Featured Moms – Pixie Mist

Kristen and Julie are two moms behind PixieMist, a new store on Etsy.com which has seen higher than average sales in their first month. As accomplished seamstresses with over 14 years sewing experience between them, this duo creates a multitude of baby things like burp cloths and blankets. What caught my eye though was their fabulous children’s clothing.

H: Tell me about the things you make

K&J: We love making fun, comfy, and unique clothes for girls. We range from simple lounge sets and shirred tops to elaborate sets with appliqué and ruffles galore. We also make pom-pom bows, tooth fairy pillows, burp cloths, blankies, and bunk bed curtains—among other things!

H: How did you get started on Etsy?

K&J: A friend told us about Etsy and we were intrigued. We opened an account, but didn’t actually start selling for almost six months. We’ve been open for 3 weeks and we’ve had 11 sales. We were jumping up and down when we got that first sale—people had told us it took weeks or months, not just a couple of days!

H: Do you sell anywhere else?

K&J: Yes, we often sell through word of mouth locally.

H: Were you creative before you had kids?

K&J: We did things like stamping, scrap booking, stained glass, crochet, and jewellery making. We also liked cooking elaborate meals that weren’t dictated by young taste buds!

H: Since you’ve had your children, what has changed about how you create?

K&J: We’ve both focused more on sewing since having kids. What we sew has gotten more complex as the kids have gotten older. Of course, that’s probably due in part to not having to change diapers, chase toddlers, and wash 46 loads of laundry a day! It’s hard to sew anything remotely elaborate in five-minute increments.

H: When do you find the time to sew?

K&J: We tie our kids up and lock them in a closet. Nah, not really. Our older kids are in elementary school, and the two youngest are in mother’s-day-out programs two mornings a week. So we each have a couple of days on our own. Plus, our two little ones are the best of friends so we can get together and sew while the girlies go crazy with the Polly Pockets.

H: Are your children creative?

K&J: We each have one or two who love drawing and crafts—sometimes to the exclusion of everything else! Sofie (Julie’s oldest) is starting to sew a little bit.

H: What kind of creative growth have you experienced since having kids?

K&J: We sew to please ourselves. If we like it, we sew it. If others like it—great! If not, that’s okay. We try to teach our kids that what matters is how they feel about themselves, so we try to follow that rule for us, too. We’ve also learned that using brown or heavily patterned fabrics hides a multitude of stains!

Visit the ladies of PixieMist at www.pixiemist.etsy.com and see what they’re sewing up these days. You’ll smile, I’m sure of it. Feel free to contact them throught their store for custom order requests.

Thanks for joining me at Maternal Spark Julie and Kristen. I hope you have continued success with your business.