Featured Mom: MLE Jewelry
Hello! Today we’re chatting with Melissa Estrada of MLE Jewelry, who’s spur of the moment decision three years ago landed her a fun new side-gig as the creator of some seriously lovely jewelry.
01. Tell us a little about yourself!
My name is Melissa and I am 31 years old. I am an elementary school teacher in San Diego, California. Also, I am the single mother of my adorable 15-month old boy who keeps me very busy. I love making modern jewelry, but unfortunately I do not have a lot of spare time. Whenever my son naps or during the night, that is the time when I can create my jewelry.
02. What lead you to creating your own business?
About three years ago, I was at a trolley station and saw a pamphlet for jewelry classes. I thought to myself, “why not?” I decided to take some jewelry classes and all of a sudden, I had a lot of jewelry items. Then, I decided to sell my handmade jewelry at private parties. One day, someone told me about Etsy and that is how I decided to open up my little shop there.
03. Describe a typical day in the life of YOU!
A typical day in my life is going to work, returning home to my son, having dinner, putting my son to sleep, make some jewelry and going to bed. On the weekend, I only have time for my son!
04. What is your best piece of advice for fellow WAHMs?
The best advise I could give to other woman just opening a shop like mine on Etsy is to be patient and not to give up! I am barely starting making sales, but I am not giving up. I am trying to market my shop a little more and hopefully with time, more people will know about it.
05. The best part of being a WAHM? The worst?
I am not a WAHM, but I would love to stay at home and spend more time with my son.
06. Favourite music? Book? Movie?
I like classical music, pop, alternative music and enjoy reading fiction books. I love going to the movies, although it has been awhile now since I have not had an opportunity of enjoying a good movie in a long time 
07. Where do you see yourself in 5 years?
I see myself in five years hopefully having more sales in my Etsy shop ( www.mlejewelry.etsy.com ) and enjoying life with my son 
Shop online at MLE Jewelry!
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Désirée Fawn is a blogger/doula from Ontario where she lives with her 2-year-old daughter, Gretchen.
She blogs at So Fawned.
Follow @sofawned on Twitter!
Home Office Design With Making It Lovely’s Nicole Balch
One of my very favourite design bloggers is currently working to improve her home office space and I just spied a little video tour on her site that I’d love to share with you fine folks.
Nicole Balch is the brilliant mama-of-two behind Making It Lovely — and incredibly sweet and informative lifestyle and design blog, capturing all sorts of neat trends, while following her life as a new mother of two sweet-as-can-be kiddos. I’ve been reading her blog for a few years now (back when she was pregnant with her first babe) and it’s been so fun to watch her transform her space, and now that she is conquering her (already pretty fabulous) home office, I can’t wait to see how things will turn out!
She’s already got some great ideas, as you’ll see in her video — and maybe you’ll even spy an idea that you can bring into your OWN home office space!
Click here to watch the video!
I really love how she’s already been incorporating her children into her workspace. We can’t always keep the babies at bay when we’re working from home, and so it’s great to see design which brings them right into the space. Nicole’s little table for her daughter, and area for her son are two fun ways to keep your kids entertained and happy while mama types or creates! Maybe it even helps our little ones find their own creative, entrepreneurial selves — only time will tell!
Visit Making It Lovely for more adventures with this oh so stylish mama. She’s also the brains behind Pink Loves Brown, currently on hiatus while Nicole enjoys time with the newest member of her family.
Follow @makingitlovely on Twitter or check her out on Facebook. You also don’t want to miss out on her Pinterest picks — brilliant!
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Désirée Fawn is a blogger/doula from Ontario where she lives with her 2-year-old daughter, Gretchen.
She blogs at So Fawned.
Follow @sofawned on Twitter!
Featured Mom: Three Peas Co
Today we’re chatting with the lovely Antoinette Newhouse from Three Peas Co! Find out how this mom-of-three let her creative side lead her to a brand new, fulfilling career!
01. Tell us a little about yourself!
I am a stay at home mom that has three children (2 boys and a girl) and a loving husband that is also my business partner. We live in Ventura, California which is conveniently nestled between Los Angeles and Santa Barbara. I started my career in Nursing but switched to Real Estate then along came a gift, our baby boy. This changed my complete outlook on life and what I valued, family first.
02. What lead you to creating your own business?
Three Peas Co was developed during the search to find fun and funky hair bows for our daughter Paisley Jo. Hair Bows in the mass merchant stores, Baby Boutiques and Children’s Boutiques did not satisfy our style. Being crafty and creative, I designed some Hair Bows that matched our style and Paisley Jo started to wear them. During the course of wearing the hair bows in public people (both men and women) were drawn to the beauty of the hair bows and would ask “where did you find them”? This question led to being asked to make some for others who liked our style and creativity.
Customers loved the style of the hair bows which lead them to ask if we could make baby clothes, kids clothing, tween, teen & women’s apparel along with custom designs for celebrities. Celebrities that have worn Three Peas Co include Noah Cyrus, Emily Grace Reeves, Brittany Curran, Keana Texeira, Christa Texeira, Sophie Texeira, Allyson Arms, Madison Delagarza, Destinee & Paris Monroe, Ashley Benson, Jackson Rathbone, to name a few. Three Peas Co apparel has been used for Red Carpet Events, Film, TV and Print publications.
03. Describe a typical day in the life of YOU!
There is “No” such thing as a typical day in my life. From three kids with each their own personalities to receiving last minute calls from our publicist for a last minute celebrity design to meeting with my husband about business, the day never begins or starts the same. My focus for each day is to engage with all: my kids through experiential play, customers through social networks and people involved in the business with an email, call or in person. Finally, I try to each and every day take time to explore creative design ideas.
04. What is your best piece of advice for fellow WAHMs?
My advice is to be centered on family and “Dare to Lead” in your life, with family, personal or in business. Reach out to those around for assistance but also get others opinions that have an unbiased view for your designs and company. You will receive advice from so many that you need to learn how to filter this information and have a trusted group surrounding you. After my near death experience early this year I believe in our business motto more than ever.
05. The best part of being a WAHM? The worst?
The best part is being around my family and being there to experience the children’s milestones and little things that are priceless. The worst aspect every day is time. How does 24 hours go by so quickly? Our toughest subject is seeing others copy my designs and even marketing strategies. We change the website background than it seems like overnight others have changed to copy ours. The process gets a little frustrating at times; yet pushes us to continue dreaming up leading designs.
06. Favourite blog? Music? Book? Movie?
Favorite Blog: The Graphics Fairy
Music: Jack Johnson, Fleetwood Mac, Keana Texeira, Katy Perry, Taylor Swift
Book: Who Moved My Cheese
Movie: Patch Adams, Miracle on 34th
07. Where do you see yourself in 5 years?
Wow, I think about this all time because we (my husband) and I constantly are discussing our family and business future and what steps we are taking to make these visions come true.
Visit Three Peas Co online, check out their blog, YouTube, Flickr & Facebook. Also be sure to follow @threepeasco on Twitter!
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Désirée Fawn is a blogger/doula from Ontario where she lives with her 2-year-old daughter, Gretchen.
She blogs at So Fawned.
Follow @sofawned on Twitter!
BlogHer Handmade: Are You Going?
I think by now we’ve all heard about BlogHer and their fabulous yearly blogging conference (which I hope to meet some of you at!) but do you know about BlogHer Handmade?
This year, the lovely folks over at BlogHer are teaming up with the brilliant minds behind The Creative Connection to bring you a jam-packed handmade, social media, entrepreneur and food extravaganza! BlogHer Handmade will run September 15-17th, 2011 at the Crowne Plaza Hotel in St. Paul, Minnesota and promises to be QUITE the affair!
From the event’s website:
We are partnering with the pioneering women behind The Creative Connection to serve two active and eager communities:
- Women who have turned their handmade creativity into enviable small businesses and who want to learn more about how to use social media to promote and distribute their work
- Women who are blogging their handmade creativity and building loyal, enthusiastic supporters, and who want to learn more about how to take their craft to the next level and turn a hobby into a business
CLICK HERE for more info about this spectacular event!
Stay up to date with exciting event news via The Creative Connection’s Twitter & Facebook!
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Désirée Fawn is a blogger/doula from Ontario where she lives with her 2-year-old daughter, Gretchen.
She blogs at So Fawned.
Follow @sofawned on Twitter!
Home Office Tour: The Big Transformation
I’m so excited to show off a new feature on the blog this week, mes amis! For a while I’ve been toying with the idea of sharing some really neat home office tours on Mom Made That! and today I’m bringing you a very special tour, from the partner of a blogger you may very well know and love!
I’ve been reading Annie’s blog, PhD in Parenting, for several years now, and so I was honoured when her partner agreed to show off his home workspace. Check out the story behind this unique “office” and find out how this family found some much needed space in an unlikely place!
From Annie’s partner: “I have been a stay-at-home dad for five years while pursuing my graduate studies. Our house is not very big, so we were looking for a solution to have a home office and maybe also to add a guest room and a second bathroom. Since adding rooms or a floor were prohibitively expensive for us, we looked at our underused detached two-car garage. I totally gutted it, insulated it, put in new windows and a new floor and after two years of long work in the evenings and on weekends, we now have a “guest house” with a huge office, a guest room and an extra bathroom. Luckily, my father-in-law owns a hardware store, so we got a good price on the materials.”
“It is very nice to work in this room, physically separated from the main house (and the screaming children), without having to worry about leaving papers lying around only to find it decorated with crayon drawings by the kids. The only issue was the internet connection, since we live in a rural area without high-speed access. However, through a wireless provider we now have a relatively decent internet access most of the time.”
What a great space! After reading this I feel like I’d LOVE to have a home office just outside my main house… how quaint would it be to have a little spot, all to yourself, in your yard or somewhere on your property? For those of us with tiny homes, this might not be an easy task, but with a bit of creativity, I think we could all come up with a solution that works for us! Feel free to share your ideas in the comments!
Have any of you taken on a transformation like this one? If you have a great home office space to show off, big or small, just send an email to desireefawn at gmail.com with the subject line “Home Office Tour”. We’d love to feature you on the blog! Ciao!
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Désirée Fawn is a blogger/doula from Ontario where she lives with her 2-year-old daughter, Gretchen.
She blogs at So Fawned.
Follow @sofawned on Twitter!
Featured Moms: LaDy LaDuke
Today we’re chatting with the lovely ladies behind LaDy LaDuke — creators of some very stylish nursing covers, nursery decor and other accessories for fashionable mamas! Find out how these two sisters handle running a business together!
01. Tell us a little about yourselves!
We are Courtney and Betina…sisters, mothers, co-owners, creators and designers of LaDy LaDuke…Unique Items For Mothers & Women. We grew up sharing a room, playing dress up, and looking through our Mom’s old Vogue patterns, but never really knew until starting our handmade business that we had planted in us a design seed waiting to grow.
02. What lead you to creating your own business?
We were at the Halloween pumpkin patch with our sister-in-law, who was trying to nurse her newborn, while chasing her toddler, while tugging at the back of her shirt to keep it in place, and we thought, why not make something that really works for breastfeeding, mobile moms! After research and prototypes, we came up with our “Feeder Frock” nursing cover invention, and opened our Etsy shop to sell it. We now have over 25 unique Feeder Frock styles and more.
03. Describe a typical day in the life of YOU!
I get up early and check e-mails, etc. Betina and I live in nearby cities, so we communicate via e-mail a lot. Then, I sew orders, package them, and try to make the last shipping time at 3:00. After orders are out, I can check in with customers, check in on social networks, tend to our blog, tend to my husband, etc. I sew again in the evenings before and after dinner. All regular household chores are running at the same time that I’m sewing, like laundry, breaking for cleaning, etc. I make checklists daily to complete what I have to do, so that I can make it!
04. What is your best piece of advice for fellow WAHMs?
Don’t ever doubt your abilities or what you can accomplish. You just have to decide that you will do something, and you’ll notice that the more you do, the more you can do. You also never know what you can do until you do it. So always push forward and try, and if you didn’t get to it today, try again tomorrow!
05. The best part of being WAHMs? The worst?
There is real freedom in being your own boss, working in your home. Moms lose themselves a bit while raising kids and being selfless in that respect. Having your own personal goals and achievements through your business can keep you happy, sane and satisfied, making you an even better Mom. The worst part of working at home is juggling the business and family, when there is no distance from the work place. You don’t get to punch in and check out, and go home to family. It’s all right there, all of the time.
06. Favourite blog? Music? Book? Movie?
Blog: NiceGirlNotes…www.nicegirlnotes.com Music: Too much to name…Chopin, Rolling Stones, Bluegrass, Alternative, INXS, Heart. Book: All Jane Austen Movie: Pride and Prejudice
07. Where do you see yourselves in 5 years?
We see our brand bigger, with more to offer…being the place that Moms think of not only for something they need that solves their problems, but for something they want, because it is special and chic. All the while, never losing our custom, personal handmade relationship with our customers.
Visit LaDy LaDuke online or check the Mommy LaDy Club! They can also be found on Facebook, YouTube & Twitter.
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Desiree Fawn is a blogger/doula from Ontario where she lives with her 2-year-old daughter, Gretchen.
She blogs at So Fawned.
Follow @sofawned on Twitter!
One Year Of Freelance: A Business Woman’s Journey
Back in April I mentioned one particularly savvy business woman, who was working solely freelance for the first time in her design career. Kathleen, of Jeremy & Kathleen, isn’t a work at home mama, but I’ve found the incredibly detailed journey of her first freelancing year to be inspiring, honest and bold. She loves to share her life through her blog and now, after one full year of freelance, she’s recapped her experiences — and it’s absolutely worth a peek!
Check out her look back here, and tiptoe through her discoveries and triumphs as she faces them all, head-on! This is one gal who doesn’t look back and I think we’ll be seeing some GREAT things from her in the future.
Visit Jeremy & Kathleen for more, and be sure to check out Kathleen’s contributions to the Twittersphere by following @andkathleen!
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Desiree Fawn is a blogger/doula from Ontario where she lives with her partner & daughter.
She blogs at So Fawned.
Follow @sofawned on Twitter!
Featured Mom: Katie Newman Gifts & Home
Happy weekend, everyone! Today we’ve got a great interview with Katie Newman of Katie Newman Gifts & Home! One busy mama with a ton of entrepreneurial influence! Read on to learn more about her two great sites & her plans for the future.
01. Tell us a little about yourself!
I have chosen to stay home with my children for the past 15 years. I have one 15 year old daughter and one 9 year old son; they are the light of my life. Prior to having children I worked for The Ritz Carlton Hotel and Colgate/Palmolive Company in sales and marketing so while I have loved being home with my children I also need an outlet for the driven and creative sides of myself as well as some supplemental income so I started an online boutique selling things I love such as cottage decor. It is still going strong; it’s called Katie Newman Gifts & Home. I also just recently started a new venture that has gotten a great response. It is an online mall called Sassy Shops, where shops pay to have their business in my mall. I heavily promote Sassy Shops all over the internet and on most social networks as well. It saves the shops the time of marketing (which is in itself a full time job) and gives them more time to create their products and spend time with their family. I have a special place in my heart for helping other women stay home with their children.
02. What lead you to creating your own business?
I was lead to create my own business because I have a very ambitious driven personality and while I have loved being home with my children I needed an outlet for that business and creative side of myself and need to make some money to supplement my husband’s income.
03. Describe a typical day in the life of YOU!
A typical day in my life is getting my kids off to school in the mornings (unless it’s summer; that’s a whole different ballgame) and then sometimes I take a little nap because I am such a night owl (I sometimes work on my sites till the wee hours after the kids have gone to bed). Then after coffee, morning devotion time and sometimes a little exercise I settle down at my computer to check all my emails (which is a lot with two businesses); I answer them and process any orders. I then get on some of the major social networks and market the shops who are advertising in Sassy Shops, spend some time looking for new places to advertise on the internet, do link exchanging, list products in my boutique if needed and lots of other internet related activities. I then break to do some of my household chores but am soon back on the computer.
04. What is your best piece of advice for fellow WAHMs?
The best piece of advice I can give to fellow WAHMs is that you must not overlook the marketing aspect of your business. You can create all the beautiful products in the world but if no one knows about them you won’t be able to sell them. It’s an ongoing process that can’t be ignored. I would also say to be persisent but also patient because it can take some time to become known.
05. The best part of being a WAHM? The worst?
The best part about being a WAHM is that your family can still come first because you are your own boss and can make your own hours. You determine your success; not someone else. The worst part is that you can become distracted and can’t always work on your business when you want to; you have to be flexible and it can be very inconsistent. Some months you will do better financially than others; there is no exact paycheck you can count on which is sometimes a bummer.
06. Favourite blog? Music? Book? Movie?
My favorite blog is Counting Your Blessings: Lovely Blogs Non-Party, because it has links to lots of other beautiful blogs. My favorite music is contemporary christian music but I also love some of the classic rock and roll and some of the new age like Enya. My favorite book is Friendship Bread; a great novel; you should definitely read it. My favorite movie is Father of the Bride and P.S. I Love You. Also the Twilight Series which you can blame on my teenage daughter.
07. Where do you see yourself in 5 years?
In five years I see myself still working on these two businesses and hopefully helping lots of other WAHMs with their businesses.
Find Katie online at Sassy Shops (and their Facebook page), Katie Newman Gifts & Home (and their Facebook page). You can also check out the Sassy Savvy Gal blog and be sure to follow @SassyShopKatie on Twitter!
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Desiree Fawn is a blogger/doula from Ontario where she lives with her partner & daughter.
She blogs at So Fawned.
Follow @sofawned on Twitter!
Baby Steps To A Green Home Office
I think it’s safe to say that most of us would love to have a reasonably eco-friendly home office. Some of us might be especially GREEN friendly folks, or maybe when it comes to our utility bills, we’d just like to see a bit of savings! Whatever your motivation may be, it’s one thing to say “I want to go green!” and another thing entirely to do it!
So how do we start? What’s the first baby step on the way to a green(er) home office? I’ve put together a few great posts that chat about just this topic! From power saving tips to eco-friendly products, I hope you’ll all feel inspired by some of these suggestions!
- How To Make Your Home Office Green via Re-Nest
- 10 Ways To Green Your Home Office via GeekSugar
- Create A Healthy Home Office via Natural Home & Garden
- 9 Tips to Make Your Home Business More Eco Friendly via Green SAHM
- 8 Eco-Friendly Home Office Ideas via Style At Home
What do you do to stay GREEN in your home office?
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Desiree Fawn is a blogger/doula from Ontario where she lives with her partner & daughter.
She blogs at So Fawned.
Follow @sofawned on Twitter!
6 Great Books For Crafty Indie Business Owners!
Doing what you LOVE for a living is the dream, right? And if you happen to be a crafty mama, supporting your family via your handmade delights is an incredible testament to what we’re all hoping for. Today I’m excited to share a few of my favourite crafty indie biz books with you!
Hopefully you’ll find a spark of inspiration here today!
Enjoy!
The Handmade Marketplace: How to Sell Your Crafts Locally, Globally, and On-Line
A really neat book, recommended by several of my craft-minded pals! This one’s loaded with great information — a must have for your collection.
Craft, Inc.: Turn Your Creative Hobby into a Business
These two wonderful resources, both written by Meg Mateo Ilasco, are perfect for anyone who is just starting to get their crafty business up and running!
The Savvy Crafters Guide To Success: Turn Your Crafts Into A Career
This book is full of tips from those who are making it work — a great one to have on hand!
How to Make Money Using Etsy: A Guide to the Online Marketplace for Crafts and Handmade Products
We’d all love to make our “millons” on Etsy, and some truly are! Get one step closer with this fabulous resource.
Crafty Superstar: Make Crafts on the Side, Earn Extra Cash, and Basically Have It All
Love this cheeky book — and yes, we can ALL have it ALL!
Do you have a favourite crafty biz book to share?
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Desiree Fawn is a blogger/doula from Ontario where she lives with her partner & daughter.
She blogs at So Fawned.
Follow @sofawned on Twitter!
