How a Graphic Designer Built a Laser Engraving Business From Her Own Studio

Key Takeaways

• A graphic designer turned her digital skills into a hands-on laser engraving business — producing, testing, and selling products entirely in-house

• By bringing production into her own studio, she eliminated outsourcing, cut turnaround times, and took on more custom work

• She now hosts workshops and demos, building a creative community around the same tools that transformed her business

I've been a graphic designer for years. I'm good at making things look beautiful on a screen. But for the longest time, there was a gap between what I could design and what I could actually produce.

My name is Beverly Pennington, and I'm the founder of Soul & Grace Designs. I create custom products — everything from engraved wood and acrylic pieces to printed apparel — and I sell both finished goods and digital design files. Today, my entire operation runs out of my own studio, and every product I ship has been made by my own hands on my own machines.

That wasn't always the case.

From Outsourcing to In-House

Before I had xTool machines in my studio, every physical product meant outsourcing. Sample runs, custom orders, test prints — all of it went through a third party. That meant waiting days for something I could evaluate in minutes. It meant paying for samples that didn't turn out right. And it meant saying "no" to custom requests because the logistics just didn't make sense for small runs.

When I brought in my xTool laser machines and the xTool Apparel Printer, everything changed overnight.

Now I can take a design from my screen and put it on wood, acrylic, or a t-shirt within minutes. I test colors, scale, and placement in real time — right here, not through a vendor two states away. If something's off, I adjust it and run it again. No waiting. No back-and-forth emails. No wasted minimums.

That speed has completely changed how I run my laser engraving business. I say "yes" to projects I would have turned down before — small-batch custom orders, personalized items, one-off pieces for clients who need something unique. The flexibility to produce anything on demand, in-house, is the single biggest upgrade my business has ever had.

Testing Before Launching

One thing that doesn't get talked about enough in the laser engraving business world is how important real-time prototyping is.

I sell digital design files alongside finished products. Before I had my own machines, launching a new design file meant hoping it would translate well to the physical medium. Now I test every single file on the actual material before it goes live. I can see exactly how an engraving looks on walnut versus maple, how deep the cut needs to be on quarter-inch acrylic, how a print sits on a dark versus light garment.

That kind of quality control used to require outsourcing samples. Now it takes me ten minutes in my studio. It's made me more confident in every product I launch — and my customers notice the difference.

Building a Community

The part I didn't expect was the community side.

Once I had the machines set up and running, people started asking questions. Other designers wanted to know how I was producing in-house. Local makers wanted to see the machines in action. So I started hosting workshops, demos, and collaborative events right out of my studio.

I teach fellow creators how to use these tools, help them figure out what laser engraving projects would work for their own businesses, and walk them through everything from file setup to material selection. Some of them have gone on to start their own custom laser engraving businesses.

There's something incredibly rewarding about watching someone's face when they see a laser bring their design to life for the first time. That moment — when the digital becomes physical, right in front of their eyes — never gets old.

More Than Equipment

Starting a laser engraving business didn't just add a revenue stream. It changed how I think about my entire brand.

I'm not just a designer who sends files to a printer anymore. I'm a maker. I control the full process — concept, design, production, quality check, delivery. That end-to-end ownership has strengthened my brand, brought me closer to my customers, and given me a creative freedom I didn't have before.

Every workshop I host, every custom piece I deliver, every new laser engraving idea I test in my studio — it all feeds back into why I started Soul & Grace Designs in the first place: to turn creativity into something real, something people can hold in their hands.

And now I finally have the tools to do exactly that.

Beverly Pennington is the founder of Soul & Grace Designs, a custom product and digital design business. She creates engraved and printed products using xTool machines from her studio, and hosts workshops to help other creators build their own businesses.