While pregnant in 2015, Signal Mountain resident Kelly Ashton had trouble finding nursery art that she really liked. So she started making her own - which eventually led her to hatch the plan for her business, Chickadee Art and Co.
"It was hard to find meaningful art in the right size or color," said Ashton, who turned her nursery into an online business last year.
Chickadee Art and Co. offers more than 1,000 styles of free printable designs, available as either PDFs or JPEGs. Customers can download and print them out themselves with their home printer through Snapfish, or at Costco or Walmart. The size of the JPEGs can be adjusted to make the design as large or small as necessary, making getting the design you want in the size and color you need easy and convenient.
Those same designs are also available from Chickadee as high-quality, unframed prints in different sizes.
Chickadee Art and Co. offers nursery art prints and printable designs created by Signal Mountain resident Kelly Ashton."It's a great way to find affordable art that's really meaningful that you can print in the perfect size for the space that you want," Ashton said.
Designs are offered in a variety of themes, such as animals, sports, dinosaurs, nautical, space and camping. Ashton, who creates all the designs herself, said she's often inspired by what her own children - ages 6, 4 and 1 - are interested in, as well as the children of her friends.
"I make a lot of things as gifts that I end up using for the site," she said.
Some of the most popular designs include the "Sweet as a Peach" art print featuring the state of Georgia, and her nautical and tribal art. The name definition art, in which customers send in their child's name and Ashton creates a print with the definition, has also been a big hit, she said. Ashton said she likes her tribal and boho art prints best, and people can also request custom prints through her Etsy site.
Ashton said most people find the Chickadee Art and Co. site through Pinterest, and the designs are popular throughout the U.S., as well as in Canada, Australia and South Africa.
Once all of her kids are in school full time, Ashton said she'd like to expand the business and offer designs directed at older children or adults, as she currently focuses only on infants and toddlers.
Visit the Chickadee Art and Co. website at chickadeeartandco.com or the Etsy page by searching "Chickadeeartandco" on etsy.com.
Email Emily Crisman at ecrisman@timesfreepress.com.