Today we’d like to introduce you to Mary Ortiz.
Mary, can you briefly walk us through your story – how you started and how you got to where you are today.
Born and raised in Oak Cliff in a super loving home with awesome parents who guided me to always work hard for the things we needed in life. My father was always working, but somehow always seemed present in my life. He hustled hard to provide for us, something I did not take for granted. I started working at the age of 15 as an intern at a talent agency. Once you start working, well, you can’t really stop. I was preparing for college and to start my life in the field of broadcast journalism and production. Fast-forward to now: I’m a full-time mom with a career as a communications director. I have two girls, who caused me to spend a lot of time on Etsy and other online shops to customize tees for every single occasion of their life – you know how that goes. Christmas 2016 my husband gifted me with a silhouette cameo. He said “since I know you love buying tees for the girls, thought you might like making them too”. I thought in my head, this was not on my wish list honey! In fact, it kind of just sat there for a few months – I was so intimidated! You know what got me to start cranking that bad boy up? My daughter started school and it hit me, I can totally start making tees for friends and family and save up for her tuition. Lo’ and behold, Nat & Cat Crafts became a hit with family and friends so I took it online to Facebook and Instagram.
Great, so let’s dig a little deeper into the story – has it been an easy path overall and if not, what were the challenges you’ve had to overcome?
When you start a business, it’s never a smooth road. When my husband and I decided we would take this to the social realm, we knew we would have custom orders for not just tees, but other custom items as well. We had to figure what made the most sense for us in terms of inventory for projects. At first, like most businesses, there was a lot of our money going into investments and not enough orders to cover all the costs. I also work full-time and so does my husband, so we needed to set apart time daily at night time (after girls bed time) to take orders, answer dm’s, watch tutorials, and create innovative social marketing. But let me tell you something, going that extra mile for a client such as a custom design, pinning ideas for them back and forth, sending them proofs and making sure they are 100% satisfied, along with a hand written card in their happy mail has helped boost our business remarkably.
Nat & Cat Crafts – what should we know? What do you guys do best? What sets you apart from the competition?
Nat & Cat Creative Crafts makes custom items for every occasion. We specialize in tees and wooden signs, but we are up to the creative challenge of making other crafts for clients that typically involve vinyl. Since I’m local, many clients also request to bring me items to be personalized. We tried the whole “collections” or pre-made designs, but our clients really just want a unique experience for their event. We work with their theme, their ideas and we make it special. It allows us to be a part of everyone’s BIG day in one way or another.
What moment in your career do you look back most fondly on?
We have had many proud moments, mostly when our customers can’t find anyone to do it “fast” enough. We’ve found that online customization takes 1-2 weeks but since we are local, we can typically turn it around much faster when needed. I had a mom who contacted me about personalizing a candle. I had never done a project like that, and this was a rush with a 2-day turnaround. I didn’t want to risk getting it wrong, so I told her I wasn’t able to do the project. This momma explained to me her story…this candle was for a baby she had lost and she had planned to go to a babyloss wavelight. I knew there was no way she would be able to order online and get it fast enough with as much personalization as she required. Her story hit close to home, the date for the baby’s passing, was the date my rainbow baby was born. I couldn’t say no. We made it happen and her response brought tears to my eyes. We made it PERFECT, she said. She could not believe that we worked so hard for a brand new client. That was a good day, and makes what we do very special.
Contact Info:
- Phone: 4698771020
- Email: MARYELIZABETH.ORTIZ@GMAIL.COM
- Instagram: @NatCatCrafts
- Facebook: @NatCatCrafts
Image Credit:
Beautiful Exposure Photography
Lydia J Photography
Samantha Thrasher Photography
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