Today we’d like to introduce you to Deborah and Paul Weir.
Alright, so thank you so much for sharing your story and insight with our readers. To kick things off, can you tell us a bit about how you got started? The first time I ventured into mural painting was when I was 5 or 6 years old and like a lot of little kids, I was inspired to use crayons to decorate my bedroom–the walls, the windowsills, and the back of the bedroom door. My parents were not so happy as you can imagine, but they didn’t squash my desire to paint on the walls as you might expect. Instead, they told me I could color anything I wanted inside my closet. And I took them up on it!
Like a lot of creative people, I dabbled in painting and crafting for a long time before I found my voice. I painted yard sale furniture, picture frames, and anything I could get my hands on and sold them at craft shows and to friends. A professor of mine at Hood College asked if I would do a mural for a friend in Frederick. I hadn’t thought about painting on walls in a long time, but I was game. It was an ok rendering of a trellis in a garden but I was a long way from being a professional decorative painter.
After college, I worked at several prestigious flower shops and in Bethesda and D.C. I loved flower design and still do but I didn’t enjoy always having green stained fingers! Life has a way of showing you the path you are supposed to take and life certainly surprised my husband Paul and I when we found out I was pregnant with twins. I started my decorative painting business when we decided that I was going to stop working and stay home with our babies. Best decision of my life!
I’m sure you wouldn’t say it’s been obstacle free, but so far would you say the journey have been a fairly smooth road?
Starting a business is a leap of faith. In our case, having two little mouths to feed, there seemed no better option for us. Paul would work full time in sports medicine and athletics at a Baltimore area school while I slowly grew my business around the twins’ schedules. As anyone who has built a business from the ground up knows, it takes years to build a client base that is sustainable–but over time, with a lot of luck, a lot of time invested and a lot of effort toward the best customer service possible–we’ve ended up being able to expand the business and Paul is now onboard full time taking on the furniture and Artisan cabinet refinishing side of the business.
Thanks – so what else should our readers know about your work and what you’re currently focused on?
We offer full service decorative painting, murals, artisan cabinet refinishing and faux finishes for the Maryland, Virginia and D.C, area.
I am the creative artistic personality and Paul is the detail-oriented, mechanically inclined personality. I think it’s the perfect pairing of personalities to offer the full
range of decorative painting services. And the best part–we love working together!
If we knew you growing up, how would we have described you? I read every book I could get my hands on, had a paint brush or crayon in my hand whenever I could and grew up with horses. If I could just paint horses all day I’d be in heaven!
Contact Info:
- Email: designweir@aol.com
- Website: www.designsbydeborah.com
- Instagram: designweir
Image Credits
Emelia Jane Designs
