Featured Mom: Flowerz In Her Hair
Our latest interview is with Amy Jackson, a creative Utah mama whose journey led her from the corporate world to working from home! Learn more about her story below!
01. Tell us a little about yourself!
I am a happily married (13 yrs ) mother of 3. 2 Boys Mclayne 12, Chandler 8 & a little girl Delaney is 5. Along with my home based businesses I am also the Vice President of our City Youth Football program. I am also active in my church and volunteer quite a bit of time there. My children are all very active in sports which takes up a lot of our evenings but I wouldnt’ change a thing. I love watching them grow and excel and succeed in what they enjoy doing.
02. What lead you to creating your own business?
I have a degree in business but quit working in the corporate world when Chandler was 15 mo old so I could be home with my 2 boys. I began watching other people’s children in my home so that I still had some income. When I was pregnant with Delaney (the first girl in my family of 10 grandsons) I started looking for hair accessories but was always disappointed with low quality and high boutique prices so I started making my own bows. Flowerz In Her Hair was actually created by a wonderful lady who decided after a couple of years that she wanted her life to take a different route so she put the business up for sale. In January of 2009 I purchased Flowerz In Her Hair. I have kept the same concepts of the site and products but added several of my own creations as well as tried to keep up with the trends.
03. Describe a typical day in the life of YOU!
I still babysit a bit so a typical day is getting my own kids up and going and receiving other people’s kids. First thing I do is check my e-mail and answer anything that is urgent. After everyone is fed and ready I can usually sneak in an hour or two of bow/flower making. Then it’s time for lunch before I know it. After everyone is down for naps, I continue filling orders and getting orders ready that need to ship that afternoon. I’m always checking e-mails and staying connected through twitter and FB. By 3pm my kids are home and we start homework and shipping. I print labels and send my hubby off to the post office. After all the extra kiddos get picked up I start dinner, we eat, then hubby cleans up and I get to the serious work. I have a very supportive husband who takes over in the evening so I can fill orders, answer e-mails and make changes to the website. He does baths, stories, and bedtime and sometimes when I’m really busy I can even recruit him to make some flower clips.
04. What is your best piece of advice for fellow WAHMs?
My advice to other WAHM is LOVE what you do. If you don’t love it’s not worth it. It is really hard to work at home and I love what I which makes it worth it to me. Also try and involve your family. If your kids are old enough give them “jobs” that help you out. My kids love to “work” for me.
05. The best part of being a WAHM? The worst?
The best part is I love what I do and I get to be home with my kids doing what I love. The worst part is, I never get to leave my job. It’s here all the time and I feel like sometimes I work 7 days a week 24 hours a day and if I had a regular job it would only be 40 hours a week 
06. Favourite blog? Music? Book? Movie?
I love a lot of different blogs but I love personal ones the best. Where people share their lives and help encourage other’s through their own experiences. My favorite music is anything that gets me moving. I like pop, rock and pretty much everything. I’m an avid reader but I can never pick a favorite but I love John Grisham books, and I mostly read fiction. I enjoy any movie that entertains me. I’m not picky, if it was entertaining in some way I liked it.
07. Where do you see yourself in 5 years?
In 5 years I hope that my business is still growing. I love making bows for the everyday mom, but I am also trying to get into selling more wholesale. Especially as my children get older and I can travel more and do more marketing I hope to see my business grow.
Find Amy online!
Shop :: Facebook :: 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!
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!
