BTS: Where we've been...

Are you guys ready for a quick but good laugh?!

Guys...woah...lol.

We've, uh, come a long way, yeah?!

Well, Facebook reminded me Saturday that three years ago we posted photos from our first "real" photoshoot. So that means, three years and some months ago we designed our first piece!  We spent a few months working on the perfect striped skirt. We got the final sample and were so excited we ran outside and took the above photo and started pre-selling. (oh, how things have changed, lol)

Here is one of the photos from our first photoshoot.

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My only purpose with this blog is to share behind the scenes, my personal life and style, and to inspire some of you to go after your dreams, regardless of how crazy they may seem!

A little back story and some secrets we have never shared before...

Everything started right here. (zebra chair and all)

Without all the nitty-gritty from the very beginning, we'll start in 2013.

I never really had that "passion for fashion". I was very much a jeans & tee, going for comfort girl.  I wasn't real popular, I wasn't well known, so why would anyone care if I sold clothes?!  Who knows. lol. But I knew how to work hard and to be passionate about quality and customer service.  I gained my love of fashion, styling, and clothing from building Mindy Mae's Market. I'm crazy obsessed now. I haven't lost my love for comfort though, I try to make sure everything we sell is just as comfortable as it is cute. You don't have to sacrifice one for the other (all the time).

So, getting back to it... in 2013 we launched clothing for the first time.  We soon realized that everyone was selling the same items and we decided then and there that we really wanted to be different.  We wanted something we could be totally unique in. That's when we knew designing pieces you couldn't get anywhere else was our answer, and we designed the Black + White  Signature Skirt. 

We started this company with a $500 credit card. We'd max it out, sell some things, pay it off, and max it out again. We were the definition of hustle. It took us what felt like forever but once we started to see a profit we saved it all up until we could buy our first round of the Black + White Striped Skirt.  

Cute Emily posted about our skirt!

You guys were, of course, so supportive and we sold through all of our skirts! We then launched it in 3 additional colors and, again, you guys blew us away. 

Then came the DoubleHooded Sweatshirt! 

Game. Changer.

First photo ever of our DoubleHooded Sweatshirt!

I had purchased a sweatshirt from the UK for myself.  I had a love/hate relationship with it.  I loved the idea but it didn't quite fit right, the material wasn't my favorite, and the hood was too heavy so it would choke me throughout the day (the.worst).

I tore it apart, made multiple changes, re-patterned it, went through 7 samples, 3 different fabrics, and boom! The perfect hoodie was finally created after about 4 months of (impatiently) waiting and sampling.

Since then we've created multiple colorways and combinations - it is BY FAR my favorite item we've ever created.  Many companies have tried to recreate the DoubleHood, which is always a total bummer, but ours are the best (obviously, lol). Quite a few of our items get recreated, but this one hurts quite a bit more than others because it was such a passionate project from the baby stages of our business. We just try to ensure ours are the best quality, always.

Some of our other favorite colorways:

Robyn featured our DoubleHood

It's hard to believe that in 3 years we've gone from one design to hundreds, from one photoshoot to more than I can count, and from a small bedroom to a large warehouse.  It's all so humbling and we couldn't be more grateful!  

We've been so fortunate to have tremendous support from each and every one of you.  Hitting 100k on instagram is totally mind-blowing/overwhelming/tear-jerking/exciting.

I'm in tears. I'm so grateful. I'm so honored. I'm so incredibly happy.  I owe a huge THANK YOU from my family and staff to each and every single one of you. 

If you're an entrepreneur, do NOT give up. Dreams do come true.  You can play fair, by the rules, honest, and succeed beyond all your dreams.  It's incredibly rewarding. I never would have dreamed it would become what it is today. I remember watching and comparing myself to other online shops and it can crush your spirit. DON'T COMPARE YOURSELF TO ANYONE.  You NEVER know what is actually happening in their life or business from what you see on social media. Just keep going. 

Now, FINALLY the extra good stuff. 

We're giving away $1,000 worth in Gift Cards! Four lucky babes will each get $250 to spend on anything their heart desires! yay!

a Rafflecopter giveaway

xoxo, Courtney