The My-Sunday Skirt ;)

I am such a sucker for skirts!!! When in doubt how to dress, always opt for a skirt. Not as formal as a dress and not as casual as pants, they're the perfect in between.  And they're half the price of a dress and you can mix and match them with everything! Mini, pencil, and maxi, I love them all ;)  
The My-Sunday skirt is longer then a mini and shorter then a pencil.  Making it PERFECT for church or even dinner out with friends...in fact, I wore it to church today ;)...i actually made John take these pics right before we headed out the door! And now I can see why all the girls get so flustered when I take their pics..lol...I was like "I don't know how to stand"..."take another one"..."how should I stand next"!haha  
I'm also obsessed with this thick, houndstooth woven fabric in nude and light pink....who says you can only wear jewel or earth-toned colors in the fall/winter when even thick wool fabrics come in pastels!

"The My-Sunday Skirt"

My-Courtney skirt on Court ;)

Courtney Jordan- cute as can be and so full of life, she has such an elegance and grace to her, yet so fun and crazy all at the same time ;)  Born in the North, but meant to be from the South, she has southern belle charm and such sophistication to her style.  Always trendy and designer savvy, she has a closet full of Tory Burch shoes, Louis bags, Lilly dresses, and soon to be filled w/ My-Kim ;)  In fact, the first time I met her our sophomore year in college, I walked into her dorm room and saw a set of Louis Vuitton luggages in the corner. I was like, are those real?!?!LOL  And of course they were real, Ms. Courtney Jordan would never sport a fake! Knowing her closet consisted of a ton of Lilly and J.Crew pieces, I couldn't wait to get her in a My-Kim! 
With Court's tiny, perfect figure, I was so excited to try something new on her! With game day in mind, we designed the My-Courtney skirt that's perfect for tailgating. A short mini that's comfy and fun with pockets! And we added two gold buttons at the waistline for a sophisticated Courtney flair ;) This skirt couldn't be any cuter on her...can't wait to see her sport it at the FL game!!!

"My-Courtney Skirt" on Court

"My-Courtney" skirt on Court candid pic!lol

My-Jessica on Jess ;)

According to the "Merruim-Webster Dictionary and Thesaurus 11th edition," the definition of a best friend is the one who is closest to you and knows you better then you know yourself.  The first person you go to when you need someone to talk to. They are the shoulder to cry on, bc you know they truly care and they give the best hugs in the world. And the one that will always tell you things that you don't want to tell yourself.  Ms. Jessica Koehler started ALL, and I mean ALL of her essays in college with this "According to the Merrium Dictionary" phrase!!!haha 

Friends since 5th grade, we have been through it all!..through the good times and the bad...fm high school parties and breaking curfews(trying to sneak back into her room), senior week and spring breaks, break-ups and make-ups, Carolina football games, graduating high school and college, first big girl jobs, engagements, and SO, SO MUCH MORE to come!!!

They say your best friend is someone you call when you have nothing to talk about...(when I drive, or when she walks her dog), or the most important thing to talk about (when John proposed)!... Jess was actually the first person to call out me and John before we even dated...saying that he would be a great guy to marry and that we would end up together.  And being my best friend she was right!  And I can't wait until the day I'll be right ;)

I thought I was going to have writer's block when it came to Jess and even contemplated not writing anything at all!lol  It seems to be a trend with us....so close that we NEVER signed each others year books, and HARDLY ever take pictures together when we go out!lol But it's actually been pretty easy so far! She's so fun to be with, always straight forward, and most importantly LOYAL!!!  And that's my favorite thing about Jess, she always takes my side even if I'm wrong.  Beautiful and loyal to the core, she's my best friend and I thank God he brought her into my life ;) 

Jess looks ADORABLE in this gameday dress! She picked out a two-shouldered dress, with pockets, and a an open back. Anddd the open back is high enough that you can wear a bra with it!!!...I CANT WAIT for her to wear it to the FL game ;)

LOVE, LOVE the button she picked out!!!...Again, my fave part!!!

Gena's Wedding Reception Dress ;)

Who would've ever thought I would design a reception dress for the sweet, timid girl that sat next to me in Spanish class TEN years ago!!!  Being a grade younger then everyone else, Gena was a tad shy in class but I knew she just needed a little warming up to break out of her shell.  She probably thought I was obnoxious and wanted me to leave her alone, but i am SO GLAD I didn't!!!lol  As the year progressed, I got to know Gena and she is one of the most down to earth, sweetest girls I know.  So to have Gena ask me to design her reception dress, on one of the most important days of her life, was such an incredible honor for me.  I was so estactic that I agreed right away, not knowing how I was going to pull it off!lol  

Gena loved the style of Sara Seven dresses.  So I knew I wanted to do a pleated sweetheart, poofy dress.  You can see my lack of education in sewing, calling it a "poofy" dress!haha  Anyways, I thought something fun, short, and flirty to dance in during the reception would be PERFECT!!!  So I bought some organza material, folded some pleats, and started sewing away, and somehow it turned out BEAUTIFUL!!!  THANK GOD!!!  I was so nervous, but as soon as she put the dress on I couldn't be happier with the results.  Granted Gena would look good in a brown paper bag, the dress looked stunning on her!  

To have Gena wear a My-Kim dress on her special day meant the world to me, and I can't put into words how I felt to see her on the dance floor wearing a dress that I made.  I'm just happy that I got to be a part of it and wish her and Matt a lifetime of happiness ;) CONGRATS MR. AND MRS. RUSSO!!!

 

Save a Child: Buy a Dress ;)

I hate to admit it but I would consider myself, among many others, as a shopaholic.  I tend to use shopping as a means of therapy, or better known as "retail therapy!" Typically when I get stressed out, I would make an excuse to buy anything and everything I set my eyes on to make me feel better! I would fill that void and go broke while I was at it!lol 
Now, I'm happy to say I've replaced that urge with a mission to raise money for charity.  There is no high higher then donating money!  In the past, I've tithed my usual amount to my local church, and when a natural disaster hits, would do an occasional fundraiser with my Sunday school students.  But never have I ever had a strong desire to raise money for local charities.  ...until I found a passionate hobby I was obsessed with!  
When I started making a profit from My-Kim, because I enjoyed it so much, I didn't feel as though the profit belonged entirely to me.  Granted I  slaved away all night and day making dresses, I felt compelled to give that money away.  This urge made me want to work harder to raise even more money for a good cause.  
Honestly, I have NEVER felt that way about my corporate income!!!  Every single paycheck, and especially bonus I would receive would selfishly go towards a shopping spree, a trip, a new T.V., or some kind of Apple technology!lol  I would've never thought I would have such a strong desire to give away my hard earned money and make it a point to raise even more for charities.  
That is why I strongly encourage everyone to find something they're passionate about and turn it into their career. Even if it just starts out as a fun hobby, it will really change your perspective on giving. And it will drive you to work harder, so you can give more!  As Charles Wesley said... 


"Make all you can. Save all you can. Give all you can."

My-Kim's charity of choice is called Carolina's Children Charity.  I was lucky enough to grow up with such a loving family, but my heart breaks for the ones who didn't.  I tend to gravitate towards broken kids and always wanted to "fix" them.  What better way to help "fix" them by giving to a charity that has a mission to : 


"enhance the quality of life for children and families. Their primary service is to provide a home for children when they are unable to live with their family. They support this with a range of prevention and treatment programs that ensure continuity and are family focused and community based."  


With that being said, My-Kim is more then happy to donate a percentage of ALL profit to contribute in saving a child's life ;)  BIG THANKS to all the girls that have contributed and remember to.....


         SAVE A CHILD AND BUY A DRESS!!!! ;).....

It's all coming together ;)

OMGoodness!!! SOOOO MANY things to update on my blog!!! I ran into a couple of random pple last week that said they've been following my blog and I felt awful that I hadn't been posting anything lately. First of all, for the followers, you'll noticed I changed up my blog image and My-Kim's logo. With the little spare time I have, I've been reading up on Design Entrepreneur books and the first thing they mentioned was not to use a dress, dress form, or a sewing needle in your logo!!!...Little did I know, I had ALL THREE!!!hahaha...so i changed that quickly and am in LOVE with my new logo ;)

The new and improved My-Kim logo!!!!

So as I'm going down this avenue, I have certainly been blessed with everything falling into place. I've been frantically calling and e-mailing pple like crazy, but it's funny that ALL my business connections havn't been made by me. Everything just seemed to fall into place by itself. Let me explain....


The first week, I was so overwhelmed and couldn't understand the legal questions and steps to being properly licensed as a manufacturer. John and I would literally read a question and then google about it for 30 min and get nowhere. I got so frustrated and the next thing I know, Katie, a friend of mine texted me and said she would come over and help me. I had no idea she was a bookkeeper and worked with an accountant for the past few years, so I told her not to worry about it. THANK GOD she wouldn't take no for an answer, and she came over and walked me through EVERYTHING!!!! She said her job was to set up businesses and get them licensed so she knew her stuff inside and out!!! I'm so thankful for My-Katie ;)

I made Katie hold up all the paper work and take a pic of My-Kim becoming official!LoL...I seriously don't know what I would've done without her ;)

Next, I knew a business plan was needed, but thought they were over rated. The SC business association also recommended I get a mentor that's in the business, something else I thought was overrated. As luck would have it, one of my friends, Michelle introduced me to Rachel, an owner of boutiques in Charleston and Atlanta. We hit it off right away and she said she would love to mentor me and help me out as much as she can. And she gave me Franks number (business consultant) and said the next time we meet up, I better have a business plan put in place!!! And boy is Frank expensive!!!LoL ...

I don't have a pic of Frank, but figured this is how the whole process would go down!lol

Next, I knew I needed good samples to bring to a manufacturer. And I remembered someone at a fabric store once gave me a number of her friend that designed clothes. So I dug around my desk, found Ms. Pat's #, and was going to ask her if she knew of any sample makers. Next thing I know I was sitting in her living room and found out that she IS a SAMPLE MAKER with over 40 yrs of experience!!!! She also said she would give me lessons to sharpen my sewing skills!!!...i snuck in SO, SO many pics of her work space, I'll have to do a whole blog about her later ;)

One of Ms. Pat's vintage books from the 1800's!

....to be continued...i'll have to finish this later....my oh so talented web designer, John Kim, turns 28 in 10 minutes!!!


Speaking of John, he is truly the most intelligent guy I know. After barely 1 month, he picked up html coding just like that. He doesn't even use a website with existing templates for you to choose from. I'm talking about him actually html coding EVERYTHING from scratch so that I can have it exactly like I want it. I am truly blessed with the BEST FIANCE EVER!!!! ok time for me to go spoil this web designer of mine ;)

My-John ;)

....BIG THANKS for everyone that reads my blog and can't wait to tell you the rest of My-story ;) .....

A fork in the road on which career path to take....