About Zo & Jordan
I started Zo & Jordan with a variety of customized table scape items, signage and small batch invitation suites. I loved that it reacquainted me with an old love for paper (as a kid, I was a papyrophiliac) AND I got to make things with my hands. Everything was inked, foil-stamped, and hand-rolled by yours truly.
I started to see your stories unfold through your repeat orders. Engagement parties became weddings, then baby showers (no joke, there were some custom “GOOD RIDDANCE PARTY” requests for break-ups and divorces, too), and it felt like I got to celebrate them all with you. It was an absolute privilege to make a piece of the puzzle that came together to celebrate the highlights from your story.
Customized kraft paper table runners were my best-sellers back then, and I kept getting requests for matching kraft paper signs and menus. You asked for it, so I made it! The more I saw the massive kraft paper drafts hanging up in my workshop, the harder it became to ignore how much of a statement piece it was, but I wasn’t entirely sure anyone would see it the same way on their own wall. But when I saw kraft paper over a mantel in the Magnolia Market holiday display (2015), I couldn’t get over how striking it looked. It seemed only natural to offer home décor versions of the kraft paper signs I was already making for weddings and baby showers. They were big, bold, unique and had an organic quality to them that paired well with the styles I leaned towards (modern farmhouse, industrial with a touch of vintage). Once I figured out how to scale and keep making these large pieces from home, I listed the kraft paper scrolls on Etsy and the rest is history! It became a great way to stay connected with you and continue being part of your stories beyond your big milestones.
Meet Bea
Yay, you’re HERE! I’m so glad you found my shop. Stay a while and let me know what you think.
My name is Bea and I run Zo & Jordan. I’ve been living in the Seattle area for almost 20 years. My husband and I aren’t originally from the US, but this is where we met, and this is where our little family started. We have 2 little boys (they’re a hodgepodge of Irish, Spanish and Filipino) and 2 Bernese Mountain Dogs.
I always thought I was too attached to the corporate structure to be a stay at home mom. But I still remember the conversation the changed all that. It led me to face the fact that there were generational cycles in my family that needed to be broken, and that maybe, breaking them would need a little more of me being home with my (then) future kids. Fast-forward a few years and here we are, with a house full of rowdy little bruisers, surviving on coffee and the occasional tequila/whisky, winging everything: motherhood, eyeliner, the theme for the next collection…
What does any of this have to do with kraft paper?
As thankful as I am that I CAN stay home with the kids, it wasn’t easy re-wiring myself for it. But in that change, away from e-mails and meetings and corporate politics, the need to CREATE was born. It all started when I wanted to add a more personal touch to our Thanksgiving dinner one year. But there are so many other reasons why it kept going:
♥ Because the need to make something with my hands was getting harder to ignore.
♥ Because you asked for more.
♥ Because what started out as a hobby eventually felt like the lifesaver I clung to through post partum depression.
♥ Because it keeps me tuned in to a therapeutic, creative frequency I never would’ve come across in the corporate world.
♥ Because I know my comfort zone, and this pushes me to play outside of it.
♥ Because being a mother, wife, maker and business owner all at once has some hard lessons I want to keep learning, sharing and hopefully passing on to my kids.
♥ Last but most definitely not least, because so many of you inspire me with your creativity, your bravery, your love for whatever your “thing” is, and it makes me want to put more of that energy out there in the hopes that it inspires others to do the same.
Your turn I wanna get to know you, too! Find me @zoandjordan on Instagram, let’s get to know each other a little better!