Today we’d like to introduce you to Christina Schoenleber.
Hi Christina, it’s an honor to have you on the platform. Thanks for taking the time to share your story with us – to start maybe you can share some of your backstory with our readers?
As a full-time working mom of two kids, an eight and 10-year-old, I always found myself trying to find the perfect birthday T-shirt or a themed T-shirt for school events (i.e. Spirit week). I would drive myself crazy searching for something for them to wear at the last minute or reach out to my mom’s group to borrow something for an upcoming school event or holiday.
I’ve always considered myself crafty with tons of ideas, so I thought, why not just make my own T-shirt. I purchased a cutting machine and all the materials needed in order to make a T-shirt. I was so proud of my first T-shirt I made for kid’s birthday and posted it on social media.
To my surprise, my T-shirt caught the attention of my friends, family and eventually people I’ve never met but who follow me on social media. The more I posted my creations, the more messages and inquiries I received on how they can order a customized T-Shirt for their special event. As I started to create more and more, I found this my way of coping with stress and was more like therapy to me during the pandemic. So, I decided to take a huge leap of faith and put effort into my passion to see what could happen.
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?
As I started my small business during the pandemic, I realized I was not the only one who had the same idea of doing a startup T-shirt and gift business. The market was saturated with similar small businesses and often, materials were difficult to find. While working full time from home and having my 8 and 10-year-old on virtual school, and starting a small business, there was a lot more I had on my plate to juggle.
Appreciate you sharing that. What should we know about Curly Crissee Boutique?
Curly Crissee Boutique was started in September 2020 and specializes in custom and personalized gifts for any special occasion. We have now branched out to personalizing other types of gift items, such as coffee mugs, wine glasses, tumblers, mask holders, blankets, sweatshirts, etc. Whether it is for a birthday, Christmas, anniversary, graduation or it’s a “must-have” item, with our vision and creativity, we can make it happen for you.
Every item is hand-made and made to order with care and precision. Products are always packaged for that “WOW” factor to give it the boutique made just for you feeling. I always throw a “little something extra” from my heart into the package with a sincere handwritten thank you note to make my all my customers feel special. We are always striving to stay competitive in the market and reinventing ourselves to be able to offer new, exciting and fun gift ideas.
How do you define success?
As Ralph Waldo Emerson said, “To be yourself in a world that is constantly trying to make you something else is the greatest accomplishment.”
My definition of success is taking the time to write down your plan, attach specific goals to your plan with realistic timelines. Showing progress, being consistent and showing up every day to do the work. Success is running a profitable business that operates with honesty and integrity; this is the key to what keeps customers coming back to place orders because they trust and believe in you and your product.
Contact Info:
- Email: Curly.Crissee.Boutique@gmail.com
- Instagram: @curly_crissee_boutique
- Other: https://vm.tiktok.com/ZMecGycd6/
