Justin
Designs, cuts, paints, and directs the work from the first sketch to the finished sign.
A little more Justin
The signs started with a feeling.
A sign is never just a board with words.
JRW Design Co. makes handmade, park-inspired signs for the places where life is already happening: a front door, a coffee shelf, a holiday corner, or the room that feels most like yours. What I make is personal because the reasons I make it are personal, too.
It started with family, a scroll saw, and the feeling that ordinary spaces can hold a little more joy.
From the archives
2011
Where It Began
I started crafting in a corner of my grandparents’ basement in 2011, home from college for Thanksgiving break and hand-cutting signs with a scroll saw.
The Name on the Door
JRW means Justin Ray Wilmer. I built the name to honor my grandfather, Pappy Wilmer. Bubba Sandy made the parks part of our family tradition. Justin and Pappy Wilmer share an August 17 birthday. The name on the door is family history made visible.
The first workshop was a corner of the basement, not a storefront.
Bubba Sandy helped make the parks part of our family tradition.
Justin and Bubba Sandy, taking in a parade together.
A look back
- 2011Just Real Woodcrafts
- NowJRW Design Co.
From Just Real Woodcrafts to JRW Design Co.
You might remember Just Real Woodcrafts from these market tables. That was an earlier name for the same instinct: make something by hand, bring it to real people, and let the work find its place.
As the work grew, the name changed to JRW Design Co. The heart of it did not.
An early market display, with historical products and pricing.
The booth was a small, honest version of the business taking shape.
The people behind every order
Made after you order. Made by people you can know.
No warehouse. No production line. Each piece is made after it is ordered, by a small three-person team handling the work from design through shipping.
Brenda
Builds and glues every frame by hand, and keeps the quality honest.
Leanne
Keeps orders moving, customers smiling, and the small details from getting lost.
The work is better when it is shared.
The places that keep me going
The work is personal. So are the places that inspire it.
A race course, a favorite character, a ridiculous hug, or a little everyday magic can send me back to the work with fresh eyes. Travel and movement give the ideas somewhere to stretch, then I bring them home and make them tangible.
That is what I hope these signs do in your home, too: give you one small moment to notice, smile, and come back to what matters.
The finished signs in real life
The finished signs belong in the life around them.
I make these pieces for the places where life is already happening: the coffee shelf, the front door, the Christmas tree, and the corner that makes a room feel like yours.
Stay close to the magic for opening details, previews, and the next story from the workshop.
— Justin Ray · Just In A Ray of Light & Magic