But Like, Who Are We??

What's a blog without an introduction post?! ...And why is she doing a blog? SO glad you asked, because I'm going to tell you. :)

I have always loved to write, and to be honest I could write an entire novel with life experiences, marriage, parenthood, etc. But right now, I'm not in the season for a novel (maybe one day). I am however, right in the middle of a season where I am attempting to chase this crazy dream I've had for the last 10 years. Own a small business and build something where I can connect with people from all over my community (and possibly even farther than that, if I'm successful). I've had this wild dream since I worked for the most beautiful small business back in 2014 called Our Heartfelt Home. I never knew that what I experienced working there would linger in my mind and my heart for so long after... As a young wife and mother, it was something I just wished could happen someday, but the idea of acting on it was so scary. Where did anyone even find the time to squeeze all of life into a 24 hour day? I'm sure the people who made it happen gave up some of their sleep, but that wasn't an option for me... Your girl LOVES her sleep! Haha.

Around 2019, the idea of starting my own business seemed less scary. And anyone who knows me knows, that when I set my heart on something, I will learn ALL the things and do my best to figure things out so I can make fetch happen. And I really did. I took classes with other entrepreneurs, learned what I needed to know about taxes, and keeping my books, etc. In 2020, I set out to open my first little business and then Covid. -_- The entire country shutting down definitely felt like a sign and it was a more discouraging one, if I'm being honest. In that year, because I was no longer launching a business - we decided why not give the boys a baby sister/brother (our oldest had been praying for a sister every night since he was 3). A baby just seemed like the most logical step, and I know A LOT of y'all thought the same during covid haha. *And all the covid babies said "Amen"* Fast forward a year, hubs and I had already decided to stop trying and just enjoy life with our 2 boys (there was a few different reasons why). Of course you have to know, your girl was already preparing to relaunch a business. It just felt like the time and well, what else was I going to do? Lol

(Slight backstory: During this time that my boys were getting older, we had decided to homeschool them. One of the main factors was bullying. My oldest has such a gentle, tender hearted spirit & it seemed to make him a target many places we went, and he was terrified of having to go to school with some of these not-as-polite kids. (That's also a reason why we put him in martial arts a year ago & its been a game changer.) Another big important factor for us was that we wanted our kids to learn more through life experiences and more hands on 1:1 teaching (because our 2nd son doesn't know the meaning of sitting still and doesn't learn that way lol). So with being at home, having my own dream business working with my kids just makes sense.)

So now that we were no longer trying for a baby, you would think it was finally my time to become a business owner; no, it was not! JUST when you make plans and arrange life around those plans, God laughs and changes them all up lol. A couple weeks later, I peed on a stick, and 9 months later that year our boys had the baby sister that they'd always prayed for! She was named by her big brother and was instantly our little "Sweet Pais"... Hmm, is that where that came from? Lol 

Having a daughter was new and unchartered territory for us, but I loved it! The boys loved having a baby sister and we just wanted to get her all the cute girly things. January of 2022, we found the small shop world. We had found a bow shop, a handmade outfits shop, a purse shop, a shoe shop. I was obsessed with all our shops lol!! One day I had found an accessory shop and I was so excited to get her little bracelets and adorable little pieces of jewelry. But being completely honest, I could never pull the trigger. I couldn't fathom paying almost $30 for a teeny tiny bracelet that she wasn't going to wear very long. I would have if it was for me, but for a baby? My mind was blown haha. I had found another shop and was excited with their pricing, but their quality was far different and their customer service - thumbs down. Instantly I knew why the other shop charged much more! At one point, I had also ordered myself some earrings from one of the shops and it was kind of a nightmare. I have extremely sensitive ears, I cannot just where any type of metal. My entire ear broke out, to the point where after a few days, my left ear lobe skin was raw! I didn't want to order earrings again, I was so scared! While being in the small shop world, surrounded by women who were all moms of multiples, most having the same responsibilities I did - I realized, I can do it too and its now or never. We were financially in a great place, so I thought what the heck; let's launch a small accessory shop! I wanted to provide earrings for people with sensitivities like me and quality bracelets for babes like Paisley with a customer service that I was proud of. As a consumer myself and unfortunately having some very negative experiences in the small shop/boutique world with quality and customer service - I wanted to be the type of store owner people were not anxious to deal with. A shop owner that showed her customers that she cared about them and doing the right thing; Bring some integrity back into the small business, small shop world!

In June 2022, I started to offer some handmade bracelets while learning how to do more in the jewelry realm. On July 7th, 2022, I officially launched Sweet Pais and slowly begun adding more intricate pieces of jewelry to our site, and I was even able to offer some more detailed high end pieces with pearls. The learning never stopped and I was always wanting to learn how to do more styles of jewelry/accessories so that I could offer more of a variety! In 2023, I begun doing local markets with my family. I never thought I'd be able to do markets with 3 kiddos, but with my husband - there we all were, doing it! I ended the year having attended 10 markets, meeting many in my community. That year I also began to grow a little more in the online, small shop 'rep' world; my favorite part was building a sisterhood with a group of women that just wanted to see Sweet Pais flourish and would give me all the feedback and ideas with product! 2024 was a much harder year for my family. We went through all kinds of loss, and unfortunately I wasn't as present as I would have loved to be. I did a few markets and new releases on our website, but compared to my first year open, I was slacking. And to be transparent, I was starting to get discouraged and ready to throw in the towel (especially seeing my social media numbers going down). A big outlet for my boys during that year was creating things and going to sell them at the few markets we attended that year. I didn't know if it was just a thing they'd do for a little bit navigating through grief, or if they were missing what we once had running moms business together! (Because it really did become family operated, they learned how to fill and ship online orders and LOVED packaging & labeling them.)

Jan 2025, my boys launched Two Bro's Co. and they signed up for children entrepreneur markets that they'd have to run without parent involvement! It made me soooo proud. They've really been enjoying themselves and even though we're in a transition/adjustment phase still, they motivated me to push through and keep going (along with several of my loyal customers who kept asking when the website would reopen lol). I've been in this process of reopening for a little while and then decided what better time than what would be our 3rd anniversary! And this time around I just want to see what all I am capable of. Before, all Sweet Pais ever offered was handmade jewelry really. Bracelets, earrings, & necklaces with a few different gift items like blankets. But like I tell my boys - if you're going to do something, do it with all you got! Whatever you do in life, you don't ever need to be perfect you just need to try your best. My original dream wasn't just to have a little accessory shop, I wanted a boutique type small business that I could eventually move into something much bigger. So as I reopen Sweet Pais, I'll forever keep my roots and my love for handmade jewelry and always offer that; but you'll also notice some new products and eventually more clothing as an addition! During my time off I have also been trying to perfect my sewing capabilities, and soon you'll see more of my handmade items readily available! AND I AM SO EXCITED!!!

As I mentioned earlier, part of my dream is for my business to become a little community. As I go out to different markets and meet others online, I want to get to know the women around me and build something beautiful where we can be there for one another, encourage each other, or just share our love for pretty things lol. And this is where my blog comes in - because I know I want to get to know y'all but I'm sure you want to know me too. The woman you're entrusting to give you pretty things haha. But I don't just want to write about me, I want to write about all the things that we walk through as women, mothers, sisters, friends, etc. I want this little platform to be something that can be encouraging and life giving, while we learn more about each other! And hey, if it doesn't work out - then with a click of a button, I can remove it all ;) haha. But I'm all about trying to find what works, what doesn't, what we need more of, what you don't love and all that's in between. So let me know, give me the feedback. Our social media DM's are open, sweetpaishandmade@gmail.com is still our current email until further notice. I do want to hear from you and any ideas or suggestions you might have or think I can do better. OR if you have something you would like for me to pray for - I will gladly do that too! 

With all my love, Miranda.