Episode 4: Meet "Straight Steve"

Before we go any further…

We need to introduce you to someone.

Someone who has quietly been part of Sweet & Sour Saturdays from the very beginning.

He doesn’t design.

He doesn’t take orders.

He doesn’t run the business.

But somehow…

He might be the most intense quality control department we’ve ever had. (Okay, he’s actually the only quality control person we’ve ever had!)

Meet Steve,

Who Valerie and I now (respectfully and humorously) refer to as… "Straight Steve".

Steve is Valerie’s husband.

He is smart, funny, a faithful husband, and one of our most loyal followers.

And when we say loyal…

We mean...

FIRST ‘LIKE’ on Facebook.

Every.

Single.

Time.

We’re not even done posting, and somehow—boom—Steve’s already there.

We’re pretty sure he has notifications on.

We’re slightly concerned he might have alerts.

We wouldn’t be shocked if he has a dedicated “Sweet & Sour Surveillance System.”

Supportive? Absolutely.

Encouraging? Always.

But also… mildly terrifying.

Because here’s the thing about Steve.

He has this crazy ability to see level lines…

Like a hawk spotting a mouse…

from across the room…

with one eye closed.

"Straight Steve" sees things.

Things most people would scroll right past.

Things we confidently posted thinking, “NAILED IT.”

Things we zoomed in on and still said, “Yep… looks straight to me.”

"Straight Steve"?

"Straight Steve" sees the truth.

Like… A frame that’s leaning 0.2 degrees to the left.

A design that’s just a hair off-center.

A product photo that is technically straight…

We post it!

And without fail…

We’ll get the message.

“It’s not straight”.

Now listen.

To the average person?

It looks perfect.

To us?

It looked perfect.

To Straight Steve?

It looks like we photographed it during an earthquake, while juggling burning candles, with our eyes closed, and holding our camera sideways.

So naturally…

We named him.

"Straight Steve".

Because if it’s not straight?

He will notice it.

Immediately.

Without hesitation.

And as much as we hate to admit it…

He’s almost always right (We hate that for us)

There have been more than a few times when Valerie and I have been setting up product photos…

Adjusting.

Stepping back.

We’re tilting our heads like a dog trying to understand human words and scrunching our faces like we’re trying to think of a solution for the entire world’s problems…

And one of us will say:

“Wait… what’s "Straight Steve" going to say?”

And suddenly…

We don’t trust anything anymore.

And we’re defeated.

And laughing.

So we adjust it again.

Still not convinced.

We adjust it again…

And again…

And then one more time for emotional support.

At some point, we start considering tools...

“Should we get a level?”

“Do we need a ruler?”

“Will Straight Steve approve?”

Because once you know "Straight Steve" is out there with his finger hovering over that "Like" button…

He gets in your head and you can never unknow he’s there.

It’s like a blessing…

and a curse.

But seriously,

As much as we joke about it…

"Straight Steve" has made us better.

Better photos.

Better presentation.

Better attention to detail.

Because we don’t just want things to look good.

We want them to have the “Straight Steve” stamp of approval.

When we're creating something personal for someone…

The little things matter.

Even the really little things (Like 0.2 degrees)

So, the next time you see one of our product photos and think,

“Wow, that looks really clean…”

Just know…

After 174 adjustments

45 minutes

A few choice words

and at least one deep sigh...

It finally passed the “Straight Steve” test.

Coming up next…

Now that you’ve gotten to know one of the men behind the scenes…

It’s only fair we introduce ourselves.

Jen and Valerie — the creators of Sweet & Sour Saturday Crafts, LLC

We’ll let you in on how we finally settled on our brand and name.

We’ll also answer the real question everyone wants to know…

Who’s Sweet… and who’s Sour?

At Sweet & Sour Saturdays, we notice the little things — even the ones you didn’t know were there… Because life’s too short to gift boring!