Crafty Mom, Meet Mint + Modern

Hey y'all, I'm Kathryn.  Most of you reading this know me as "Crafty Mom".  And some of you might not even know who Crafty Mom ever was.  In November 2016, I began my adventure of sharing my creativity with the people around me.  That adventure turned into Crafty Mom in January 2017.  So why did I choose to name my company "Crafty Mom"?, well there's a number of reasons:

1. I am a mother.  A mother of two boys.  Those boys are my life, my world, my everything!  Hence, the reason why including the fact that I am mother in my business plan was important.  

2. I have been called "crafty" for years.  "You're so crafty!", "I wish I could be as crafty as you!" I would hear.  The term had just kind of stuck with me since I was a kid channeling my inner Joanna Gaines or Anna Griffin.

3. I needed something catchy, something people would remember me by, something that flowed in a sense that others would remember the business and name just by saying it.

When you add all of those ingredients together, you get "Crafty Mom".  

Over the course of two years I became known as the Crafty Mom of Hickory, NC.  The store name essentially became my nickname, especially in my downtown corner.  Crafty Mom continued to grow larger day by day.  Five months into business, I opened a brick and mortar shop in downtown Hickory, NC.  I was able to do so with the support of my family, friends, and rapidly growing client base.  

Crafty Mom offered a variety of services and products at the time of the shop opening, here's a list of a few:

Custom shirts and decals, handmade jewelry, handmade wood signs, monogramming, and design services

Two years in, I realized I had grown to offer even more products than before.  In addition, I had added services to my list of offerings and wanted to continue to expand to offer my customers a wow experience by shopping with us.  In a sense, Crafty Mom was moving into a different direction from where it all began.  This leads me to the why, why did Crafty Mom change to Mint + Modern?  A question that I get asked a lot, so I am going to address it below:

1. Crafty Mom led people to believe a number of things about my company that I had never thought of until I opened the physical location.  Some of those include: specializing in craft supplies, or only selling kids clothes (or that I am just a kid store), and that only moms could shop in my store because mom was in the business name.  This stems from two years of foot traffic research.  I literally heard statements come from potential clients such as, "oh, it's just a kid's store, we do not need to go in there!"; "Crafty Mom!, we are not moms so we do not need anything in there!" and my personal favorite, "So you just sell craft supplies right?"  

2. Unfortunately, the previous name was not as professional.  When you hear Crafty Mom, especially if you are a fellow crafter, you may think of just another vinyl maker.  Or you may think, it's just one of the crafty people that will probably fail a few months from now like all of the others.  The name was a cliche, your typical hobbyist naming herself the "Crafty Mom".  Because of this, the name was never a true fit for the level of business that I conduct each day.  The name was a setback for business growth.

3. Mint + Modern is clean, simple, and open-ended.  You really have no idea what I am selling just by hearing the name.  This leaves room for constant change within the company, to move in directions that it may not have gone before.  The new name is more upscale or boutique-like, which works well for a physical location in a downtown setting.  The name is taken more seriously and potential clients do not speculate on the contents of my store before walking in first.  Mint + Modern creates value for your purchases and orders, which is a benefit we want you to feel when shopping with us.

Now that you understand the change, know that it has been received much better than I could have ever expected!  So much planning, research, and thought went into this huge change that it made me nervous to even finalize it.  I am so glad that I made the change as I have received even more positive reaction and support from new and returning clients than ever before!  

This is truly an exciting time for my little business.  I want to welcome you to Mint + Modern.  Stay tuned for what's to come...