Good Neighbor Podcast: Delco
Bringing Together Local Businesses and Neighbors of Delaware County, PA (Delco"") and the surrounding Philadelphia Metro Region.
Good Neighbor Podcast: Delco
Joe Watson: Bringing To Life His DeJoJa Designs In Wood
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Joe Watson: Bringing To Life His Dejoja Designs In Wood
In this episode of the Good Neighbor Podcast, host Bob Blaisse interviews master wood craftsman Joe Watson who is transforming the custom woodworking landscape one piece at a time from his workshop in a western suburb of Philadelphia. You'll hear Bob begin his interview of this passionate artisan by asking Joe how he balances a full-time career with his thriving business, DeJoJa Designs—a venture lovingly named by combining the initial letters of his three children’s first names.
Watson's workshop produces everything from affordable $5 accessories to breathtaking $13,000 commissioned masterpieces. What makes his work truly special isn't just his technical skill, but his ability to translate clients' visions into a tangible reality. In this episode, Joe Watson explains how he uses specialty wood to craft "Whatever the client has a vision of," and brings that vision into reality, drawing from a palette of 75 different wood varieties to create his striking, colorful pieces without a drop of paint—letting the natural beauty of the materials speak for themselves.
You'll learn about Watson's emerging specialty in what he terms "animal furniture"—custom dog beds, memorial shadow boxes and his innovative "cage toppers" that transform pet crates into functional furniture. Combined with his kitchen accessories line, these practical yet beautiful creations showcase Joe Watson's unique ability to identify and fill market needs. Whether you have a vision for a simple cutting board, a statement river table or a custom pet furniture piece that blends seamlessly with your decor, you'll discover how DeJoJa Designs delivers exceptional craftsmanship with personal meaning.
Woodworking Craftsman Joe Watson
DeJoJa Designs
484-362-7671
DejojaDesigns@gmail.com
--- About The Show--- Good Neighbor Podcast is a spotlight on local businesses in and around Delaware County, PA (“Delco” ) and Beyond... The executive producer and host, Bob Blaisse, is a community sponsorship advocate, business branding specialist, and publisher of several hometown magazines, including: Newtown Square Friends & Neighbors, Marple Friends & Neighbors and Newtown Edgmont Friends & Neighbors, mailed monthly to more than 12,000 homes in Western Delaware County, PA, and also available for reading online.
Welcome to Good Neighbor Podcast
Speaker 1Hello, delco. This is Michael Barkan, welcoming you to the Good Neighbor podcast, where fans of local businesses and their neighbors come together. It's my pleasure once again to introduce my friend and neighbor, our host Bob Lacey.
Speaker 2Thank you, michael Barkan, for that introduction. It's always nice to hear your voice and I want to thank everybody also who's downloaded and listening to this episode of the Good Neighbor Podcast. Bob Blasey is my name and we're coming to you from Pennsylvania, in the United States, and really in the southeast corner of Pennsylvania, it's Delaware County, pennsylvania, that we lovingly refer to as Delco, but we like to say Delco and beyond because the episodes can be heard around the world and also because, well, delco gets kind of outside of Delco. Delaware County is just north of the state of Delaware and just west of the state of New Jersey and so, being just south of Philadelphia and beyond, we have really a strong Philadelphia metro area here that Delaware County is part of. We have really a strong Philadelphia metro area here that Delaware County is part of, and our role here on the Good Neighbor podcast is to help the Delco vibe get out, which, if you Google that a bit Delco vibe in Pennsylvania you'll learn a lot about what that is and why we're pretty proud of Delco. We're proud of it also because of the businesses that we have in Delaware County and beyond, those businesses that we'd like to make known to our listeners, and we get a lot of nominations to do episodes like this and we try to vary them so that it's not all contractors and retail stores or medical some interesting stuff.
Introducing Joe Watson of DeJoJ Designs
Speaker 2And today this one is very interesting. This is the first time that we've had a woodworking craftsman. His name is Joe Watson and he's a business owner and founder of his business that he calls DeJoJ Designs, and he'll explain what that name means. Let me bring to the stage here our guest today for the Good Neighbor podcast, joe Watson. Welcome to the program, joe.
Speaker 3Good evening. Thanks for having me, Bob.
Speaker 2Joe, it's great that you are here and it's an opportunity for our listeners to learn a little bit about craftsmen being businessmen. You know, we've heard, make your hobby your job and you'll always be happy. So I guess one of the first questions that I'd like to ask you, Joe, which came first the job or the hobby? I mean, are you a daytime jobber and then you've turned your hobby into a craft and a business, or is it the other way around?
Speaker 3So it's both. I do have a full-time job, but this is also my full-time job too, and, like you said, when you have fun doing something that you love doing, it's not considered work.
Custom Woodworking Specialties Explained
Speaker 2Well, it's going to be something we're going to have to explain here why you love it so much, and we'll get to that. Well, it's going to be something we're going to have to explain here why you love it so much, and we'll get to that. But let's narrow down woodworking, because you know, cabinet makers are craftsmen that use wood and people that carve walking sticks and things like that, or take a chainsaw to a dead tree and turn it into a statuette-looking tree made from wood. When it comes to Joe Watson and the Joe J designs, what's your pleasure? What is your style of crafting?
Speaker 3So I like to make. Whatever the client has a vision of, the client will have a vision. They'll come to me and say, joe, I want you to do this for me and I bring their vision to reality.
Speaker 2Is it putting new cabinets in their kitchen?
Speaker 3It is not putting new cabinets in their kitchen. It's anywhere from and the way I label it is it's anywhere from cutting boards up to closet and garage organizers.
Speaker 2So structure to some degree, but certain market segments. I guess when we see custom craft woodwork, if we, if we think of it as, like you said, structure that is, does it fall into the furniture category at all?
Speaker 3I do make furniture, yes, I, and I make indoor furniture, outdoor furniture, I make animals, full furniture, um, so the the furniture realm is very large and, uh, very, very large, and I, uh, what's the word I'm looking for?
Speaker 2well, very needed, very desired. But let's narrow it even further. Is it the kind of stuff that joe watson sees in his own mind, designs and then creates? Or is it the kind of thing where you're a craftsman who's just waiting for those kind of artistic folks, I guess, that say, I have an idea for a furniture piece that would work this way or look this way, but I don't know enough about wood or really don't know enough about how to make it certain colors or shine or get painted. Is that the kind of consulting that you give and do, you take people's visions and kind of turn what they have in their mind into reality?
Speaker 3So it's both I do have. I do make my own visions come to reality. I've done river tables, I've done conference tables, I've done exterior furniture as far as swingings, adirondack chairs, things like that. But then when somebody comes to me and says, hey look, I want an Adirondack chair, but I don't want a normal version Of an Adirondack chair, that's fine, I'll draw it up and go from there.
Speaker 2Use your creativity To kind of show them something different and your artistic skills are enough that you can actually draw what you have in mind, or what kind of you're hearing they have in mind, and then show them an idea of what it would look like. You talk about the type of wood that you would use and why, and then actually bring this piece of furniture to reality. You mentioned that it's, I heard in there furniture, kids' furniture, I think I heard animal furniture. Now, what is animal furniture?
Speaker 3furniture. I think I heard animal furniture. Now what? What is animal furniture? So I would love to be able to corner the market in animal furniture with, when I say, like dog beds I'm making right now I'm in the process of making a memorial shadow box I would like to make, I'm making what they what I call cage toppers. It's an actual table that fits over top of the crate.
Speaker 2Oh, how nice. And so the crate can be. I've seen some of these really nice furniture type crates that people put in their living room. They kind of make them like end tables.
Speaker 3Correct and a lot of people have crates and it's a wasted space. So I'm now turning that wasted space into a useful space.
Speaker 2Right Animal furniture. Who would have thought? Well, you know, as long as we've got that cleared up, let's clear up the name a bit here, because while you have a real common kind of Americana name, joe Watson, d-joe J, which is spelled D-E-J-O-J-A, it's a little unusual. You've picked an unusual name, but I'm sure it means something to you. Can you explain?
Speaker 3how you came up with that name. So it is a very unusual name, but it's a very sentimental name because what I did is I took the first two initials of all three of my kids, and I did so in the order that they were born. So D, and then somebody named Joe, I guess, right born so D and then somebody named Joe, I guess, right. So D-E is for my daughter Deanna, j-o is for my son Joe and J-A is for my other son, jacob.
Speaker 2Wonderful. So J-A. So it's D-Joe-J-A, that's how you say it.
Speaker 3D-Joe-J-A Designs correct.
Speaker 2Yes, wonderful. And if you want to see Joe Watson's furniture and some of his designs, which are not just limited to kids' furniture or animal furniture Joe, you mentioned that structure work for like kitchen cutlery and cutting boards and those kinds of things.
Speaker 3Correct. So I do. I make a lot of cutting boards, I make knife boards I'm sorry, bread boards with knives. I make serving trays, I make things for you know, tailgating.
Speaker 2So if they want to look at some examples of some of your work, the best place, I guess, would be for us to direct them to your Facebook page for DeJoJ Designs right to your Facebook page for DeJojo Designs right.
Speaker 3Correct, I do have a website being made. It's not up yet, but I do have my Facebook page of DeJojo Designs.
Pricing Range and Contact Information
Speaker 2So when you look through Facebook to the listeners here and Joe Watson's a little bit of a commoner name here in the US, but if you would look up D-E-J-O-J-A and it'll pop right up.
Speaker 2It'll pop right up to Joe J Designs on Facebook and you'll get a chance to meet Joe Watson and Joe. Would you mind if I gave out your phone number? Sure, let me let me mention Joe Watson sounds like a very accessible guy and he's really sitting there waiting for you to share what you have in your mind so we can bring it to life and at least hear what you have to say and then draw up what you have in mind and see if there's a commission there for Joe to be able to use his craft skills and then you come up with a really original piece of furniture. Joe can be reached by cell phone at 484, or office line 484-362-7671. Now, joe, if I were someone that is listening to this podcast and I'm not in the Philadelphia area, will you take clients and commissions like that? Will you design custom work and then send it to people anywhere in the country?
Speaker 3Anywhere in the country. Yes, Like I said, I'll draw something up, send it to them, get their approval. I will send out a work order for them and then, once I have that work order, back process starts for me making and I will ship anywhere in the United States.
Speaker 2I can tell you, I've seen the website, the Facebook page and some of the work that Joe has done. Some of it is just really beautiful and colorful. Joe, where's there's certain pieces that have been colored? Are you artistically putting paint colors on things as well, or is it more just straight up furniture?
Speaker 3No, sir, that's strictly the different kinds of woods I use. I work with probably 75 different kinds of woods.
Speaker 2And you'll put the woods together in color patterns that end up making the design that comes through in the end.
Speaker 3That's correct.
Speaker 2Wow, that is some craftsmanship for sure, and I think maybe we should give people an idea that I would imagine that custom woodwork pieces like this could be thousands of dollars. But do you take those small commissions at times, like if somebody wanted a custom cutting board for their parent or for their wife, could they get a product for under $500?.
Speaker 3The cheapest thing I sell is $5, and the most expensive thing I've sold so far was $13,000.
Speaker 2Well, joe, that is a good neighbor business, if ever I heard one. I'm glad that you sell expensive products. That proves to us that your skill set is really there and the amount of hours that go into it, the customization, even the creativity, artistry, the wood craftsman skills. To be able to sell products that are that expensive proves your artistic ability. But to be able to even sell products for $5, that's wonderful and that proves that you're really, um a person who wants to kind of get your art out in the world, get it seen. That's a sign of a true artist and um that you're willing to help people find the right price for what they want to spend for, for a gift or for a permanent um antique item in their house, you know, a legacy item that will pass through the family. Joe, if I were to say today that you're looking for certain commissions, certain assignments, certain work, what's the hottest? Is it product that they're in the kind of the kitchen, or is it kids' furniture, or is it animal furniture, which we learned about here?
Speaker 3So right now the biggest items for me are in the kitchen and animal furniture, because we're always going to have fat guys like myself always eating and preparing food and then we're always going to have everybody on this planet has an animal of some sort. So those two areas I'm going to try. I want to corner the market in both of them.
Closing Remarks and Nominations
Speaker 2That's wonderful, joe. Thank you very much, and everybody who's listening. I wish you could see Joe, because he's not as fat as he said. He's a handsome guy, but he looks like the guy that would be doing this work and he looks like a woods craftsman. And so remember Joe Watson. If you'd like to reach Joe again, his phone number is 4, 8, 4, 3, 6, 2, 7, 6 7 1. He's just outside the city of Philadelphia, just outside of Delaware County, and he's available by phone or you can contact Joe by his contact information that is on his Facebook page. Remember the name of the business is named after his children DiGioge Designs.
Speaker 3And you can also get me at DiGiogeDesigns at gmailcom.
Speaker 2Joe, thank you very much for being Good Neighbor Business and coming on the Good Neighbor Podcast today. We're very grateful. It was great. What a great opportunity to meet you, and God bless you. Good luck with your career as a wood craftsman.
Speaker 3Thank you, sir.
Speaker 1Bob, I greatly appreciate this time. Thank you for listening to the Good Neighbor podcast hosted by Bob Lacey. This is Michael Barkan inviting everyone to get on the Good Neighbor team. Nominate your favorite local business to be featured on an upcoming episode by going to GNPDelcocom or by calling Bob at 610-557-3745.