When I decided to add a blog to our website I knew that I wanted to be a place where I could write about the highs and lows of starting a business. I have to say that this past year has been largely filled with highs. Brian and I are so proud of this little business. I feel incredibly lucky to be able to pursue my dream of making and sharing art. I love meeting and hearing from customers who are excited to paint our kits or to give them as gifts to friends and family. This past weekend we had the honor of being a demonstration artist at the Art on the Avenue show in Alexandria, VA. We lucked out with a beautiful day and big crowds. This was our first show of the fall season and I was excited to share a large scale paint by number that I had designed for children to paint. 

The large scale PBN was a big hit and it was so much fun watching it progress throughout the day. Some kids didn't want to stop painting it. Unfortunately the fun came to an end at around 3 PM when a family with teenage daughters came over to our booth. They were a bit pushy and something felt off about them, but I encourage their girls to paint. I had my back to the painting, but they seemed to be enjoying painting while their parents looked on. Suddenly, the mom said it was time to go and they threw their brushes on the ground and ran off. When Brian went to pick up the brushed he said, "we need to take this down." When I got up to look at the painting I was in shock. The girls had not only painted over large areas of the paint by number, but they wrote "TRUMP" all over it. I was devastated. They ruined the painting and the opportunity for other kids to add to it. Brian tried to track them down but couldn't find them. A friend of theirs returned later and tried to confront Brian (while filming him) on why he took it down. They ran off when the amazing show volunteers went to get the police. They could have written "democrats rule" all over it and we still would have been mad. Their actions (that were encouraged by their parents) were vandalism and destroyed the intent of the project. 

Although its been a while since we've updated the blog, it doesn't mean we haven't been busy. Our wholesale business has been growing fast and this week we added a shop in Alaska to our retail partners! Its hard to believe that Wehgo launched a year ago. 

In the past couple of weeks, we've been working hard to gear up for the holiday shopping season. We have several new kits planned and I've been up late designing new kits. However, over the last week, new planned designs have been temporarily shelved. After watching the devastation of Hurricane Harvey and then amazing acts of love and kindness that have come out of Texas, I knew I had to create something to show our support for those affected in Texas. In addition to personal contributions, Brian and I would like to support recovery efforts through Wehgo.  I hope that our new Houston paint by number kit, not only spreads some joy, but also does some good. 100% or proceeds from this kit will support local nonprofits in Houston Texas. 

Please check back here for updates on funds raised and donations made. 

In addition to a bunch of spring craft shows, we've been busy adding retail partners. A couple of months ago, West Elm invited us to participate in the West Elm (WE) Local program. WE Local partners with artists and makers that sell products that WE customers might like. It helps connect WE to the communities where they do business, and helps artists and makers expand the reach of their products. Its truly a win-win! We got to know one of our WE store by selling our kits during one of their pop-up events. WE employees have been amazing. They really want their store to be a part of the community and they genuinely want to see local makers succeed. After a couple of pop-ups the WE Baltimore, the store manager recommend us for WE Local, which enables WE stores in our region to buy and sell our kits wholesale. You can now find a selection of our kits at West Elm Baltimore and West Elm DC!

We are so thankful to WE for working with small businesses like ours. Having WE as a wholesale partner has helped us to connect with other wholesale buyers. By June our kits will be in three new shops - one in Frederick, MD, another in Chesapeake, VA, and one in Denver, CO!

If you have a shop and are interested in carrying our modern paint by number kits, shoot us an email (www.info@wehgo.com),  We'd love the opportunity to work with you.