When I started Cut & Paste, I was new to being a business owner, new to managing staff and new to being a boss. Hiring people to work for me was scary! Who was I going to trust my new baby business with? What if they robbed me blind? What if they were mean to my customers? What if they mixed really awful colors together like neon pink and chartreuse? So much stress. So I took the easy way out and started with folks I knew, my daughters, Aimee and Melissa.

Aimee, now 25, was just graduating from WKU with a degree in Biology when Cut & Paste opened. She agreed to help me get this fledgling business off the ground before pursuing a career in a veterinary-related field. Aimee is our professional animal painter, creating most of our dog and cat samples.

Her younger sister, Melissa, was about to start her senior year at Dunbar when we opened and was happy to get paid to craft with me. Now approaching her junior year at Butler University, she’s majoring in Psychology, Critical Communications and minoring in Neuroscience. You’ll still see her during the summers and holiday breaks perfecting her ninja crafting and her galaxy painting technique.

I knew I needed more staff so I also hired Melissa’s good friend, Collin Madden, who was then just graduating from Dunbar. This fall he’ll be a senior at Savannah College of Art & Design, but he still works for us during school breaks. It’s Collin’s artwork on the letters on our “CREATE”  wall. I knew I could trust him to never mix neon pink and chartreuse.

I also hired Melissa’s friend Addy who recommended her mother Tanya Bell, both long time crafters. After graduating from Dunbar, Addy left us to pursue an acting career in Hollywood (you may have seen her as Molly on Nickelodeon’s “The Thundermans”). Have you seen that chipped coffee mug we have in the shop, painted to look like Chip from Beauty & the Beast? That was an Addy creation. Tanya left us just this past spring to move to Florida as her husband is retiring. I miss her organizational skills! Perhaps that’s where Cut & Paste #2 should be!

In those first few weeks and months, this “Dream Team” did everything from painting samples to building shelves, planning our birthday party itineraries, setting prices, designing displays and figuring out  how “The Works” should work. While you may not see all of them at the shop any more, or only on holidays, I see their impact on Cut & Paste every day and I know they’ve been a big part of our success.

Next week, I’ll introduce you to the rest of the gang at Cut & Paste, each of them unique in their personalities and their talents.