking sole mate,” the board reads.

The mother of three started hosting Paint the Grain parties last year. She started with her church’swomen’s group, then aMother’s Day Party, followed by a kid’s party. Now, she’s booked through the summer and is a registered business on Yelp, inviting people to come to her house or offering to visit theirs.

“You contact me, we set a date, they give me a refundable deposit, anywhere fromfive to 50 people I’ll be able to handle it,” Nolen said.

The next step, Nolen thinks, would be a storefront.

“It’s a learning process formy customers, I give them a board,” she said. “But going into a storefront, I’d love them to build the board using drills and hammers.”

She alsowants to introduce a furniturebuilding segment, but for more reasons than utility. “I do this formy girls to showthem you can do what youwant to do and be what youwant to be and be a girl,” Nolen said. “I want them to see that you can be a girl and use power tools. I haven’t seen anything like this downhere so it’s something I’d love to see take off.”

For more information on Paint theGrain, visit paintthegrainstudio.com.

ebloch@sun-sentinel.com