Today we’d like to introduce you to Shantell Johnson.
Shantell, please share your story with us. How did you get to where you are today?
I was born and raised in Jackson, MS by my grandmother, Ella Mae Besant. Her nickname was Honey. My grandmother passed away in November of 2011. As I was cleaning out her things with my mom, I found a lot of crafts, crochet, and jewelry that she had done, and I was inspired. January of 2012, A Touch of Honey by Shantell was born. I have always been crafty and my business was more of a release for me to do so and be connected with my grandmother. Creating beautiful things was therapeutic and helped me through the grieving process.
I started out making jewelry and then got into making coordinating shirts to go with the jewelry. I make shirts in a variety of media including rhinestone, regular and glitter vinyl, laser prints, and dye sublimation. Over the years, I have added more items to my collection such as custom shoes, bags, gifts, and recently party planning and decor.
I enjoy using my hands and sharing my creativity with my clients and making their ideas come to life.
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?
Thanks to the loving support of my husband, who has made it possible for me to work from home and build my business, the road has been relatively smooth.
Hurricane Harvey, completely shut me down. I lost some of my equipment as well as my laptop due to a leak in my office. Business came to a screeching halt because of the devastation that the city endured. Because my business is not a necessity, people who typically order shirts and custom items scaled back to the basics for parties and events.
That is if they still had them at all. As time passes, business is slowly but surely picking back up.
We’d love to hear more about your business.
A Touch of Honey by Shantell is a beautiful collection of custom and stock rhinestone, vinyl, dye sublimation, and printed design. I specialize in shirts, hats, shoes, bags fundraising items, personalized gifts, party decor and more.
The inspiration behind A Touch of Honey came from my beloved Grandma, nicknamed Honey, who loved crafty and handmade items. I put a lot of care into the construction of each item. We have now added party decor packages.
What were you like growing up?
I grew up in Jackson MS. I am the oldest of 4 kids and 14 grand kids. I was always the motherly figure to those around me. I was always told I was wise beyond my years. I loved to play outside and run and play. I attended Lanier High School, home of the mighty 833 Bulldogs. As a kid, I was quiet and reserved, but always had a great personality.
I ran track, was on the flag corps and JROTC in high school. I loved performing in games and competitions.
Contact Info:
- Website: Touchohoney.com
- Phone: 713-510-8769
- Email: touchohoney@yahoo.com
- Instagram: www.instagram,com/touchohoney
- Facebook: www.facebook.com/touchohoney
- Twitter: www.twitter.com/touchohoney
- Other: www.etsy.com/shop/TouchoHoney / https://stores.inksoft.com/touchohoney
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