it’s been on my heart for the past couple of months to share more about my shop than just some pretty product pictures. i wanted to share how i came about sewing in a most unconventional manner, how having this small indie business has boosted my confidence, morale & enhanced my lifestyle. i feel like i have so much to say — definitely more than will fit in one blog post.
i want to help others who may be just starting their journey into the handmade community or those who are looking for a gentle push towards the next level in owning a small biz. while i don’t claim to know it all, i feel like i’ve learned so much & it’s my turn to help others. i hope you’ll stick around in the coming months as i share little snippets of information, advice & helpful tips that i’ve learned along the road — all these little pearls of knowledge will be enough to get you started on the road to owning, operating & loving your own successful shop!!
but today i want to share more about how i got started with Marine Parents — the shop!
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eighteen months ago, i couldn’t sew a straight line to save my life. shocking i know — i’ve always been crafty, ready to take on a big, sparkly, fabric-y project…. as long as it didn’t involve a sewing machine. two years into our marriage, i found out my husband could sew {!!!} & i obviously employed him as my personal sewist, making me all sorts of fun & pretty things {a cover for my kindle, a few wet bags during our cloth diapering days, some reusable snack bags}.
as my list continued to grow of items he had made for me, a few of my friends began requesting similar items, which he grudgingly sewed after working all day to make a few extra bucks. shortly after requests began coming in for these items, i opened an etsy shop — we called it The Threaded Needle at the time & sold a variety of hodge podge items. caleb would patiently try to teach me how to sew every now & then with little to no success.
the day finally came when caleb was not around to sew an order that needed to go out that day – & so i swallowed my fear, sewed a total of ten stitches & popped that little package in the mail. since that day, i haven’t looked back. it’s been a whirlwind of fabric, new sewing machines & taking over all available {& sometimes finagling for already occupied} closet space to store all of the supplies & goods that now make up the Marine Parents shop.
last year, when we moved to california, i decided to take the plunge & make Marine Parents more than just a hobby. i bought a new, stronger sewing machine & set to work making a variety of products. i changed the name of the shop from The Threaded Needle to Marine Parents to match my blog {for cohesive branding}. i invested in a nicer camera, read about proper lighting for product photography & studied product descriptions from shops that i admired. i built my shop as i would a business — && it immediately began paying off.
i made sure to really invest in my customers — many of them were fans & readers from my blog that i had befriended over the previous years. still others were random new friends who found me through etsy search engines. everyone helped spread the word of my shop & my clientele continued to grow — & grows still to this day!!
i never tire of hearing buyers, fans & friends compliment me on my customer service — this was one part of my business that i wanted to focus on as part of my key to success. a previous mentor had once told me that you don’t have to respond to every email, tweet or message — & i believed that for awhile. but when i put myself on the other side of the equation {being the one sending the emails, tweets or messages in hopes of a response} i realized that the aforementioned advice was following in poor customer service. i started delving into intentional interaction with my fans & my sales nearly doubled the next month!!
i began tweaking my products as i continued to learn more & more about sewing. i learned so much from a dear blogging friend, see kate sew — from making sweet zipper pouches to understanding the working mechanisms of a sewing machine + more. i googled tutorials, i took tons & tons of custom orders {hey — i still do!!} & learned as i went. listening & paying attention to what my customers wanted to shop for played hand in hand with my “customer is key” business ethos. i quickly became attuned to fabrics that my clientele loved just as much as i did. i found a flirty & feminine style that my customers could relate with & love as their own.
even now, almost two years into this fantastic venture, i’m still learning — i hope to never stop learning!! i hope to never stop loving my customers, my crazy work hours into the wee hours of the night, the feeling of butterflies in my stomach when my phone chimes for a new order in my shop.
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stay tuned for future posts — i have more on my heart to share about how God continues to bless me by allowing me to share my spiritual gifts through sewing {don’t worry – i’ll explain that little bit later!}. i’ll also be writing up some short, sweet & helpful posts as we learn the “back end” of owning a business together!!
read part two of my sewing story here!
{ 16 comments… read them below or add one }
Love it! Thanks for sharing this with all of us who adore you…it helps us see that you’re not just the “sewing machine” but the creative spirit as well! Praying for you as you continue your journey! I’m so thankful I’ve been blessed by your heart!
jill, you are such a fantastic support for me!! i am so glad that we’ve connected these past few months!!
lovely, dear
And all because of a little Sophie leash, which we still have (put away) waiting for the next time it needs to keep track of a Sophie. I’m so proud of you.
ah, i should have put a big shout-out to you in the post — it WAS your sophie leash after all
i bet that thing is going to be worth millions one day {hahahah! totally kidding…. or am i??}
you are an inspiration! thanks for sharing!
thanks erika!! sometimes it all still seems so…. surreal? but definitely fun & i hope i can encourage as many other people as possible!!
Loved this post! I’d love to do what you do someday- I am so intimidated and frustrated by my machine.
girl, i’ve been there!! just keep trying :]
I love your story and I adore you! You and your work is beautiful! I love how you interact with your customers so well. I use your products every single day. Especially my kindle case and black (zig zag) and red ruffled pouch (i keep it in my purse and it holds my lip sticks, lotion and brush. Love it!
sarah, thank you SO much for your wonderful support & friendship! i miss your sweet spirit & lovely face so much! thank you so much for your encouragement, friend!
I love learning about how you got started! I can wait for more and to learn and implement all your tips!
thanks, erin!! i can’t wait to share more — whenever amelia will let me sit down to write haha!
I’ve only been hanging around for a few short weeks, but I could actually tell that you approach your shop with a head for business. Keep up the awesomeness!
Enjoyed this post. It’s amazing what we don’t know that husbands can do. My hubby can sew on buttons and put on his own stripes b4 he met me. Then I’d put on his stripes, and mine as well. He still mends by hand once in awhile, like a pant’s pocket that rips out when it should be strong enough! LOL! Love your story and keep on learning. I am constantly working at being a better photographer. Not listening to people that say, it’s ok, you can just crop it! NOT! That’s not the way I function. :0- keep on growing and learning and enjoying your sewing and photography skills and helping others learn when asked. I do and it amazes people when I give them easy ideas that help them be better in their work! God bless and hugs to ya!
April, I looove this! I think it’s awesome that your husband did all the sewing at first, and bravo for you being brave enough to make those first few stitches!
Looking forward to more posts on this subject. I’ve had a shop for several years, but I still feel stuck, like my business is never going to really “take off”, you know? Hope to learn lots from you, dear! xoxo!
So fun reading your story. I was totally floored to hear it all started with your husband sewing!!! Love it
Can’t wait to read more
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