Good morning and welcome to a new and very special feature which I hope to be running once a month. I’ve spoken previously about my love for small brands and the fact that I like nothing more than finding products that are unique and different from anything you’d find on the high street. What makes this passion even greater, is that many of these companies are established by Mothers, just like me – albeit a lot more talented than me – who have taken the bull by the horns and chosen to make a living out of doing something they are passionate about and love. In order to celebrate these truly amazing women, I’ve decided to run a monthly feature called ‘Small Brand Spotlight’, where I’ll be showcasing one of the beautiful brands I’ve discovered through Instagram in addition to having a little chat with its founder. This month we’ll be talking to Michelle Inglis, creator, owner and founder of the beautiful childrens hair accessory company Evie Michelle.
Evie Michelle is a special one for me, because I connected with it a few months after Ettie was born. I was in the midst of non-stop breastfeeding, when there was little else to do in the middle of the night, other than carry out a spot of on line shopping – a dangerous game!! I was doing a bit of Instagram scrolling, specifically looking out for little bows that Ettie could wear. There were lots of options, but everything I came across seemed too large and overpowering for a tiny baby. Then I discovered Evie Michelle who stocked the sweetest little dainty bows all lovingly hand crafted with beautiful Liberty fabrics. It was exactly what I was looking for and I ordered the cream suede bow straight away. I cant remember the exact chain of events – it was 2 in the morning, but I think I left Michelle a note via her Etsy shop and she responded immediately. I remember thinking she’s either mad or a new mum to still be awake at this time – then I noticed her daughter was only a couple of months older than Ettie. A few days later Ettie was the proud owner of her first little bow. It came lovingly presented in some pretty floral paper with a postcard saying ‘You Amazing Mama’. There was even a teabag and a chocolate for me. Such a loving touch. After that I ordered lots more bows from Michelle in numerous liberty fabrics, my favourite being the Mustard Capel bow which we now have in two sizes! They were perfect for Ettie’s little features and added the perfect feminine touch, without being too overbearing. The soft nylon fabric also meant they were comfortable for her to wear. 
Since then Michelle business has grown from strength to strength. You only have to do a quick search of the hashtag to find hundreds of accolades from mothers praising her gorgeous products and fantastic customer service. In addition to the original suede bow and dainty bow, Michelle now stocks Grand Bows, Hair Clips and lovely ‘You Amazing Mama’ zip bags for those every day essentials. If you can’t find exactly what you’re looking for, you can always drop her a line and ask for a custom made order. That is the best thing about shopping small, everything can generally be tailored to suit your exact needs. Its so great to feature Michelle as my first Spotlight and I hope you all enjoy getting to know her a little better.
Over to Michelle:
In your past life, what was your job before creating ‘Evie Michelle’?
I have done many different things but mostly I worked for design agencies in a Project Manager role and I’ve always been in a creative environment.
Was there a defining moment when you thought,I’m going to do this’ and become self-employed?
I was already self employed in a sales job at the time when Evie was born and it was when she was about 5 months old, I had made a few headbands for her and people seemed to love them and there was nothing really like them at the time so I just set up an Instagram and Etsy shop one night and put some up for sale! I was so excited to get 2 sales that first night! (I shared the Instagram with my other followers on my personal account).
Evie Michelle makes the most beautiful bows and headbands, Do you have a favourite?
Describe a typical working day in the life of Evie Michelle?
What has been your proudest moment since establishing Evie Michelle?
How is life juggling a business and 2 year old daughter?
Do you have any advice for mothers thinking of setting up their own business?
Finally are you glad you did it?
You can find Michelle on Instagram here @_eviemichelle or if you’d like to buy one of Michelle’s beautiful bows, hair clips or pouches (they’d make perfect stocking fillers for Christmas) then they are available from her website or Etsy Shop.
Shop Evie Michelle
I love baby girl bows! If I have a girl I shall definitely head back here for some Evie Michelle products!
Erin
#familyfunlinky
What a lovely little brand. I love finding new small businesses to support so will be checking back in to see who else you feature! #familyfunlinky
Ahh thankyou! Yes I have lots of lovely brands lined up ♥️♥️
I love baby bows I’m yet to buy any so perhaps I will give Evie Michelle a try! Enjoyed reading the interview it’s inspiring to hear about her success and it brill idea to give small businesses a good boost this way #Honeybeelinky xxx
Thankyou, yes you should definitely check her out. I found her bows to be just the right size for Ettie and such pretty fabrics too xx
It’s so nice to see mums doing well with their passion. 🙂
#TwinklyTuesday
I totally agree! Im in awe of them all! Wish I was that creative xx
That is awesome! I love seeing mothers making businesses from just being moms and coming up with creative ideas. Sometimes motherhood makes us more creative. Congrats on your small business! #FamilyFunLinky
Exactly that’s how I feel too! 😊
How inspiring! I always love reading about the mamas behind ventures like these. Such adorable bows and lovely to read about Michelle’s journey! Thanks so much for linking this up to #coolmumclub xoxo
What an amazing idea for a series. I am loving the solidarity. The bows are beautiful and I have so much respect for Michelle for doing it, I wish you nothing but success! Thanks for joining us at #familyfun
I love this feature! What a great idea to showcase some smaller brands. They definitely offer that bit extra, and tend to know the parenting market a little bit more than larger chains I’d say. The Evie Michelle bows are gorgeous! I’m with you on the larger bows being way too over powering. These are perfectly sized! Now if only headbands stayed on my little ones head because these would be perfect for her! Thanks for sharing with the #DreamTeam xx
Ha ha yes exactly they were so perfect for Etties hair when she was little but now she won’t even keep a hair clip in!! I’m hoping she grows to get used to them again in a few months!! Thank you for the support xx
I love these bows and supporting small business is very important to me. I can’t wait to order a few bows for my nieces! #DreamTeam
Ahh that’s great, hope they love them xx
Oh my goodness!! I have been looking for hair clips and bows for my little girl – I’m definitely going back to the site to take a proper look. Thank you so much for sharing #Honeybeelinky
That’s amazing! So glad you love them! They are so dainty and the perfect size x
Awww, these bows are so pretty, and delicate! Such an interesting read too. I love learning about how people have built up their own businesses and always try to support small brands. Thank you for linking with the #Honeybeelinky I hope to see you for the this week’s one too! xxx
Yes definitely just on my way there now and I agree about the bows, they are so pretty xx
What a lovely post. I love reading how other mum’s juggle the working from home thing – it sounds a lot like me making use of nap times, evenings and the mobile phone! Thanks for linking up with #TwinklyTuesday
These bows are beautiful! I find working from home hard and I don’t do anything this time consuming! #DreamTeam
This is a brilliant series, and it’s fantastic that you are supporting small brands on your blog. I run a similar series where I support a Mum in Business each week. The bows look gorgeous too! Thanks so much for linking up at #fortheloveofBLOG. Claire x
Ooh really I’ll have to take a look. I find it so empowering reading other mums stories! Thankyou xz
Those bows are absolutely gorgeous! I love small brands too and think it is so important to support them when possible.
Thank you for joining #ThursdayTeam X