Today we’d like to introduce you to Beth Allen.
Thanks for sharing your story with us Beth. So, let’s start at the beginning and we can move on from there.
As a stay at home mom, I started the business to provide a little extra income for our growing family while being able to stay home with the kids and also to give myself a creative outlet. We started out as an ETSY shop selling party items, then after the loss of our 3rd child, Gibson, we took a short break to regroup and figure out what was next. After the birth of our 4th child, a baby girl I started making headbands and little things for her and found great joy in designing for her. I’d learned the basics of sewing growing up from my own mother.
I gradually added them to my shop and then began adding other clothing items and suddenly things started selling faster than expected! Instagram became a huge source of customers with the growing handmade movement. We started going to small handmade markets all over the Austin & Dallas areas and began to build a customer base locally. We now do about 10 shows a year and launch seasonal collections online via our own website. Everything is still 100% handmade. We know have help from another couple seamstresses that are also stay at home moms providing for their families as well.
Overall, has it been relatively smooth? If not, what were some of the struggles along the way?
Creating handmade is hard, it’s a lot of time that goes into each piece. Creating patterns and choosing fabrics that I know I would love to put my kids in and that THEY would choose to wear continues to be the top priority but it does get challenging to produce as many items as we are now selling.
I sew a LOT of late nights. Balancing the workflow out of our home studio is a huge blessing, but it comes with a big balancing act. Also learning the business side of things has been a challenge for my more creative mind to work through. I’d rather create something new and fun than learn about taxes and webpages!
Alright – so let’s talk business. Tell us about Perfectly Paisley – what should we know?
Our goal is to create trendy handmade comfort for babe-on-the-go. I’ve always loved fashion and when I started having babies I felt like their style was in a way an extension of mine, So I truly enjoyed dressing them and helping them create their own individual style as they grow. I think moms should love the clothes they’re pulling out of the closet for their kiddos.
And at the same time kids should be able to run and play and live life in cute clothes. Our dresses are twirly, breathable, movable AND on-trend, Our fabrics are soft, our headbands adjust as they grow, and lots of our items each season mix and match while still having distinct style.
This fall we’ll be at Boerne Handmade Market, Vintage Market Days Austin & Vintage Market Days of McKinney and a few other pop-ups around.
If you had to go back in time and start over, would you have done anything differently?
ahhhhhh… think things through! Create more of a step by step growth plan. Things grew and I wasn’t prepared. Take the downtime to get ready for the next big wave. Learn more about marketing and websites – still learning so much!
Contact Info:
- Website: www.perfectlypaisleyshop.com
- Email: [email protected]
- Instagram: www.instagram.com/perfectlypaisleyshop
- Facebook: www.facebook.com/perfectlypaisleyshop
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