About Us

O'Fallon location- 300 West State Street, O'Fallon, IL 62269

Our phone number is 618-659-5061

About me!

Hey there, I’m Jennifer, founder and head maker at courage&grace designs. I’m also learning how to navigate motherhood with our FOUR boys!  I have always been the creative one in my family, even when I was young.  This means I dabble in lots of different things, including making jam, sewing, building furniture, and lots of other things, which isn’t always a good thing, and guarantees that there are 80% finished projects all over my house.

Since our workshop is only open when we have classes scheduled, most days you can find me there with the lights off, painting new samples, coming up with new ideas, or… maybe napping.  I love serving the people in the Metro East by having our workshop open to everyone, and giving them the tools and instruction for them to make beautiful things for their life in just a few hours!

I have been lucky to be able to follow my passion, and have tried to design a space that is welcoming and comfortable. There is honestly nothing in our workshops that I wouldn’t love to have in my home, from the light fixtures in Edwardsville, or amazing barn doors in O’Fallon!  I hope this space is inviting for you to come alone, or with a whole group of friends and make.  I have tried to design signs that I would love to have in my own home, and we created this space where you can come and have all the tools available to finish a sign that you are proud of and excited to hang in your home, or give as a gift.  

I’ve been a workshop presenter at Pinners conference, and spotlighted in the St. Clair County Connection.  Most recently, I’m super proud that we were voted into second place in the Bellville News Democrat “Best Of”, as a family fun center in 2019. 

When I’m not busy painting at the studio or designing new projects in our barn, you can catch me taking walks around our neighborhood, playing with my boys, or hanging out in our back yard.  We’ve made some amazing memories around water too; that is probably my favorite place to be, at the lake, on the beach, or in a pool.  We love going on adventures (near or far from home) and explore local places to eat, Yelp! may be my favorite app because of this.

 If you’re dying to hear more, here are five things you might not know about me.

1. Not only am I an adopted child, I’m also an adoptive mother giving me a unique perspective on the different aspects and relationships that comes from adoption.
2. I grew up in New Mexico, and though I miss my family, the food, and hot air balloons, I will never miss all the brown! I have been in the Midwest for 16 years, and still sometimes am shocked as I notice all the GREEN around, especially on the side of the roads.
3. My amazing husband is not only the biggest (and best) supporter of my dreams, but he also was a very fast decision! We got married seven months after we met, and are about to celebrate our fifteenth wedding anniversary! What can I say, it was meant to be.
4. You’ll very rarely see me in the workshop on a Friday night, as the guys in my family hold that time pretty sacred for family movie and pizza night. I have watched Ice Age, Land Before Time, Willy Wonka, Frozen, Elf and Polar Express enough times I can recite most of the movie by heart!
5. My husband and I are TV series junkies. We’ll plow through a series on Netflix or Hulu by chipping away at an episode every night after the boys go to bed, and then sometimes be really irresponsible and stay up late to watch the last few.  Between series’, The Office is ALWAYS our go-to, or what we have on in the background as we fold laundry, finish projects around the house, etc.  We get through all the seasons almost every year! (Side note: we did an Office Trivia & Bar Crawl and failed miserably!!!)

Still here? Let’s connect! Find us on facebook at courage&grace or email me at hello@courageandgracedesigns.com