Today we’d like to introduce you to Misty Odenweller.
Misty, please share your story with us. How did you get to where you are today?
After years of my daughter begging me to make her a mum, I didn’t jump in until she was in her second year of college. (Yes, there is much guilt felt on my part, however last year I made her an Obscenlyicious Mum for the fun of it and it hangs in her classroom where she teaches.) This crazy decision to jump into the mum world came to be because my son’s high school sweetheart deserved the best. I went to one of the local known mum creators and ordered a mum splurging! I spent more than I could even imagine. She told me to pick out anything I wanted on it, and I did. When I picked it up, what I thought was going to be a splurge of $250, ended up being $400. I had no idea I was adding on to the expense with the things I picked out. I was committed at that point and paid the bill. It was BEAUTIFUL and I was happy with it, but it was not $400 worth of expense for this practical girl. I have since learned and understand why mums and garters cost what they do, however, it still is a huge expense.
It ate at me all year the amount of money I spent on that mum and the good I could have done with that same money. After much urging from a friend, I jumped in and gave it a try. The results are the cover photo. After seeing the mum, her mom said my work was good enough and asked me to make MY son’s garter (lol). And so, it began… We started out with a plan to make a quality product for a reasonable price and to bless others. We wanted in the beginning the profits from our endeavor blessed the tuition assistance fund at the private school our children attended. Over the years, we have partnered with many school organizations that choose to partner with us. We give back $10 from every mum/garter ordered to their organization and all they commit to is to refer friends and family to us and we give back to them.
Our Mission Statement is: To create a beautiful piece of art that has been prayed over and customized to bless the recipient and organizations.
What is this mum craze?
For those not from the south or educated in the homecoming craze, mums and garters are usually exchanged with your homecoming dates. The boy wears a garter that has been created for him and his interests and the girl wears a homecoming mum (generally around her neck) that has been specially created for her. These creations are a sense of pride, tend to be gaudy (although we prefer beauty), and say much about the girl. They are usually very expensive and some would say overpriced. However, since I got into this crazy world, I realized that these things are works of art. The supplies involved add up and a lot of inventory must be carried to make each and every dream creation. More importantly, the amount of time and craftsmanship is immense. I now understand why some mums cost what they do. Those of us in the mum making industry that are making them on the low end are underpricing ourselves and those on the higher end are being paid what they are worth because they have a following that respects their work and their customers will pay for it. So, as you wade into the world of the homecoming craze, take a deep breath, look around, make a decision on which route you will go. Independent mum makers will always give you a better product and more mum/garter for your money.
Mumstrocities by Misty is a mum company dedicated to helping others achieve “Mumelicious” mums/garters for homecomings that are within the budget of the purchaser and still a dream creation.
We pray over every mum/garter and for the recipient that will receive the special creation.
We’re always bombarded by how great it is to pursue your passion, etc – but we’ve spoken with enough people to know that it’s not always easy. Overall, would you say things have been easy for you?
For the most part I would say yes, but that is within reason. We are a seasonal business and while we work year-round preparing, learning, crafting, planning, budgeting, purchasing, and doing our social media campaigns, our toughest time of year is football season. We do a lot of work creating our fabulous creations that are customized to each of our clients in a short window of time. We get very little sleep and suffer injuries glue gun burns, cuts from ribbon on the fingers, and glittered bodies for months. But honestly, the toughest part of our job is inventory control and deadlines. We never know how many different colors we will need on hand. How many will choose the bling package and color and light add ons. Who might like custom cut lettering or the beautiful 120 gram boa. All of this isn’t decided until about 15 days out of delivery and when you are cranking out orders there isn’t a lot of time for ordering and shipping in something you might be out of. In addition, trends change from year to year as do budgets. There is no way to be completely ready and pre-assembled when you are doing custom work. Each and every one of our clients gets our personal touch and design work on their dream creation.
We’d love to hear more about your business.
I am most proud of the fact that we glorify God in all we do. He has blessed Shawn and I with a love of crafting and the gifts and talents to do what we do. Shawn Smith is our Bear Extraordinaire and creates the most amazingly beautiful bears that NO ONE can compete with. She is a mom of boys and gets all her girly, bling, and glitz out on these bears. I do the construction and design work on the mums. We pray over our mums/garters and bears and we add a scripture each year to the back that I have prayed about and feel led that God has directed me to it.
The other thing that I am proud about is that while I feel we create a lot of mums and garters each year we are not a production company. We make each and every mum/garter to order. That is where we run into challenges.
Lastly, I love that we work with the budgets of our clients and schools. Every person does not have the same budget. But they all have a dream. We make every effort to create the most wonderful product that they will love and be proud to wear. We have done many service projects for special recipients. We love to give back to school organizations.
What were you like growing up?
I used to joke incredible things come in small packages as I was pretty tiny growing up. I feel I was much like I am today. Compassionate, empathetic, creative, filled with energy, and loved sports. I was always on the go, independent, and self-sufficient. My mother and grandmother were my biggest influences on my life until I met my future MIL at 16. Then, she completed my triad.
Contact Info:
- Website: www.mumstrocitiesbymisty.com
- Phone: 281-723-2986
- Email: mumstrocitiesbymisty@gmail.com
- Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/mumsbymisty/?hl=en
- Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/mumstrocitiesbymisty/
Getting in touch: VoyageHouston is built on recommendations from the community; it’s how we uncover hidden gems, so if you know someone who deserves recognition please let us know here.
