Auntie Kerrie’s Collection – Handmade Children’s Clothing and Accessories
Shop at Auntie Kerrie’s Website
As you might have guessed, I love to make things. The only girl in a big extended family, I learned to toughen up at a young age. I learned how to sew when I was a little girl. Very rudimentary things, but I learned the basics. I even took a few sewing classes while I was in high school, but I didn’t appreciate just how meaningful it is to make things by hand. I began sewing again a few years ago. My grandmother reintroduced me one weekend, by taking my mother, my aunts, and me to a quilting exhibit at the local museum. I was so impressed by all of the hand quilting, that I asked my grandmother to teach me. I completed a very small blanket, but I still haven’t acquired the skill.
I borrowed my grandma’s sewing machine while I was in graduate school. Sewing became my stress reliever. Whenever I would get writer’s block I would turn on my sewing machine and stitch my cares away. And believe me, there were plenty of occasions when I suffered from writer’s block. I started small at first…burp clothes, blankets….all the easy stuff. Little by little, I kept sewing. And before I knew it, I had baby blankets and burp cloths coming out of my ears. Funny thing was, I am married, but we don’t have any children. So, it was all of no use to us. Luckily, I have plenty of friends and family who do have children. So I was a Big Hit! But the writer’s block kept on coming, and soon all of my family and friends had all the items they needed. So I had to come up with something new. And since I just knew that my writer’s block wasn’t going anywhere, I came up with a new plan. I started my own business. Thus Auntie Kerrie’s Collection was born!
Choosing my name was easy. At the time, my other great stress reliever was playtime with my nieces and nephews. Every week I would go over to my brother’s house for the afternoon and play with them all. I just absolutely love it when they call out “Auntie Kerrie! Auntie Kerrie!” when they are trying to get my attention. So it was an easy decision. Auntie Kerrie’s Collection. I started small, first posting some of my items on Etsy. Just to see how they would be received. Then I began posting more and more items as I expanded my projects. Last summer I started a line of Baby Crib Bedding while my dad was visiting us. He helped me design a series of bedding sets. It was our little project that we worked on together for the summer. When he left, I wanted to do more. I decided it was time to go public. I enrolled in a few craft fairs, so that I could get my name out there. I did one for a Halloween show and I loved it. So I signed on for two more in November and December. It was a great way to celebrate the holidays. Since the beginning of the year, my focus has shifted. My husband and I have been talking about expanding our family. Which got me thinking about expanding my business. I love the handmade elements, and I feel like our focus has shifted away from that. So I have taken several new steps this year. First, I started my own Blog, to help others who would like to start creating their own handmade items. It’s filled with DIY Tutorials and other fun stuff. Second, I rolled out a small portion of my collection in a local store and am looking to expand to other local boutiques. And lastly, I have launched my website. You can now officially buy my collection at my personal online store. It has been a big year for Auntie Kerrie, and it’s not over yet!
Featured on the Cover of OC Parenting Magazine
Adventures in Motherhood 