Justin Schaefer
b. June 29, 1980
Delaware, Ohio
For as long as I can remember, I have been involved in sports, construction and art – or some combination of the three. During my childhood I would create a unique Christmas gift for every member of my family.
In 1998 while attending Rutherford B. Hayes High School I was given a basic photography assignment to photograph 3 letters in architecture. I was in need of Christmas gifts that year and so I thought, “Why not make everyone’s names out of photographs?” It was a lot more work than I anticipated but I was able to pull it off. I created over twenty names out of letters in architecture - one for every member of my family.
The gifts were a big hit, so my family soon convinced me to attend our local arts festival in Delaware, Ohio. I became the youngest artist to exhibit! That year I earned the People’s Choice Award, and I was the runner up for the Judges’ Award. From there I was invited to more and more art shows.
I studied Industrial Design at The Ohio State University. I didn’t intend to continue my name art hobby during college, but my persistent and eager customers wouldn’t let me rest. While at school, students and friends would track me down in my dorm just to place an order! I soon realized that my “hobby” was going to prevent me from living the typical life of a college student. No more sleeping in on Saturdays!
Nate Dadosky, a good friend, developed my first two websites. The first website contained my college resume with a link to my “on-the-side” PhotoText™ business. The second website was solely dedicated to PhotoText™. All throughout college I continued to attend arts festivals in Ohio & Michigan, earning the money I needed for tuition, books, food and lodging. My travels also allowed me to spread the word about my artwork. I expanded my photo collection as I continued to find letters while studying abroad in South America and vacationing in Europe. I was sending orders as far away as Brazil, England, Hawaii, and Japan.
When I graduated from OSU with a degree in Industrial/Product Design, the job market looked bleak. My classmates inspired me to continue doing art fulltime, by emphasizing how lucky I was to be able to create my art and earn a living. With my classmates & professors encouragement, I decided to fully dedicate the next three years to this idea. If I did not see a future in it I would get a job like everyone else.
Those three years I traveled in Europe, South America & the United States, attending top juried arts festivals and art galleries promoting my product & photographing letters in architecture/nature along the way. My travels allowed me to increase my photo inventory while simultaneously spreading the word about my name/word art.
Three and a half years later, beginning on January 3, 2006, I renovated a studio, located in the Historic District of Downtown Delaware, Ohio. With a focus on making the building structurally sound and communicate the brand image of PhotoText™. I rewired the entire building to suit the needs of a photography design studio as well as a framed art manufacturing center. Since opening the store in March of 2006, I have operated the studio/store, while attending a few arts festivals each year, as well as a few wholesale shows.
The PhotoTextCatalog.com website was rebuilt in 2007 in an effort to make it even more user-friendly and to better share my photography with a broader audience. PhotoTextCatalog.com contains over 8,500 worldwide images of letters in architecture, all captured by me. I hope that you enjoy the website! I encourage you to
send me your thoughts about the website as well as my work!
- Justin Schaefer
