“We create beautiful things and cultivate a welcoming community for all who enjoy them.” Judy & Jean’s vision statement could not be a more accurate representation of the company or the women behind it. Mariah Christ and Claire Johnson may sell earrings, but they have cultivated something much greater.
The two met in 2016 through working on the Student Ministries Leadership Team together at John Brown University and have been inseparable ever since. They established the tradition of Tuesday dinners to remain close after Christ graduated in 2018. Their quality time only increased when the pandemic shut everything down in 2020. Johnson even jokes that they started a business because there was nothing else to talk about.
While it may be the pandemic that finally got the ball rolling, Judy & Jean had really been, in many ways, years in the making. Christ explains her dream of running a small business originated at a young age, as she has always craved an outlet to create beautiful things. As a graphic design major, she was used to staring at screens all day, so Johnson suggested using clay, and before they knew it, they were making earrings by the dozens. They quickly realized the timeless art of jewelry-making was the perfect candidate for a business, as they could sustain it while miles apart, as well as work from the comfort of their homes.
However, they were still missing something without which the company had no chance of surviving—a good name. Johnson and Christ laugh as they recall the weeks spent arguing over Skype, as they had trouble finding a name to embody and appeal to their vastly different styles and values. Around this same time, Christ’s grandmother passed away, which was a devasting loss, as she had always been a cheerleader of Christ’s creativity. The young entrepreneur decided there was no better way to honor her grandmother, Jean, than name the product of her encouragement in her honor. Johnson wholeheartedly agreed, and with the addition of Judy, her own great-grandmother’s name, Judy & Jean was born.
Starting any small business is a risk, but running a business with a friend is even riskier. “The first year was a nightmare,” Johnson admits with a reminiscent chuckle. “We felt a lot of the repercussions of agreeing to take on more than we could handle.” They were even compelled to step back around month three or four to practice what they refer to as “sanctifying work.”
They credit Trisha Posey, head of the honors department at JBU, for instilling in them the values of taking rest and sabbath and used this lasting guidance to establish a healthy work schedule—one day a week and one weekend a month. Both Johnson and Christ testify to the positive benefits of building a balance and boundaries and have firmly insisted that “if this ever puts our friendship at risk, the business dies.”
Luckily, the two women work extremely well together, which they mostly credit to their opposite personalities. Johnson describes herself as “the hype woman” while Christ is the more practical, logistical counterpart. They even learned from a personality test that Christ’s top five strengths were Johnson’s bottom five and vice versa. Both see this as an advantage as their wide variety of aptitudes leads to an enhanced skill set and creative perspective. “We have every single weakness that a business could have, but we have all of the strengths too,” Johnson said.
Not only their opposing personalities but their distinct professional training gives Christ and Johnson the opportunity to showcase and utilize their talents through Judy & Jean. They evenly distribute the production, but Christ is responsible for most of the photography and branding, while Johnson usually handles the distribution to local shops and events. They acknowledge the trial and error that needed to happen, especially considering neither of them actually studied business in college. Regardless, they were confident in the value of their product, and the truth that “whatever you put into it is what you will receive back.”
In fact, Judy & Jean has recently had to make tough decisions in terms of the direction and pace at which the business is growing. The women had the opportunity to significantly expand their company, but ultimately chose to keep it as a side job, as they feel inspired and called to their current positions. Nevertheless, the businesswomen pray to be involved with Judy & Jean for the rest of their lives.
No matter what, they are committed to keeping their products simple and timeless—two qualities they hope are reflected in their brand and legacy. “Something we live by is quality over quantity: If we’re creating things, we want to create good things. We always want to be intentional about producing quality work,” said Christ.
The most rewarding part for them has been experiencing the overwhelming support and excitement of their customers for the past year and a half. The support from others has been invaluable and fueled their passion as Judy & Jean hits milestone after milestone. “A big part of our success story is the people involved.” Countless hours of labor, hard conversations and planning eventually led to one of their favorite moments yet—when customers recognized their logo. “I realized that not only had we created a business,” Christ said, “But we had actually created a brand.”