707 Mercer Street was a refuge. It was a place of encouragement, wisdom, and grace that held infinite opportunities for learning, creativity, and play. The home of my grandmother, Granny Solomon, 707 Mercer Street was an obvious inspiration for the name of this wild idea to start an art business. Granny Solomon was a servant to her community, church, and family via means of cooking, baking, sewing, and so much more. There was never a week where someone was not gifted something made from her hands. She was Proverbs 31 personified, working with her hands to serve her community and family not only with what she made, but also with her words and prayers.
I have always doodled or created a world of my own by drawing. I enjoy creating unique gifts for friends and family. Unfortunately, my comparison to others withered my drawings to borders in school binders or corners of notepads. However, when you reach a certain age, comparison is swept to the side because you realize how absurd it is. So, at 51 years old, I took a leap of faith and I began to create for my enjoyment and, quite frankly, stress relief. This grew into a wonderful blend of creativity and faith whilst Bible illustrating in 2016, which built my faith, my creativity, and my confidence.
My daughter, Taylor, came to me in 2018 with those famous words, “Hey, I got an idea.” She wanted us to launch an art and design business doing home and location portraits. At the time, we both had full-time careers in education, but she believed that she could handle digital design if I could paint. AND she already had a name for this imaginary company, 707 Mercer Designs. We of course went to the source for approval. Granny Solomon was 95 in 2018 and still continuously serving her community and family with creations from her hands. Our venture would honor her and carry on her legacy of faith and serving others. We created a few items for friends, posted them on social media, and 707 Mercer Designs was born.
We are AMAZED with what the Lord has done through this little creative venture. There are hundreds of stories to tell and I look forward to sharing them with you along our journey. Thank you for joining us and for your continued support of prayers or purchases.