By Autumn Bell
A dream that came after retirement from corporate life, Jud Patterson began to craft designs that capture small town charm in everlasting ways.
The entrepreneur, or rather “elderpreneur” as Patterson described himself, has developed his own creative business of printing custom designs.
Once the owner of a store front in Downtown Smithfield called the Oak City Collection, Jud’s Designs is still going strong, built on the small town charm of the North Carolina community but with a connection that reaches a national level.
“A t-shirt or ornament may be designed for a business in Texas or even Mississippi, but it’s all made right here in North Carolina,” Patterson said, explaining the meaning behind his business. Patterson often makes designs custom for each holiday and once he realized this year was the nation’s 250th Anniversary, he knew he was meant to do something special.
Patterson developed the idea of personalized ornaments in the shape of The United States. A small piece made out of porcelain, yet holds the importance of celebrating America.
“It has the 1st part of the Declaration of Independence written on the back,” he said, displaying the polished ornament decorated in red, white and blue.
The ornaments are truly one of a kind as Patterson decided to only make 5,000 of them, deepening their significance and turning them into a collector’s item.
“If I sold all 5,000 of them, there’s over 300 million people in the United States. Only one in 70,000 people could get one,” he said.
Customers will also receive a certificate matching the number of the ornament.
“It’s special, and it gives the design a little more meaning,” he said.
Patterson’s work was recently featured in a segment on ABC 11, titled “From Big Tech to keepsakes: Meet the NC Made ‘elderpreneur’ making heirlooms in Smithfield.”
