{where it all began}

In 1993 my parents opened an upscale children’s resale store.  Somewhere around 1995/1996 my Dad was inspired by custom shirts.  Dine-A-Shirt {anyone remember this place?} was the new kiosk at the mall, it had everything he loved.  The most current technology right there for everyone to see.  You could take a photo and put it on a shirt, coffee mug or mousepad in a matter of minutes.  He was enamored, he was convinced this was the million dollar idea.  The timing was perfect because he was out of work at the time so he went and bought all of the equipment and we began experimenting in our kitchen.  Once we mastered it, it was set up inside our store for our customers to enjoy.  Custom shirts, sweatshirts, mousepads, coffee mugs, children’s books, keychains and picture frames.  You name it, we could personalize it.  

I will never forget sitting around a campfire with my family and friends in Lake George, NY when I was a freshman in high school.  He was trying to convince us all that this was going to be big one day.  It seemed silly to me at the time, but he was 100% right, “there is money in shirts” is what he always said.  Trust me, I will never forget it, he reminds me every single time we talk about my Etsy shop and how much it has grown in such a short time.

He soon went back to work, and since my Mom was what we always called, “technologically challenged” the custom stuff sort of fell by the wayside.  She went back to the resale business, which is what she did best, and the equipment found its place in our basement.

Straight out of college in 2005 I joined my family business and it was amazing.  Our customers became friends and our days were spent chatting about current fashion trends and sharing knowledge about the best children’s goods on the market.

In 2009 my husband (then fiancee) was offered a job opportunity in Los Angeles.  My Mom could not let me pass up the chance to join him so she told me to go and she would take care of the store.  We stayed for a little over 2-years.  In that time, I worked in visual merchandising at Urban Outfitters and then in the back office for a clothing line and private label boutique chain in Beverly Hills and Santa Monica.  It was an incredible experience, and one that I will definitely be talking more about.  The life and travel experience I gained in those 2-short years was irreplaceable - not to mention the professional knowledge and friendships I developed.

I am forever grateful for my Mom encouraging me to do it - I’m not sure I would have gone without her blessing.  She had been diagnosed with Parkinson’s Disease a few years prior and I was nervous to leave, but it all worked out perfect in the end.

We were married in July of 2010 and moved back to our hometown a year later {yes we grew up together} and I was back in the store with my Mom full time.  Our customers were constantly looking for big brother/big sister shirts, birthday celebration outfits and holiday shirts for their kiddos so we decided to give the personalization another go.  Believe it or not, we incorporated some of the equipment from the 90’s, some of which I still use today {they just don’t build things like they used to, right?} and we added some updated machines and computer software.  It was a great addition to our business and I just loved making people’s vision come to life on a shirt for them.    

Fast forward to December 2014, after I had 2 babies in 2 years, we closed up shop.  21-successful years in business and it was time to let my Mom be a full time Grandma and thankfully my husband’s job allowed me to be a full time Mommy at the same time.  

The next few years didn’t go as planned.  My Mom was diagnosed with a form of Cancer called Multiple Myeloma in May of 2015 and our new full-time job consisted of chemotherapy treatments, hospital stays and minor (sometimes major) procedures.  A week before the birth of my third baby we were given the best news we could hope for, my Mom was in remission and could discontinue her treatments.  November 9, 2016 Tyson completed our family and we were back to enjoying every minute - only with a greater sense of appreciation.  It’s amazing to learn first hand that everything does happen for a reason and we are all part of a bigger plan.

Once things settled down and we got used to life with 3 kids under 5, I decided to start up my Etsy shop with the help of my Mom.  She is hands on with the kids while I make the shirts and with bigger orders she helps fold and pack them to perfection.  

In just 6 short months I hit 500 orders.  I literally still squeal inside {sometimes out loud} every time an order comes through, and my Dad is still reminding me that there is money in shirts {22-years later}.