Our Story

Grace and Ryan met online after Grace’s mom jokingly encouraged her to join a dating site. A few weeks later, they went on their first date — and in February 2020, they were married.

Today, they’re raising four kids, building a business together, and learning every day how to balance family, service, creativity, and entrepreneurship.

Grace began embroidery in 2015 as a hobby and creative outlet, making hats, shirts, and stickers for cups while earning a little extra income on the side. Over time, that hobby grew into Gifts By Grace, which officially became an LLC in January 2022.

Grace is the creative heart of the business. She designs, executes orders, and brings the personal touch that only a mom of four can provide. Ryan handles much of the operations, finance, logistics, sales, and relationship-building — the behind-the-scenes work that helps turn Grace’s creativity into something sustainable and scalable.

Their kids are part of it too. They help in all kinds of ways and love seeing an order go from an idea to a finished product. Some of the family’s favorite moments are watching the kids work together, solve problems, and proudly hand completed orders to customers.

Family life has taught them to be adaptable. Between military service, deployments, professional careers, raising four kids, and family spread across multiple states, they’ve learned how to move quickly, stay responsive, and operate at the speed of demand. It’s a pace they’ve grown to love.

Their growth into laser engraving started close to home. Their Uncle Tony, a pastor and small-business owner, worked with candles and laser engraving, and Grace and Ryan purchased their first laser from him. More recently, Gifts By Grace acquired a second laser and another local business from their friend and fellow Mechanicsville entrepreneur, Marcy. They’re incredibly grateful for the opportunity and excited about what that growth means for the shop and its customers.

After years in corporate America, military service, and other professional careers, Ryan saw the potential in what Grace had built and wanted to take a real shot at helping it grow into something that could serve their family — and others — for generations.

He also saw a real need for personal, local corporate gifting. Businesses want thoughtful gifts, responsive service, and people they can actually talk to. Gifts By Grace aims to meet that need while remaining small, personal, and agile.

Service is also an important part of their story. Ryan continues to serve part-time as an MQ-9 pilot in the Iowa Air National Guard after more than 14 years of military service on both the enlisted and officer side, including time in both the Virginia and Iowa Air National Guard. In a unique family connection, both Grace’s dad and Ryan’s dad were fighter pilots who flew in the same unit — and were friends — before Grace and Ryan ever met.

Being a veteran-owned small business is something the family is proud of. Supporting veterans, the local community, and the people who support Gifts By Grace is one of their highest priorities.

Grace and Ryan are also raising their family in the Christian faith and try to bring faith, gratitude, service, and care into the way they work. Every order is viewed as a blessing, and every customer deserves to be treated with dignity, respect, and genuine appreciation.

Looking ahead, the goal is for Gifts By Grace to continue growing through new technology, new products, and new opportunities — while still remaining the kind of small, responsive boutique business where customers feel known and valued.

Most of all, Grace and Ryan hope their children learn dedication, discipline, hard work, gratitude, and servant leadership by helping build something alongside their family.

The dream is simple: to create a business that lasts beyond them — something their children, and maybe one day their children’s children, can be proud to carry forward.

Thank you for being part of the Gifts By Grace story. The business truly wouldn’t be here without the customers and community who continue to support it.