How mi cielo was born
I started mi cielo a little over 7 years ago. My son, Tristan, was about 6 months old and I wasn't able to find any cool, original clothes for him. There's the standard go to places like Gymboree, The Gap, Children's Place, etc., but they all kind of felt the same to me.
Then one day it hit me. I was looking at a cartoon character book in Barnes and Noble and saw some really great character designs. I had always loved sewing and playing with felt, but it had been years since I had. Seeing those designs triggered my creative side and from that point, I've been sewing felt appliques on to all kinds of onesies and t-shirts.
I didn't intend to actually sell my creations as I was just making them for Tristan. I was impassioned, and I found myself sewing almost every free minute I could get, but as a mom those are far and few between. My creations started to pile up, and my husband suggested that I open up a shop on Etsy. At that time Etsy was in its infancy as an online community for crafters and I didn't know the first thing about running a shop (I'll write another article on my Etsy experiences later on.) !
So I took the plunge and opened up my shop. I wasn't sure if I would actually get a sale, but I was so excited at the possibility! It took me a good few weeks but eventually I did, and I was over the moon! My very first sale ever was "Oddly Cute Penguin Onesie" and it was sold to a buyer in Australia. I was and am so thankful to that buyer who took a chance on me and my creation! I mean, the quality of the photos was horrible and everything was very armature looking for sure! From that point forward I was in business.
I plan on writing a series on how I learned to create my business and some of the things I have come across in my journey. I would love to hear any feedback or other peoples stories!