About Us!

Check out our official announcement video! 

Hi! I’m Caitlin Esquibel, owner and creator of Knotted Grain Design Company! I’m a DIY maker turned small business owner turned not-so-small business owner located in Verona, Wisconsin. Together with my husband, Matt, we lead a team, who we absolutely adore, to produce personalized products for both homes and businesses. 

Many of you may be here from our first business, Signs by Caitlin. If so, welcome! You might already be familiar with our background. For those of you new here (also, welcome!) here’s a little about how we got started.

In the Fall of 2014, times were wild for our Esquibel family. Our two children, Reagan and Brody, were both in diapers and Matt was finishing his degree (taking 20 credit hours) while working 60+ hours a week and Brody our youngest had just received an autism diagnosis. I was run a little ragged trying to manage the home, navigate the best treatment options for Brody while going to war with Health Insurance companies to make sure the treatment needed would be covered. Out of a desperate need for a creative outlet I went into the garage and painted my first sign. Proud of my work I posted a picture on Facebook and someone offered to buy it! 

Caitlin got her start in 2014 making a few DIY Christmas signs. By a few we mean she was actually completely overwhelmed with the positive response to her signs! She continued to hone her process and continued to grow (too fast at times) until, in March of 2016, she turned the business to DIY instructional workshops. Her first workshop sold out in less than 24 hours and once again she was off to the races. So much so that in September of 2016 she realized that her workshop pace and volume of finished signs was completely unsustainable. As a family, the decision was made to go all in. Matt put in his two weeks and they set out to grow Signs by Caitlin. 

Fast forward to March of 2020. Signs by Caitlin was now distributing to 45 representatives who were booking and instructing workshops in Wisconsin, Iowa, Illinois, and Minnesota! Then COVID hit. A company that puts on DIY gatherings was no longer able to put on DIY gatherings. Faced with the decision of pivot or shut down, Matt and Caitlin put their heads together and launched DIY ship-to-home kits. The kits were a hit and Signs by Caitlin did not just survive the shutdowns it thrived. Now, workshops are back and kits are still being shipped nation wide! 

So why the new company? Finished signs were always part of the fold with Signs by Caitlin. The team, and all of you, was always asking for more. Enter Knotted Grain Design Company, your home for finished personalized products going way beyond signs. Knotted Grain produces lasered, etched, and printed products with the ability to support everything from a photo-quality sign in your living room to bulk custom tumblers with your company logo for promotional needs. And so much more!

What happens to Signs by Caitlin? Great question! Signs by Caitlin isn’t going anywhere. Signs by Caitlin will remain everything DIY: Workshops and Kits. AND we look forward to expanding our product offerings in the DIY world. Knotted Grain Design Company will produce everything finished going well beyond the home decor that Signs by Caitlin was capable of.