We were lucky to catch up with Mary Johnson recently and have shared our conversation below.

Mary, thanks for joining us, excited to have you contributing your stories and insights. We’d love to go back in time and hear the story of how you came up with the name of your brand?

I named my company Red Tree Designs. When I first started thinking about building my own business, I wanted to create a brand and company identity that had meaning and was personal to me. I was looking to capture some nostalgia, and at the same time, be creative and incorporate colors I love and some fun design elements. I ended up picking the words Red Tree which represent a huge part of my childhood in Lebanon, Ohio. I grew up on an apple farm outside of Cincinnati with my parents, three brothers and two sisters. Our lives revolved around family and apples! I started working on the apple farm at the age of 4 or 5, helping my dad and siblings with anything that I could do without getting injured. I was the youngest, so I got all the easy tasks until others moved out of the house. I spent so much time on that farm, and I can still picture endless rows of apple trees. Red trees spark great memories for me and gave me a lifelong family bond. Icing on the cake, I love my logo!

Mary, love having you share your insights with us. Before we ask you more questions, maybe you can take a moment to introduce yourself to our readers who might have missed our earlier conversations?

Like most college students, I wasn’t sure what I wanted to do in the real world. I attended Ohio State where I decided to focus on accounting. Seemed like a stable path and I was good with excel spreadsheets! I graduated with a degree in accounting and started my career in finance. I landed great jobs and was very successful for the next 10 years. But I started feeling burnt out and unmotivated. Spreadsheets only take you so far. I always enjoyed photography, drawing and painting, but it was just a hobby. I was good with technology too, and the internet really started to take off about this time. In my spare time, I took some web design and coding classes at a local college. That was the spark I needed. It was time for a career change. I left accounting and never looked back.

After working for a large corporation for 10 years (doing website design/development and marketing), I decided to start my own company. Red Tree Designs was born in 2011 with a focus on website solutions for small businesses. I have friends and family that manage and work for small businesses. Through them I learned that most small business owners lack the time, expertise, and budget to build and maintain a nice website. Digital is not always a priority. That’s where I come in. I can offer a complete web solution at an affordable price. My solutions include web strategy, design, coding and content maintenance, typically all on WordPress.

After designing and building websites for five years, I started to branch out into other creative outlets. I set up my own Etsy shop and started to design, print, and sell t-shirts and custom tumblers. Mostly for friends and family, but I still get orders from people all over the country.

Just in the past year I found a new passion – surface pattern design. I took online classes and joined a pattern design networking group. I have 10+ custom designs that are available for anyone to license (wallpaper, kitchen towels, pillows) and I have plans to take my own designs and create and sell products like purses and wrapping paper. It’s a fun project that I will continue to grow more heading into 2024.

I’d say what sets me apart from others in the website space is that I offer small businesses a complete website solution with a white glove service. I take pride in my work and want to give my clients the time and focus they deserve. I’m a one-stop shop for a small business looking to redesign an existing website or create a brand new website.

I’m most proud of the fact that I took a huge risk and made a massive career change in my 30s. A close second is starting my own business. Neither was easy or conventional. I had to be willing to take steps backwards to move forward. It was all worth it because I’m doing what I want to do and not staring at spreadsheets!

What’s the most rewarding aspect of being a creative in your experience?

I love the process of creating something new – a website, a new pattern design, a new piece of art, etc. It’s in my control and each project or product has a clear beginning, middle and end. At the beginning, there’s a strategy and creative direction. If I’m creating my own product, I’m forming my own strategy and outlining how I want to attack the creative. It’s 100% in my control and good or bad, the final product is mine. If I’m building a new website for a client, I’m helping someone else figure out a digital strategy. It’s a partnership to build something completely new that will have a major impact on their business. After kicking off a new project, it moves into an execution phase. I’m an executor at heart and very hands on with everything I do. This is my favorite phase because I love a sense of progress and accomplishment. I like to get things done.
At the finish line is the final product. A website or a pattern design that I can apply to a new purse or wrapping paper. It’s tangible and unique. Others will see it, use it, and hopefully love it. And the fact that I did it by myself is the most rewarding part.

Where do you think you get most of your clients from?

I’ll admit it, I don’t like to sell! Thankfully, most of my new clients come as referrals from past clients, friends, and family. Atlanta is home and for the past 20 years I’ve been able to build a strong network in the city. I use Instagram to keep connected and send out updates about my business and services. I also created an email newsletter to keep in touch with former clients. And it definitely helps that small business owners tend to run in the same circles and share information with each other. The relationships that I build with my clients and friends are so important and I never take that for granted.

Contact Info:

• Website: https://redtreesurfacepatterndesign.com/ and https://redtreedesigns.com/
• Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/redtree_designs/
• Linkedin: https://www.linkedin.com/in/marybuckleyjohnson/
• Other: https://www.pinterest.com/redtreesurfacedesign/