01907magazine

J&J Graphics:
Noteworthy
achievements
Mother-son team Janice and
Jim Cohen launched their graphic
design business, J&J Graphics,
more than a decade ago. They
design and illustrate whimsical
products depicting New England
scenes and sports icons. Swampscott
scenes, for example, feature
dories off of Fisherman’s Beach,
the Fish House, the Olmsted
District and more.
It was an unlikely career move
if you had asked the pair back in
1990, when Jim was graduating
from Swampscott High and going
off to the University of Hartford
to play tennis and study communications.
He later earned his
bachelor’s degree in fine arts and
his Master’s in special education
from Curry College, but still didn’t
pursue a career in illustrating until
much later.
“I always liked to draw —
especially superheroes and sports
stars — but I was more into
“It was really eye-opening, I
was amazed at what could be
done on the computer. For our
final project, we had to design
a local scene — I chose downtown
Marblehead — and we
started thinking how we could
expand on that idea.”
-Janice Cohen
Jim and Janice Cohen of J&J Graphics work on one of their more popular prints featuring key players from Boston sports teams.
PHOTO SPENSER HASAK
A sampling of J&J Graphics’ whimsical note cards depicting Swampscott scenes and sports memories
including, clockwise from the top, the “Olmsted District,” “Fourth of July at Fisherman’s Beach,”
“Red Sox Opening Day” and “Entering Swampscott.”
playing sports back then,” said
Jim. “I took some courses at the
School of the Museum of Fine
Arts, and that was when I really
started enjoying my classes. But
I also wanted to give back after
I graduated… to give students
what I once received.”
Both Janice and Jim pursued
careers in education. Janice
taught fifth-grade at L. H.
Coffin Elementary School
in Marblehead and Jim was
a special education teacher
in Jamaica Plain. Janice also
dabbled in interior design, while
Jim spent three years working in
graphic design and marketing.
J&J was an opportunity to bring
their creative minds together,
under Janice’s roof.
While Jim had long been
proficient in design, Janice admits
she didn’t even know how
to turn on a computer before
she took a course in Adobe
Illustrator at North Shore
Community College.
“It was really eye-opening,”
she said. “I was amazed at what
could be done on the computer.
For our final project, we had to
design a local scene — I chose
downtown Marblehead — and
we started thinking how we
could expand on that idea.”
They started out designing
calendars and note cards in
2004 and have since expanded
to prints, posters, ceramic tiles,
mugs, T-shirts, banners, holiday
cards, needlepoint designs,
business cards and more. While
Jim favors the sports designs,
Janice, who moved from Revere
to Marblehead when she was
a teen, says certain “Old Town”
and seaside scenes have been
ingrained in her mind since
youth and have never lost their
special aura.
“Coming from a city, I never
imagined towns that looked as
picturesque as this,” she said.
She and her husband, Irwin,
now live in Salem, in the Village
of Vinnin Square, after 43 years
in Swampscott. Janice and Jim
work out of the home office and
all of their inventory is stored
there.
J&J Graphics features
hundreds of designs and also
accepts custom orders. At the
beginning, the business survived
thanks to Janice’s and Jim’s sales
efforts, a part of the business
that was new to them.
“Back then, we made cold
calls,” said Janice. “If it was
a shop that I would want to
go into, I’d go in. We’re both
relatively shy people, so that was
one of the biggest challenges in
getting this off the ground.”
Now they have four sales
reps and their products are sold
in nearly 70 shops throughout
Greater Boston, Cape Cod and
the Islands, New Hampshire,
Rhode Island and Maine. Irwin,
a retired accounting executive,
serves as J&J’s business
manager and maintains that
the Hub on Nantucket’s Main
Street produces the most sales
year-after-year. Customers can
also purchase products online or
when they spot J&J products at
holiday fairs and festivals. Online
sales have increased fivefold
since they launched an Etsy
shop in 2007. Locally, Swampscott
customers can find some
of their products at Newman’s
Bakery.
“It’s really been wonderful to
have this opportunity to work
with Jimmy and to do something
that we love,” said Janice.
SPRING 2018 | 19