My founder story may or may not sound like everyone else’s, but had you told me back in 2006 that all these years later I’d be running Heirloomed full time I would surely have smiled and shaken my head. What started as a way to spend more time with my Grandmother, sewing aprons at her kitchen table when I came home to visit right after college, became a way of life for me. We started by selling aprons only, I’d host a ladies brunch each month and friends would invite friends, bring a potluck brunch dish and we’d have mimosas and live our best young professional lives all while buying and wearing the aprons.
I worked for an advertising agency at the time, learning all things organizational, branding, PR and early social media. I put those skills to work on my own little business and it quickly received all the press I could handle, the perfect storm of luck and creating my own opportunity. Our glass jar packaged heirloom aprons were everywhere from Oprah to Martha Stewart and friends and family helped us package and ship them out of the front room of our small ranch house just as my first son was born. Those were wild times.
Over the beginning years I came to realize it wasn’t the aprons I was passionate about specifically but the heart of what our brand has always been about – the family heirloom. I love the story behind things, a history buff and storyteller by nature, a branding junkie and an old soul from birth. Merging all of these passions into one brand called Heirloomed where we’ve built a community of other old souls who love the timelessness, nostalgia and meaning behind each and every pattern, product and piece we launch. I’m so grateful.
There is a Chinese proverb that says “Be not afraid of growing slowly, be afraid only of standing still.” The past two years or so have felt much like we’re standing still, like a pause and a longing for direction for that next step. I’ve dug deep into who we are as a brand, what our product assortment should look like, our color palette, patterns and what growth and success really feel like these days. I was feeling a little a bit lost for the first time since starting our business and I really took that time to let Heirloomed show me what it really is about. I went back to trusting my gut and only doing things I truly loved, staying painstakingly consistent to the heart of our brand.
In looking back over the years, our laundry list of accomplishments is long. I don’t say that to be boastful but more to share that anything is possible. If you can dream it, you can do it – I truly believe that. We’ve worked with amazing retailers like Nordstrom & Belk, thousands of independent retailers across the country who’ve become friends and have grown alongside us, been published in countless media outlets from Southern Living to Real Simple to Better Homes & Gardens to Food Network to an honorable mention from Gwyneth Paltrow on GOOP, and partnered with folks like Joanna Gaines/Magnolia, Tervis, Damaris Phillips & beyond. Last year I published a cookbook, The Heirloomed Kitchen, that was truly a labor of love on all accounts. I continue to add to my “dream list” every day. What excites me the most are the people I get to meet along the way – from customers to shop owners to other brand owners & beyond, because community is what it’s really about anyways.
This year I’ve found a renewed love of digging deeper into our content that drove us early on. Reawakening our blog, our online community and connecting deeper with our core customer. Sharing more stories, more recipes, educating on the history behind things, and more behind-the-scenes and getting your feedback along the way. Vintage sourcing at every turn and mixing up our assortment a bit. I worked on a bit of rebranding and refreshing across our brand and blog (to come!). Tightening our color palette and carving out where to go with our Interiors Collection, stepping more confidently into the trade world I love. My dream is to share my passion for keeping heirlooms around for another generation.
Next year we celebrate TWENTY YEARS in business. It’s inconceivable to me really that so many years have passed so quickly. I’ve come out of the pause this year, stronger both personally and professional and with a refreshed 1, 5, and 10 year plan. I cannot wait to show you what our brand has in store, what our dreams are and roll out the next chapter of our brand alongside you. I am so thankful for your support this far and cannot wait to continue on this journey with you all.
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