Running one business is a lot. Running two businesses? Even more so. But throw a third one into the mix, and you've achieved a Jessica Jackson level of hustle. We won't even mention the fact (not yet, anyway) that she's also a busy wife, a mother of three, an occasional player of pickleball and a tireless advocate for the creative community in the Bucks County area. Just know that she's busy. In fact, she's probably dreaming up another project right now.
In another life, Jackson would have been a different kind of busy—the kind of busy where you're wearing scrubs and a lab coat to work, poring over X-rays and assisting in the operating room. “I was very big into sports growing up and played collegiate tennis,” she explains. “Through my career I had multiple injuries that exposed me to orthopedic surgery as a discipline.” She got married at the age of 22 following her graduation from Messiah College (now University) with a degree in sports and exercise science/physical therapy. She planned to take a year off before diving back in on a postgraduate degree as a physician assistant in orthopedic surgery, but she felt herself being pulled in a different direction. “Which now I see is perfect,” Jackson says. “It was the right thing for me because I have so many varied interests and I like doing different things.”
She started to dabble in DIY projects as a way to spruce up her first home on a budget. Even though she admittedly had no experience in renovation or design, she did have a healthy curiosity and an eagerness to learn. “I have a lot of confidence to just try things,” Jackson says. “I'm not afraid of failing.” She also had a like-minded best friend: Monica Mangin. The two met while attending Plumstead Christian School. In 2011, they started a blog to chronicle their triumphs and tribulations on the DIY front. “Neither she nor I do things halfway,” says Jackson. “We decided, if we're going to do this, we're really going to do it. We posted five days a week, we were constantly doing projects.”
Their tenacity didn't go unnoticed. Jackson says they were just a few months in when they were contacted by The Nate Berkus Show. The dynamic duo ultimately appeared in four episodes to pitch their tips and tricks to the masses. “We realized how much we loved doing TV. That was a surprise to both of us,” says Jackson. Another surprise—perhaps an unpleasant one: they had to change the name of their blog, “The Real Housewives of Bucks County.” Apparently the “real” Real Housewives—those feuding frenemies of reality TV—weren't keen on sharing their name, so Jackson and Mangin rebranded and moved forward with East Coast Creative.
Next up for Mangin and Jackson: an offer to helm a show of their own, “Knock It Off!,” on the Live Well Network. By then, Jackson had two children, daughter Campbell and son Charlie, with her husband, Kevin Jackson, and had just found out she was pregnant with their third. Son Bennett was born in 2013. Not long after, Jackson made the difficult decision to step away from the show. “I usually say I credit him with changing the trajectory of my life. He made me really rethink wanting to be on TV. I loved being on TV, but your schedule is not your own, you're at the mercy of your producers and the people who run the show. I knew I didn't want to be gone full-time when he was a baby.”
Jackson also knew—although she cherished her time with her littles ones—she needed a creative outlet outside her home. Even though the Hilltown Township native says neither she nor her two sisters (Rachel and Chrissie; Jessica is in the middle) were the type to roll up their sleeves and get crafty when they were growing up (“No creative bones in their body,” she says of her siblings with a laugh), she had found her niche in adulthood. At the tail end of 2014 she began hosting workshops for those who also wanted to get their craft on: think macramé, floral design, weaving, calligraphy and the like. At first, she borrowed space inside a local thrift shop, but grew tired of lugging all of her materials back and forth. So, in June of 2015, The Craftery, as she dubbed her burgeoning enterprise, opened a brick-and-mortar location inside The Square, a restored factory in Dublin, Bucks County. The workshops, Jackson says, expanded, and were popular from the start. “Ladies Nights” were a crowd pleaser (and not as ubiquitous then as they are now). Initially, Jackson led all the workshops herself; what she didn't know how to do, she learned. “It was a lot of trial and error,” she says. Eventually she started bringing in other local experts and makers to share the load, which led to a turning point for The Craftery: Jackson wanted to replicate and expand upon other pop-up markets she'd visited, markets featuring carefully curated creators with high-quality, unique goods. The first market was held inside The Craftery space and featured about 12 local vendors. “It was such a leap of faith for them because I'd never done anything like this before, but they trusted my vision,” Jackson says. “I really wanted to bring attention to these really talented people.”
In doing so, she stumbled upon another passion: creating beautiful community spaces and experiences. She was involved as a designer in the revitalization of The Square, which now boasts offices, a gym, a salon, a dance studio, retail space, a winery and more. Jackson expanded her own footprint there with the opening of Makers: Vintage + Handmade in November of 2019. It's a place where some of the artisans, crafters and collectors Jackson has become acquainted with can sell their wares. Great idea; bad timing. The store was closed for several months while the COVID-19 pandemic raged, but Jackson says they found ways to stay afloat. “We did flash sales and Instagram sales. We came out on the other side, and the community was super supportive.”
Fast-forward to November of 2020, and another new Jackson project was taking off at The Shops at The Square, although this one was more of a tag-team effort. Jackson and her husband, Kevin, opened Wheat & Vine Provisions, a small-batch specialty food store. “We just love food. We're big foodies,” says Jackson. “Whenever we travel, we look for specialty food stores, and this was another case of where we didn't see anything like what we wanted in Bucks County.” The offerings include charcuterie boxes, cheeses, drink mixes, hot sauces and sweets. “We try every product before it comes in the store,” Jackson says. “That's a perk of the job, to sample everything.” The family part of this family business goes deeper than Jessica and Kevin; their daughter, Campbell, also works at the store, as does Jessica's sister, Chrissie.
Jackson says a second location for Wheat & Vine is a possibility down the road. She's currently busy planning the rest of the 2023 schedule for The Craftery Market, which has now grown to some 80 vendors and aims to promote a family-friendly, community vibe with live music and food while highlighting unique locales. Over the past few years, it's popped up all over Bucks County and beyond. The next market is at the Bishop Estate Vineyard & Winery in Perkasie on June 17.
Looking back on the path she chose—the path that did not lead to a medical career, or a lengthy tenure in front of TV cameras—Jackson says she has no regrets. “I have a strong faith. I'm a big believer in God orchestrating things. It all makes sense. It feels like with each step, I took the next opportunity that came out of the step before.”
Published as “Insight” in the May 2023 edition of Lehigh Valley Style magazine.
