Inspiring Conversations with Jim & Jenny Penny of Designs By Scamper

Today we’d like to introduce you to Jim & Jenny Penny.

Hi Jim & Jenny, so excited to have you with us today. What can you tell us about your story?
Boy, it truly has been an incredible journey! We have always enjoyed making gifts for family and friends but never really got a chance to truly tap into that creative side. After 10 yrs of marriage and 9 yrs of trying to have a baby, we were told we would not be able to conceive. We were devastated but the next year decided to try and adopt a newborn. Adoption is extremely expensive and can cost from 21k to 80k or more depending on what state you are adopting from. That doesn’t even include the contract, homestudy, and other fees that are needed to adopt and maintain your file while you wait to be matched. We knew that even though we were raising money for the adoption, we didn’t want to just take charity but rather give something in return. In addition to our full time jobs, we opened up our side business and named it after our pup who had passed away from nasal cancer in 2015. Just like that, Designs By Scamper was born.

We all face challenges, but looking back would you describe it as a relatively smooth road?
It has not been a smooth road and we have made our share of mistakes. Starting a business from scratch is truly a journey of learning and adapting. There is so much more to it than creating a product and “making a quick buck”. What works for others may not necessarily work for you. When we started out we tried a variety of different items until we found our groove. We knew from the start we wanted to be unique and that is the path we have tried to follow throughout this whole adventure of small business ownership.

We asked ourselves questions like “How far are we wanting to go with this business? Do we want to stay small and stick to craft shows or do we want an online presence as well?” We had to get our business license and also secure our domain for a website. Will we build our own website (we did) or farm it out? How will we pay sales tax and record our business expenses and mileage? We knew some of these things when starting but learned how to navigate them (along with a lot more lessons) along the way. We are still learning as we continue to expand and grow.

We’ve been impressed with Designs By Scamper, but for folks who might not be as familiar, what can you share with them about what you do and what sets you apart from others?
At Designs By Scamper we hold ourselves to a high quality standard and uniqueness in our items. A lot of people will say “Stick to one thing and find your niche”. That works well for some people but we enjoy the variety and being able to offer multiple items for occasions. We love that our customers can find something they want and also something entirely different for a friend or family member in one stop. When we started out we bought a CO2 laser cutter/engraver. Since then we have added in CNC routing, embroidery, 3D Printing, vinyl work, sublimation, and lathe turning as well as time old traditional skills such as sewing and woodworking. We are currently in the process of registering with the State of Ohio Agricultural Dept so we can sell homemade dog treats.

An earlier product line that has stuck with us over the years is our laser etched suncatchers with transparent acrylic backgrounds. We have continued to adapt and grow that collection and are actually sunsetting some designs to make room for more! When we started them you didn’t see any like them in our area. Nowadays there will be some more here and there but still not quite like ours. We try to design all of our own suncatchers and have only actually purchased 1 or 2 designs over the years that we really liked. Otherwise we design them ourselves so we can continue to be unique. We even source our materials from another small business because in the small business community it is important to support one another.

Are there any books, apps, podcasts or blogs that help you do your best?
Not anything specific but we do listen to or read small business related books and will watch YouTube videos that are similar to items we want to make to learn different tips or tricks of the trade.

Contact Info:

• Website: https://www.designsbyscamper.com/
• Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/designsbyscamper/
• Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/designsbyscamper
• Youtube: https://www.youtube.com/@DesignsByScamper
• Other: https://www.pinterest.com/designsbyscamper/