Daily Inspiration: Meet Myiesha Davis

Today we’d like to introduce you to Myiesha Davis.

Hi Myiesha, please kick things off for us with an introduction to yourself and your story.
Well, it all started at the end of 2019. When events would come up like the Saint Patrick’s Day parade, or dress up day at work or something of that nature would come up, I would always end up looking for someone that could make my friends a me a tutu, but every year we had no luck. Around December 2019, I finally asked myself “Why haven’t you tried doing this on your own?!” I finally googled a few different websites, and watched multiple YouTube videos and decided to give it a try. Let me say, looking back at it now (& yes, I still have it), my first tutu was a hot mess, but at the time I was extremely proud of myself! I’d finally done what I’d been searching high and low for someone else to do.

Well, after that, I let it go for a while, being consumed with work and other personal things, I just didn’t have time for it. Fast forward about 3 months, and around March 2020, the whole world basically went on lockdown due to the virus. Unable to go to work, or even leave the house, I picked up on the tutus again and decided to perfect the craft. I began ordering materials like tulle and elastic, and continued watching all the videos I could find. I found a lady in Kentucky who has a business making them, and began asking her everything I could think of, and to my surprise, she was more than happy to help. I later came across ribbon trimmed tutus and saw how popular they were and knew I just had to give them a try.

My only hindrance there was that I didn’t know the FIRST thing about sewing! Everybody was getting into their home craft projects around that time, so it took me weeks to actually find a sewing machine. Every online website I went to was sold out. After about a month of searching, I finally found one, and my mom came to teach me how to sew. That day was when I completed my first ribbon trimmed tutu, and before I knew it, my bedroom was covered in puffy tutus and ribbon trimmed tutus of all sizes. I had to order a clothing rack and hangers from Amazon, and began figuring out a way to store everything. Well, while having a conversation with my mom, she said “You need to figure out something to do with all of these things.”

I agreed, but wasn’t really confident enough in my work yet to tell others about it. I continued working, and finally decided to post pictures on Facebook (it was the most gut cringing thing!). The positive feedback was definitely more than I expected. I began getting a lot of private messages inquiring about purchases and doing custom tutus. I now had more than enough time, so I thought “Why not?” I began buying bulk orders of tulle in every color and buying the giant rolls of elastic. Lol I had no idea where I was going with it, but I began praying and asking God for the help, and most importantly, the guidance. Fast forward to Fall 2020, and I was in a place I’d never thought I’d be.

Orders were coming in from all over Dallas, and from people that I’d never met a day in my life. One friend pushed me to try some thing new (tutu aprons) and to try different cuts as well. My sister, who also has a full time business of her own, talked to me about opening my own Etsy shop. The thought of that made my heart drop. Opening an Etsy shop meant that my products wouldn’t only be going out in Dallas, but all over America! Again, I had to sit back and think for a minute. Now, being back at work full-time, I wondered “What if it becomes overwhelming, and I don’t have the time for it?” “What if the other people don’t love them as much as the people here at home did?” Every negative thought that could cross my mind, DID! So I did the only thing I knew to do, and that was to pray and wait for an answer. I’m a full-time teacher, so when the summer came, I felt it was finally time. I created my Etsy and the feedback, once again, was amazing.

I’m now at month 3 of my Etsy shop being open, and the orders and excellent reviews are rolling in. I’ve shipped to New York, Florida, Michigan, California, Ohio, and more (even Trinidad!). I thank God for each and every order that comes in because I honestly feel it’s all His doing. Now that we’re back in school, I have to make the time for lesson plans, grading papers, making sure I’m available for after work meetings and programs, and still get orders completed and out on time. My weekends are pretty much filled with work, but I find myself daily asking for strength and patience to complete each and every task, and I’ve been successful thus far. I’m more than grateful, and beyond proud of myself for how far I’ve come in the past year and a half, and can’t wait to see where things are headed next!

Can you talk to us a bit about the challenges and lessons you’ve learned along the way. Looking back would you say it’s been easy or smooth in retrospect?
It started out pretty rough, but over time has definitely gotten a lot smoother. I didn’t know what it would take as far as measurements and all the adding and multiplying, to get the right length of material, but I feel I’ve definitely perfected that task. The hardest part is probably getting the measurements of somebody in another state, or just anyone whose measurements I can’t take myself. They may be size 12, but you can’t just go with waist measurements. What may be knee length to one person, may be a different length to someone who is a little shorter (if that makes sense, lol). So I often may just ask them to take their own measurements and I’ll just go from there.

Appreciate you sharing that. What else should we know about what you do?
I’ve been in the education field for 13 years now, and I’m currently a 4th grade teacher at the University of Dreams here in Dallas. Working with kids has always been a passion of mine, so it’s definitely a career field that I love. I myself am a hands on/visual learner, so I believe that’s what makes my class so fun. We, of course, have that time for independent work at our own seats, but I do also allow a lot of group work and class projects. We take the lessons off of paper and turn them into real life situations and lessons.

Before we go, is there anything else you can share with us?
I honestly feel like we all have that hidden talent within us, or that we’re capable of something we’d never expect from ourselves. Dig deep and find out what that is and give it a try. You never know who could benefit from what’s been placed within you.

Contact Info:

• Email: [email protected]
• Website: https://www.etsy.com/shop/AllThingsTooCute
• Facebook: https://en-gb.facebook.com/groups/369049857406536/