Our Story
We are sisters Kristen and Lindsey Archer. We create handmadeĀ giftsĀ with a voice.
Born and raised in Memphis, Tennessee, we both eventually ended up backĀ in our home city after college. We each spentĀ close to a decade gaining professional experience in our respective fields of graphic design, video production and photography, before creating ARCHd in 2014 as a side hustle. We spent the following 6 years building ARCHd slowly. What began asĀ a booth at anĀ art festival in 2014 is now a full-time,Ā successful creative business.
We live together, work together and go everywhere together ā¦ so itās safe to say weāre rather close. Do we fight? Sometimes. Absolutely. WeĀ ARE sisters. But being so close means we know each other well enough to know when one needs encouragement ... or needs to be left alone. ;)
One of our favorite aspects of our partnership isĀ how our skill sets ā photography and design ā compliment each other and allow us to expand ourĀ line of home decor to include both. Every single piece of home decor we create features original photography by Kristen, original design by Lindsey or BOTH.
So, why wood? Before ARCHd was even a thought, we saw a large art piece featuring a picture of an airplane transferred across multiple pieces of wood. We fell in love with it.Ā Like every other Pinterest attempt, we bought the materials the artist used and tried the process ourselves. After MANY boutsĀ of trial and error, we adaptedĀ steps of the image transfer process to obtainĀ a more vibrant end product vs. the vintage look of the piece that originally inspired us.
We've also always lived in Midtown Memphis, where old houses are constantly being restored and upgraded, leading to scrap piles of wood being left on curbs. We used to spend our Saturday mornings going "curb shopping," because the wood was free and at that point, ARCHd wasĀ still an experiment.
While woodĀ gave us our start, we've expanded our offerings to include marble, paper products, mugs and apparel.
We've also just opened our first brick & mortar gift shop in downtown Memphis, where we sell our handmade feminist gifts and Memphis souvenirs, along with a handful of goods from other women makers across the country.Ā Visit the shop!
Are you ready to #getARCHd?
Want more? Learn aboutĀ our handmade process here.