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Hip moms of Kitsap who are a little bored with the idea of a mother’s ring may find the “Mommy Tag” just the answer to their fashion dilemma. Similar to the military “dog tags,” but handmade out of a special silver material, these tags tell the world about the mother’s biggest pride — her children. But no traveling the world is required for finding these little treasures: The Mommy Tags were born and are made in Silverdale under the creative direction of former paralegal Kirsten Reed.
Reed has been crafting jewelry for many years, including experimenting with a special precious metal clay made from recycled silver. When her niece was born in 2003, she made a personalized “dog tag” with the girl’s name and birth date for the proud mom. The mom loved it, told her friends about it, and next thing she knew Reed was filling orders.
At her father’s encouragement, she developed a Web site and sent a sample to American Baby magazine. When the magazine featured her jewelry the following April, Mommy Tags (www.mommytags.com) received $10,000 worth of orders — and Reed realized she may have finally found the niche she’s been looking for.
Since then, her tags have been featured in various national magazines and on Web sites, and the company currently has $250,000 worth of sales. Not bad for a resilient lady who several years prior thought she would never make it out of some extreme times.
While commuting from Kitsap to downtown Seattle, where Reed was a paralegal for a large firm, her daughter was kidnapped at gunpoint one day in 2000 while walking to a bus. Reed realized she needed to spend more time at home, and explored business ideas, starting to sell some jewelry to a few gift shops. While still dealing with some of those emotions, she discovered her two daughters had been molested by her ex-husband, and one daughter was actually charged with felony as a result. The ordeal to keep her girl out of jail eventually resulted in Reed’s face becoming paralyzed for six months due to Bell’s Palsy, a condition caused by trauma to the cranial nerve. She couldn’t work, was really sick, and had to go through extensive recovery.
“I decided I was going to fight back,” Reed says. Her first step was to run the New York City Marathon, which she did in November 2003. “I decided I could do anything after that,” she says.
The Mommy Tags business provided Reed with the opportunity to start life in a new direction. With the help of a close friend, she developed a business system, manufacturing and marketing processes. Her home-based business has grown so successful, she is running out of room for more growth.
The Mommy Tags have been joined by Daddy Tags, Tot Tags, Wag Tags and Remembrance Tags — and the tags have taken over her garage, laundry room and daughter’s old bedroom. “I’m just the tag queen,” Reed jokes.
Using two wholesale distributors in Australia as well as online and traditional retailers, Reed distributes her products all around the world. Despite the large amounts of orders, she has kept the business manageable, manufacturing most of the tags herself, and using the help of a few good friends.
Reed finds it challenging to separate her work and her personal life. Since she’s always in her studio making things — including for a second jewelry business she has — she had to recognize that time off is important. “I could totally live my life doing my business, and that’s not fair to the rest of my family,” she says.
Help may be on the way: Reed plans to build a separate studio on her property, detached from the home. The studio will also help her move the business to its next level. Reed has new ideas for marketing the tags to places like hospitals and military bases but those ideas are on hold since she’s outgrown the space. Once the new building is in place, she could add contract employees as well as have the orders picked up on site by a shipper.
“Right now I’m projecting my marketing and trying to figure out how to stay ahead of the curve and be new and exciting…while not outsourcing to China or manufacture in a big facility,” she says. She thinks the products are more attractive by being handmade, and she hopes to keep it that way.
Reed recalls about a decade ago seeing a piece of jewelry featured in a national magazine, and thinking how cool that would be. Now, she has seen that dream come true, on top of having a business designed around moms and babies. “I think back to the bad things leading up to it… and I feel blessed,” she says.
Reed acknowledges that her days now can be just as long as the days during the ferry commute to Seattle, but now she spends those hours working for herself, not someone else. “You have to be really self-motivated and be the type of person who can take criticism,” she says, “and be able to determine your own destiny.”. |
