About Us

About Summer Joy Designs

WOW...where to even begin!

A little bit about myself to start. My boyfriend and I (who honestly is basically my husband) share a beautiful home together with our 2 pups and his daughter! I recently left a job I was at for almost 12 years to help care for our special needs grandson. The stress of working full-time PLUS taking care of a toddler with special needs was beginning to take a toll. So I decided one day to focus more on my family.

Summer Joy Designs was formed after my niece, Summer James, gained her angel wings at just 5 weeks old (You'll see more about her story in the Good Grief Collection). She was also part of the reason I left my job. Summer made myself, as well as others I'm sure, see just how precious and how short life can be. I knew I wanted to do something to honor her and keep her alive for many years to come, so I began thinking about a shirt to make. Something that everyone would LOVE. My sister-in-law & Summer's mom, Sarah, and I began brainstorming and came up with the Sweet Summer T-Shirts. The original design, which you will see lots of pictures of, was for her Celebration of Life event. Almost everyone that went, purchased a Sweet Summer shirt and it was the most heartwarming thing to see 💛 After that day, I knew this was something I wanted to keep going!! And, obviously, since this all started because of her, it was only fitting to use her name!

Her older sister Penny Joy, who obviously is also my niece, is probably the only reason so many of us can keep it together some days. Just like her middle name, she is always full of pure JOY! It only made sense to incorporate her into the name 🥰. Designs may seem obvious, but the D also represents my father Doug who lost his battle to lung cancer in 2020. I wanted to incorporate him in there as well to keep his love of photography alive! You will see what I mean by this is his collection also 😉

If you’ve read this far, thank you! Thank you for taking the time to check out the site and read about Summer Joy Designs. This is just the beginning so stay tuned for big things to come!!! 💛💛💛

~Heather