Meet Jessica Giovine

Alright – so today we’ve got the honor of introducing you to Jessica Giovine. We think you’ll enjoy our conversation, we’ve shared it below.

Jessica, sincerely appreciate your selflessness in agreeing to discuss your mental health journey and how you overcame and persisted despite the challenges. Please share with our readers how you overcame. For readers, please note this is not medical advice, we are not doctors, you should always consult professionals for advice and that this is merely one person sharing their story and experience.

I lost my mom to cancer 3 weeks before my son was born. Which is grief in itself! I also had a very traumatic birth, resulting in a NICU stay for my mom, and postpartum preeclampsia for me, and a longer hospital stay. I developed PTSD, as well as PPOCD (postpartum OCD, and OCD in general), which rocked my world! I will say that working and owning a business, with as stressful as it is, and knowing I was losing time if I was in a mental funk, it also really helped me. It made me remember my real self, who I am as a person, and why I’m a go-getter and driven individual, able to never give up!

Great, so let’s take a few minutes and cover your story. What should folks know about you and what you do?

I was working as an Art Director in licensing cosmetics in NYC over 6+ years ago. Feeling burned out, I was trying to find stress relieving ideas for commuting and creative plans for the future. I had had the idea of a calligraphy business in the back of my brain for some time, but was unsure where to start. So, I decided to watch some youtube videos, and start teaching myself. I went to Hobby Lobby and bought 2 pre-made wood signs, and decided to practice after a few weeks of learning, and from the power of posting a photo of one of the signs on instagram, I received so many messages asking where followers could buy the sign (personal instagram page). I was in shock! This was when wedding calligraphy signs were really first getting started, and I only knew of 1 person in NJ who *kind of* did this as a business. I went and bought a mirror, wrote some faux-names on it like a seating chart, and posted a photo and immediately received a message asking if I could be hired for a wedding. I knew I had something in that moment! 6+ months later, after commuting 6 am-7 pm, coming up with a business name, making a business instagram, and networking like crazy on social media booking weddings, and with other small businesses, I was financially able to take The Jess Press full time and quit my city job!

I believe what sets me apart of other businesses is that I am able to create basically anything! I offer all hand paintings of venues also, as well as custom maps, which not everyone offers a full artist spectrum. I have had clients who approach me with zero clue what they want the vibe of their wedding to be, and I break it down for them! From color, to style, to what they want their wedding to feel like, I make it all come together with textures and dimensions.

There is so much advice out there about all the different skills and qualities folks need to develop in order to succeed in today’s highly competitive environment and often it can feel overwhelming. So, if we had to break it down to just the three that matter most, which three skills or qualities would you focus on?

My biggest piece of advice is never give up. You MUST be driven to own a business and have it succeed. If you throw in the towel, it just won’t happen! You have to give it your all to have the return.
3 qualities!
1. Networking and socializing
2. Staying true to your craft
3. Graphic design and learning calligraphy

What is the number one obstacle or challenge you are currently facing and what are you doing to try to resolve or overcome this challenge?

Pricing! The price of everything: materials, printing, etc: has seriously increased since 2020 Covid, and it’s very difficult to stay fair in my pricing, while also making the profit I need for all of my hours and hours of work!

Contact Info:

Image Credits

Courtney Occhiogrosso (pic 1)
Jessa Schifilliti (pic 2 and 3)
The Leighton Co (pic 4)
Jess Palatucci (pic 5)
Trevor Bonk (pic 6)
Sarah Brookhart (pic 7)
Bianca Tang (pic 8)

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