Today we’d like to introduce you to Brittany Newman.
Hi Brittany, so excited to have you with us today. What can you tell us about your story?
I wouldn’t say that I have always been a crafty person by any means. My husband bought me a Cricut two years ago for Christmas and I honestly never even opened it until last June! I was so intimidated by the thought of it. During the pandemic, I got hooked on TikTok and the videos of people making things with their Cricut, home decorating, and home organization videos were by far my favorite!
I was amazed by how talented these creators were in making things using their machines. I decided to open it up one day and watched a lot of YouTube and TikTok videos for tips and tricks. I made a few things here and there but mostly just for myself or my three boys.
Fast forward to January of this year and I decided to put myself out there in a local moms’ group for the Bengals playoff game. I figured I would get maybe 10 orders or so. I was shocked when I ended up with about 30 orders and I ended up making about 100 shirts and hoodies in a matter of about a week! It was truly an amazing feeling to put myself out there and get the results that I did! I have had a lot of returning clients from those first orders which I am so appreciative of!
I have done a few events that were not so successful after that and it was kind of disheartening but I tried to stay positive. I keep making orders for my customers. Anything from shirts to support their kids at their sporting events to customized shirts for kids’ birthdays!
In August I decided to take a leap of faith and apply to be a vendor at Riverbend for Ohio Is For Lovers music festival that was going to take place in September. There were going to be lots of bands for an all-day event. I applied to know that I had to be selected to be one of the vendors. My husband, Dan, and I already had tickets to the festival so we knew it wasn’t going to be a big deal if I was not selected.
I found out the week before the festival that I had been selected! I was beyond excited, but also anxious and overwhelmed. I had less than a week to get shirts and hoodies made. My husband helped me narrow down the designs since I had a limited time frame to work with. I knew that I could always have things made quickly if we ran out of items.
We were one of four vendors for the whole festival. I was very nervous about how people would like my items. We had a lot of local people as well as people from Michigan, Virginia, Chicago, and Boston. Overall the event was a HUGE success and great for networking! I hope to be back next year if they put on the festival again.
Making clothing is my ‘me’ time since I am a full-time stay-at-home mom. My three boys, Macon (10), Austin (5), and Cooper (2 1/2) are my whole world and I feel extremely lucky to be home with the while they are still little! I love that I can make some extra money to help put towards spoiling them.
I’m sure you wouldn’t say it’s been obstacle free, but so far would you say the journey have been a fairly smooth road?
I would have to say it hasn’t fully been a smooth road but that’s okay! I have had some failed events where I had zero sales. That is very frustrating but it is also a learning experience. I am very hard on myself with it comes to this stuff so many thoughts of what I had done wrong after that first event.
Of course, I have items that I thought would be a big seller turn out to be a total bust. My husband and I have ended up with some of the leftover items that didn’t sell. We both love shirts so that’s a plus!
Can you tell our readers more about what you do and what you think sets you apart from others?
Making clothing is my passion! I make a lot of personalized shirts for kids’ birthdays, bachelorette party tanks, or even for moms who want a special hoodie to wear to support their kids at their sporting events. I love being challenged on projects and I am very much a perfectionist!
Although I am proud of all the projects that I get to work on, I think kids’ personalized birthday shirts are my favorite! I make them for my boys. My 10-year-old is at that age where that kind of thing doesn’t excite him, haha but my 5-year-old and 2-year-old LOVE them! They think it’s the coolest thing ever!
We’re always looking for the lessons that can be learned in any situation, including tragic ones like the Covid-19 crisis. Are there any lessons you’ve learned that you can share?
You need to live your life to the fullest every day! Family is the most important thing to me. It was a scary time because my husband and I both worked pretty much all of the pandemics. I was thankful that my job did get shut down for a while so I got to be home with my kids a lot more.
Pricing:
- Adult Hoodies $35+
- Adult Crewneck $30+
- Adult T-Shirts $25+
- Youth T-Shirts $20
- Toddler T-Shirts $15
Contact Info:
- Instagram: Www.instagram.com/mac.creations3
- Facebook: Www.facebook.com/MAC.Creations3
