WHAT DOES A HAIRSTYLIST, SAHM AND BOUTIQUE OWNER HAVE IN COMMON? ME!

I know, I know. It sounds like a lot...especially in one sentence. This is the journey of me.

After high school, I gave the four year university the good ol’ college try, but by Christmas break of my Freshman year, I knew it wasn’t for me. In high school I worked summers as a receptionist in my mom’s salon. This is where I fell in love with hair! So after moving out of the dorms, I enrolled in cosmetology school! Directly after graduation, I opened my first business- Color Me Red….at the age of 20….with a supportive husband of 3 weeks (LOL). I dove right in and this is where my love of entrepreneurship began.

Throwback to the Color Me Red days.

After seven successful years of business, I decided to trade in my salon owner title for one of the GREATEST titles I’ve ever had, stay at home mom. Let me add, ladies- if you EVER get the opportunity to do this, I 1000% recommend it. I wasn’t the little girl who daydreamed of staying home, in fact I always said I wouldn’t, but when your eyes meet those babies....everything changes. Those are years you don’t get back mommas, they go so very quickly. I have zero regrets of taking those years of my life and spending every minute with my kiddos. It truly is a blessing!

Hanging with this crew was my every day, loved every minute of it. Circa 2016.

Soooo, to keep my creative juices flowing, I was always doing some little side hustle at home. I liked to give myself some spending money- you know, for things like Starbucks 😂. I took my love for baking and sold goods at our local Farmer’s Market. This quickly turned into a full blown gig and Amie Cakes was born! I spent the next few years making custom cakes and cupcakes while continuing selling at Farmer’s Market. After our son Ryggs came along, I decided to hang my hat and focus on spending every moment soaking up all the “lasts” of completing our family.

This brings me to the birth of Momma’s Got Swag! I think every mom has either owned, or asked for a Cricut at some point in their creative seasons of life. After seeing all the cool things I could make, my husband decided he wanted me to make some business tees for him and his crew. These started getting lots of attention and custom orders started rolling in. In 2018 I decided to officially open Momma’s Got Swag for online sales (out of my basement) and the next few years were a whirlwind. It grew from Facebook orders, to craft shows, pop ups and finally to an official website…it was incredible. In March of 2019, I took the leap to become a direct to garment printer and BOY was this the best decision ever! The shirt biz exploded with all the new possibilities I could create with this equipment. I’m proud to say, I’m a self taught graphic designer. God bless YouTube (side note- this is how I also learned to make cakes LOL, no lie) and the internet! I researched and experimented until I figured out how to use photoshop well and started pumping out my own custom tee designs. My five year plan of a brick and mortar storefront shortly turned into a one year plan AND by December of 2019 we were the proud owners of a 100 year old house that needed looooots of TLC. Renovations started January of 2020 and I opened for business- in the midst of a pandemic- June 26. 2020.

All glory goes to God! I’m sure so many people thought we were some crazy people moving forward with this idea, especially in the year of 2020. But, do not underestimate God’s plan for you. Every step of the way, we were continually shown how amazing God is and how if you follow His lead, it will be the best decision you could make. He can use a tee shirt guys! Something so simple and mundane. So many times I’ve seen people buy my Christian inspired tees without even realizing they are spreading truth and light. God is good y’all and He can use all things for His glory!