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We didn’t set out to start a business. We were just trying to get rid of our junk. So we ruined the friendship and jumped in blind - sort of.The friendship started slowly and through a not-so-usual source. I (Emily) worked at J.Crew in a post-college world and developed a friendship with Virginia’s husband, Bryan. He was my first true friend out of college. We had a few years of work and what the twenties typically provide. Around the mid-twenties, he started dating Virginia. In a random plan to get rid of our junk, we decided one day to do a collaborative yard sale together. As we sat there in the heat of the summer sun, selling junk from our houses, something else was happening. We were becoming fast friends (not through Bryan), but through our conversations, laughter, and love of art. You see, Virginia had gone to school to become an art teacher. I was just always creative and finding ways to use my gift outside of my career.
As our friendship and friend circle expanded, we continued to grow closer. I was now dating one of Bryan’s college roommates, Brent (my now husband). Together, we would combine our artistic skills to decorate and style amazing tablescapes for our Friendsgivings. We would spend weekends hosting our own crafternoons: deep in paint and glue.
One random night in the playoff season of the NFL, we were watching a football game taking place in New Orleans. Jokingly, we were talking about how we should plan a friend trip down there. Bryan and Virginia took it literally and decided to get married there that summer of 2015. The trip required the “decor” to be minimal and easily packable. This is where the true spirit of Cork and Chambers started. It was one small banner that brought us together. I painted “Just Married,” and Virginia added the colorful florals surrounding the lettering. It was cloth, easily packed, and used for a second line parade.
This little, big idea and the collaboration was something we realized quickly upon our return to Lancaster; we could do this as a business. We could combine our forces of art and lettering and marry the two worlds into something fun and fresh. Keep in mind, this was back when watercolor and calligraphy were just getting their moment. We were sitting outside at my grandmother’s pool, high off of newlywed New Orleans bliss, and the name Cork and Chambers came to us. A play off our maiden names, a way to keep our heritage after marriage. A marriage of our own. We stepped out of the friend zone and dove right in.
At first, Cork and Chambers was just a catch-all of calligraphy and watercolor. We tried everything (and we mean everything) in the process of learning and leaning into what we are now. We sold Christmas cards, ordered way too many, and had them in our basement for at least five years after we first designed them. We sold ornaments, painted pet portraits, and house paintings. We wrote vows and even cut and sewed more banners. In the end, invitations felt like the perfect way to be custom and design for someone, but with some creative expression of our own.
Most of our couples that come to us love design, love details, and love being unique, but might not have the artistic talent to bring their own ideas to life. Some know exactly what they like, and others know what they don’t. We love the challenge of unpacking a vision and using their love story as the illustration and background of their day. This business (ten years in) was not an overnight success story. We have had challenges. We have had our pivots. We have had to figure it out or even fix it.
Being an entrepreneur is a tough gig, but the beauty is that we have had each other. When looking back, there have been so many things that have changed since that day on the side of the pool. We both have gotten married (designed our own weddings). We both have had children and navigated motherhood together. We have transitioned into both being teachers by day and designers/artists by night. We have had our losses and our successes, both in our personal lives and business world. The one constant has been each other. When one is strapped, the other steps up. It is a beautiful ebb and flow.
We plan to share more about who we are as women, mothers, business owners, and how we are continuing to navigate our lives. We feel like we are just getting started. We hope you stick around for the journey.