My store began on somewhat of a whim. I am a mother to two daughters and when my youngest was approaching her first birthday, I wanted her to wear a tutu for her first birthday photographs and party. I shared photographs in my groups on the old site Cafemoms and several mothers wanted to place an order for a tutu for their daughter. Over time, I needed an easy solution to make things easier to accept orders and payment. That is when I found Etsy. I opened my store in 2008 and things picked up fairly quickly. In 2009 I was contacted my a contractor that worked with television shows. She wanted to include my items on The View during a segment about Work at Home Moms. The exposure of the show was a game changer and my hobby soon became a business. Although I have scaled back in recent years so I could enjoy the last few years of my oldest daughter being at home {she graduates High School in May 2016 and will soon head 3 hours away for college}, my business has always been a one woman "show". I handle everything from customer service, production, shipping,ordering and inventory. Each item I make is hand made by myself. I pride myself in being one of the handful of tutu makers that uses tulle that is only manufactured in the United States. Although imported tulle is quite a bit cheaper, it is not treated to be flame retardant which is a huge deal to me when making things small children will be wearing. I always strive to provide a quick turn around time for my customers because as a mother, I have a tendency to be a last minute shopper myself so I know what it is like to need something quickly. For seven years, I have worked at home in my studio and have had the pleasure of getting to know many fantastic customers while being available to my children. Our family is big on dreaming and building something of your own. Not only do I run my own business, but my husband also runs his own business, a deli and bulk food store in a small city nearby my hometown. As you can imagine, two business owners in one household definitely keeps things interesting. We have been able to show our daughters the true image of what hard work looks like.