Our Story
A Lifetime of Serving People, Now Expressed Through Creativity
Every family has a story.
Some stories are written on faded recipe cards tucked inside an old cookbook. Others live in a favorite Bible verse, a handwritten note, a treasured photograph, or the traditions shared around the kitchen table year after year.
At Hoot Owl Inspirations, we believe those stories deserve to be preserved—not just for today, but for the generations that follow.
How Hoot Owl Inspirations Began
Long before Hoot Owl Inspirations became a business, it was part of our family.
Early in our marriage, Wendy looked over one morning and laughed. Mike's hair was sticking up on both sides, and she said:
"You look like a hoot owl."
The nickname stayed.
Over the years, we collected owls and began referring to ourselves as the "Hoot Owl family." When it came time to name our business, there was never really another choice.
Hoot Owl Inspirations wasn't created around a product.
It was created around our family.
A Lifetime of Serving Others
Before retirement, we spent our lives serving people through education.
Wendy began her career as an elementary school teacher before becoming the Reading Specialist for her school district. From there, she became an assistant principal and eventually a high school principal.
Mike taught at both the high school and college levels before transitioning into administrative leadership roles at the College of the Florida Keys, where he ultimately served as Vice President of Academic Affairs.
Although our careers took different paths, they were guided by the same purpose:
Helping people through teaching, mentorship, and servant leadership.
Our faith also led us into ministry, where we had the privilege of walking alongside people rebuilding their lives through encouragement, hope, and God's grace.
After retiring, we became caregivers for Wendy's parents. During that season of life, we were looking for a hobby—something creative that we could enjoy together.
What began as a hobby eventually became another way to continue making a positive difference in people's lives.
Discovering a New Way to Serve
We purchased a laser and later added UV printing equipment simply because we enjoyed creating gifts for family and friends.
Then something unexpected happened.
The gifts became more than gifts.
In late 2024, Mike's parents—lovingly known as Mema and Bepa—passed away just two weeks apart.
As the family gathered to organize their estate, one of Mike's nieces discovered a treasure trove of handwritten recipe cards. She photographed them and shared them with the family.
Sharing meals had always been one of the McPherson family's most cherished traditions.
As Christmas approached, Mike and Wendy had an idea.
What if Mema and Bepa's favorite recipes were engraved onto maple cutting boards and given as Christmas gifts to the family?
They did.
As family members opened their gifts, they immediately recognized Mema's familiar handwriting. The room filled with smiles, laughter, tears, and stories that had not been told in years.
Recipes became memories.
Memories became conversations.
Conversations became a celebration of the people who had shaped our family.
In that moment, we realized we hadn't simply engraved a recipe onto a cutting board.
We had helped preserve a family's story.
We soon created more recipe boards for additional family members and close friends.
Each time we watched someone recognize the handwriting of a loved one preserved forever, we witnessed that same emotional response.
That's when we realized we weren't simply creating beautiful objects.
We were helping people preserve the memories, traditions, and faith that make every family unique.
Friends began telling us:
"You should be making these for other families."
They were right.
That's when Hoot Owl Inspirations truly began.
More Than Personalized Gifts
We don't believe people come to us simply looking for a cutting board, light box, or personalized gift.
They come to preserve Grandma's Christmas cookies.
They come to honor a loved one's handwriting.
They come to celebrate their faith with a Scripture that has carried them through life's seasons.
They come because they want future generations to know the people and traditions that shaped their family.
Our job is to listen to those stories and help bring them to life through thoughtful design, exceptional craftsmanship, and personal collaboration.
People Matter
One belief guides the way we treat every person who trusts us with something precious:
People matter. They're not just customers.
When you share a recipe, photograph, signature, Scripture, or family memory with us, we understand that you're trusting us with something that cannot simply be replaced.
We'll work with you throughout the design process, asking questions and looking for the small details that can make your keepsake uniquely yours.
A favorite flower.
A special bird.
A meaningful Scripture.
A familiar signature.
A saying everyone remembers.
Sometimes those small details carry the biggest stories.
The Hoot Owl Promise
We will treat your keepsake as if we were creating it for someone precious in our own family.
We'll listen.
We'll collaborate.
We'll pay attention to the details.
And we'll pursue excellence in the finished piece.
Because what we're creating isn't simply something you own.
It's something we hope your family will treasure.
What Guides Us
Three principles have guided our lives and now guide Hoot Owl Inspirations:
God is first.
People are second.
Do things with excellence.
And somewhere along the way, we discovered something else:
Making people happy is fun.
That's what we hope to do—one story, one family, and one keepsake at a time.
Every Keepsake Begins with a Story.
Ready to tell us yours?