Our story
Caroline-made: pretty accessories for the modern, sophisticated gal.
In order to fully share what Caroline-made is about I should back up to a few years ago. In the fall of 2008 I found myself on Etsy.com and was literally fascinated that women my age not only knew how to sew, but they had an online store and were selling their handmade wares. I loved this idea and quickly wanted to become a shop owner. I borrowed my parents sewing machine and spent the following month learning the trade. At the time my husband and I were living in Detroit, MI. I went to our local library and checked out about 30 books to continue my studies. Just a few months prior I had started my blog and I began building a loyal community through my blog posts and daily musings.
I soon tagged the products I was sewing "Gussy Sews", and my sewing adventure began! I'd also like to add that both my husband Zack and I were unemployed during most of our time in Detroit. That was such a crazy awesome time for us, learning how to set big goals and chase after them with open hands while searching for our next career path. Most of the products I was designing & sewing had the signature Gussy Sews ruffle on them, and the brand quickly exploded.
Since 2008 we've moved to Minneapolis and then Los Angeles, where we're currently living. We've also traveled to Tanzania, Africa with Compassion International
in 2012. That trip obviously changed our lives, but it's been over 3
years now since we visited. I'm still experiencing how great our God
truly is. My favorite post from our trip? This one.
Living in Los Angeles has challenged me in big ways, including how I'd incorporate handmade into our family life. In December 2013, we decided to transition the Gussy
Sews shop to The Gussy Club,
our monthly subscription service where our handmade products are
shipped directly to our members mailbox. It was a fun change, and I enjoyed trying out a new process for the shop.
Transitioning to the Gussy Club allowed me to open a brand-new handmade shop, one that would not only continue to challenge me creatively, but would also allow my handmade designs to reflect me. When I started sewing in 2008 I was barely 23-years-old and not yet a mama. Since then Zack and I have moved six times (Michigan to Minnesota to California), and we have two children, a son named Maxwell (born March 2013) and a daughter named Natalie (born October 2014).
I took some time off from handmade in 2014, which allowed me to be at home with our children, but I'm behind my sewing machine once again and it feels perfect. I'm sewing exclusively for Caroline-made, and I feel very blessed to have the past seven years be a part of my handmade journey.
Thank you for being a part of this community! xo, Maggie