Today we’d like to introduce you to Mackenzie Foster. They and their team shared their story with us below:
Founders Mackenzie and Merin met when their girls were little… very little. Merin was looking for a Studio Manager for her growing dressmaking business for nine years, Kit, and a mutual mom friend connected us. The rest is history.
The idea for Evelyn James was hatched after both women looked for flower girl dresses for their daughters over the course of several months. The options out there were either cheap and poorly made or beautiful but astronomically expensive for a dress that may only be worn once. Named after Mackenzie’s grandmother, Evelyn James designs, cuts, and sews all of our dresses to order in our Houston Heights workshop. We create timeless, child-friendly styles out of lovely fabrics that we source from around the world. We have now branched out to making special occasion dresses, from Easter & Spring styles to Birthday and Christmas dresses for little girls and toddlers. Evelyn James has also stepped into making precious heirloom pieces for baptisms with custom embroidery, wedding dresses into custom flower girl dresses & turning timeless keepsakes into pieces to treasure for years to come. At Evelyn James, we enjoy making custom pieces for our customers.
Both mothers to girls, Merin brings a strong design and garment making background while Mackenzie runs the business operations and sales and marketing. We are so lucky to have talented seamstresses Queryi, Jeaneth, and Elizabeth bringing our dresses to life.
Alright, so let’s dig a little deeper into the story – has it been an easy path overall and if not, what were the challenges you’ve had to overcome?
With our sister company Kit, Merin, our CEO went through many challenges starting her business, so she has helped me with Evelyn James in starting this company. Since we already had everything in place – seamstresses in-house, excellent fabric vendors, and a trusted e-commerce & shipping company used with our sister company, it was easy to pick and source these options.
Right now, we have been working a lot with referrals and local clients that we handle with our sister company where we make many special occasion items and wedding pieces, making additional items for little girls comes easy.
I would say the toughest challenge thus far is marketing and advertising online. With technology constantly changing it can be challenge to keep up with new changes or trends in the market. We are still learning how to target our correct audience and get our special dresses into the right hands.
Appreciate you sharing that. What else should we know about what you do?
I am proud to bring over 12 years of sales experience into owning this children’s clothing company which I believe boosts our customer service experience.
I am proud to be a part of special occasions, sweet memories and milestones. These milestones could be weddings, Birthday’s, baptisms, communion and other dates to treasure. It is special to sketch and design these clothing items and make them come to life. It brings me joy to see happy little ones wearing our items.
What sets us apart from others is the fact we are two moms who design, cut & sew all of our items right in our studio in the Heights in Houston, TX. Our sister company has been designing custom items for women for over 9 years, so we have a lot of experience in making many different custom items with our talented team.
Is there any advice you’d like to share with our readers who might just be starting out?
My advice for anyone who is just starting out is to keep going! There will be moments where you might get frustrated and want to give up, but keep going; surround yourself with those who drive and motivate you! Set goals for yourself and check those off. You truly can do anything you put your mind to. I love being a women-owned business, and there’s something special in the fact that a business is YOURS.
Pricing:
- Pricing can be anywhere from $70-$200
- Most of our items are around $80
- Message us with pictures for custom item requests.
Contact Info:
- Website: evelynjames.co
- Instagram: @evelynjamesllc
Image Credits
Katie Edwards Photography
