Today we’d like to introduce you to Amy Keller.
Hi Amy, we’d love for you to start by introducing yourself.
I have always been a crafty/artsy person. Growing up my mom and granny taught me how to sew. My mom would do all sorts of crafts with us. I loved learning from them. Throughout the years I was always making something for friends and family as gifts. About 12 years ago I started making custom shirts as a hobby. I liked being able to create a design for a customers special occasion or just something different they couldn’t find anywhere else. When I had my daughter 6 years ago I wanted her to have all the cute outfits and hairbows. I knew that I could make these for her myself and that would mean more than just buying it from a big box store. After a while my focus shifted and I wanted to share my work with other families. It was then that I decided to switch from a hobby to an actual business. My business, Fall’s Bowtique, which is named for my daughter officially opened on her 1st birthday in 2020. It was with a lot help and support from my family that I have made it to where I am today.
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?
Along with the most common challenges of starting a business, funds for startup and reaching my target customer base, One of the biggest obstacles I find is not having enough time or space. I have so many ideas I want to bring to life and add to my shop and not enough time to get everything done. Its like everyday I think “Oh, this would be so cool to add.” but on top of keeping up with my daily business needs I am also a homeschooling mom. Its hard to find extra time, but I eventually find it!
As you know, we’re big fans of Fall’s Bowtique. For our readers who might not be as familiar what can you tell them about the brand?
Fall’s Bowtique is a handmade shop. I specialize in Handmade Children’s clothing and hair accessories. While I do focus a lot on children’s items, I also do offer other items such as graphic shirts and hats in all sizes newborn through adults. I believe my business being handmade really sets me apart from others. Everything in my shop is handmade by myself in some way. I also love to come up with unique prints for fabrics that I use form my clothing and hair bows. I also like to create unique designs for my t-shirts that you won’t find anywhere else. I have so many options to choose from and I accept custom orders on everything that I make. Fall’s Bowtique has a complete online store and you can also find us at most festivals and markets in the surrounding area.
Can you talk to us about how you think about risk?
I believe you can’t grow as a business if you do not take risks. It’s hard when you are first starting out and just making the decision to go forward with creating a business is a risk itself. When I wanted to offer t-shirts at my in person events I struggled with which designs to make, which sizes to make, etc. I had always done shirts as custom orders before so creating what the customer wanted. It was the same with the clothing I made. I had to take a risk and try out several different designs and sizes not knowing what would sell and what wouldn’t. It was difficult to decide and take that risk of purchasing supplies and putting in my time to create them and not knowing if I would even make part of money back I invested into them. I knew that I needed to do that so that I could succeed. Doing so I found out what customers liked, what sizes I needed to stock and I also found out what wasn’t very “popular”. This has helped guide me to what I keep in stock all the time now!
Contact Info:
- Website: https://www.fallsbowtique.com
- Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/fallsbowtique
- Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/fallsbowtique
