Do you like personalized items? I bet we have something in common, friend! 😉
I started my monogram shop in Raleigh, NC, in 2014 right before I was going off to college as a way to make some extra spending money in order to support my shopping habits. A girls gotta shop, right!? I still remember sitting in my dorm room taking pictures of my very first decals and listing them anticipating sales to come in. While I was waiting in between classes, I would answer questions about products that came in from potential customers. Orders slowly started to trickle in, and I fulfilled & packaged orders from my dorm room and made runs to the nearest campus post office to ship my orders out for the day. Even through switching colleges and completing an internship in Washington, DC, I managed to keep growing my little Etsy shop. After graduating with a business degree focusing in Project Management I decided to take on the largest project I knew at the time: either searching for full-time jobs or turning my side-hustle into my full job. Can you guess which one I chose? :)
Monogram It, Darling (MID) has come a long ways since starting in my college dorm room. I now have a full home-office equipped with several different types of machines used to help me fulfill orders. Thankfully, I have also upgraded from handwriting everyone's addresses on envelopes to a label printer! I rarely ship out something that is not personalized to you; each item that I sell is hand-made and designed to order.
You may ask, though, where did it all begin? Growing up in Raleigh, NC, all of my life I was raised in the South where monograms are just a part of life, but for many it meant getting an item embroidered or a special gift that was way out of my price range. I was always drawn to monograms. I would go in boutiques and see monogrammed items and swoon over owning them, but they were always pretty pricey. When I was finally able to purchase my first monogrammed item (which was a hugeee monogram to hang over my dorm room bed), I was over-the-moon excited. I finally had something that was labeled with my monogram, so no one else would even want to use it! Yippie! From that point forward, I set out to make monograms at affordable prices so everyone could feel the same joy I got when I received my very first monogram.
I love the concept of a monogram because it provides ownership and personality for the items you own. With something as simple as a decal, it can really spruce up your plain cup or planner. It takes something ordinary from drab to fab! Keychains allow others to see your personality through fun colors and your individualized monogram. Cutting boards & ornaments provide wonderful conversation pieces and thoughtful gifts for those closest to you.
MID is now located in Northern Virginia very close to Washington, DC (after a few life changes- aka - getting married) called for a big move away from NC. As MID has grown, Blake, my husband, helps me fulfill orders when he is not working & I am always on Instagram showing off everyone's orders being shipped out for the day along with fulfilling all orders and running the day-to-day operations. What started in a dorm room has become a small business that supports our family in the best way. This does not mean that I have not faced my fair share of challenges - there have been tons of 80 to even 100 hour work weeks (Did someone say Christmas??), moving offices across states, hiring temporary help, and lots of love and hard work poured into this business. It is not always easy, but truly loving personalized products, passion and my faith in God keeps me going. I am always happy & excited to help make personalized items for you or someone you love! Thank you for allowing me to be part of your life in a small way. 💖
- Hannah Cason
Owner & Founder ~ Monogram It, Darling!
Follow me on Instagram: @MonogramItDarling
