We recently connected with Mallory & Jordan Kurlin and have shared our conversation below.
Mallory & Jordan , appreciate you joining us today. Do you take vacations? How do you keep things going – any advice for entrepreneurs who feel like they can’t step away from their business for a short vacation?
Do we take vacations? Absolutely yes! Some might respond that they think we take too many vacations and there is a big reason why. As small business owners, we currently run Pretty M. White in our townhome..in other words not a lot of space, and a whole lot of mess and product. We both work full time as well, Jordan being a civil engineer, and I (Mallory) a nurse, so our time is cut pretty slim and we have to make the most of every minute we get in the day. There are a few reasons why we place vacations on top of our priority list. One is because it is the only way to get away from work. Besides our other jobs, there is always something to do and more that can be done for Pretty M.White. Our small business is our dream so it is so easy to get carried away and neglect many other things in our lives.
A second reason why we go on so many vacations is because we believe that travel is the foundation of inspiration. When we travel and are influenced by different cultures, architecture, and decor it helps get our creative juices flowing when it’s time for designing new collections. All decor is inspired from somewhere and it is so cool to take bits and pieces from our travels and create something of our own. For me, our travels and our decor go hand in hand because I don’t think I would love decor as much as I do if it wasn’t for traveling. Things I specifically look for during travel are unique boutique hotels, detail oriented buildings, and places we will not find back in Phoenix Arizona. We plan to expand Pretty M.White soon by showing and educating more on travel and the places we have been and will be going!
Lastly, the biggest and most important reason why we travel a lot is for our marriage! We both love to travel and we both love being able to have uninterrupted time together. I can easily say that we are each other’s best friends and we want it to stay that way. Living where we work I sometimes find myself treating Jordan like my business partner.. So getting away to travel is so refreshing to us both, to our marriage, and to our business!
Mallory & Jordan , before we move on to more of these sorts of questions, can you take some time to bring our readers up to speed on you and what you do?
Hello! We are Mallory and Jordan of Pretty M.White; a company who believes in making people feel special through the details of decor, travel, and parties. We love pretty things and want to share those things with you. We specialize in handmade home decor that ranges from painted signs to marble coasters that can be found throughout 7 different shops in the Phoenix valley. Decor, travel, and party decor may seem like a very broad business but when it comes to details enhancing your experience it just makes sense. Little attention to details whether in your home, party, or somewhere in Italy, they play a role in sparking an experience. For some that are not detail oriented they may not admire all the individual details, but they will leave your home, that party, or that trip and remember how it made them feel and that is what we strive for. Pretty M.White got started little by little while helping decorate multiple events for friends from baby to bridal showers. At my own bridal shower, I collected a variety of teacups to give the guests as a favor and let them pick out one that suited them. Later, I had someone tell me she left my bridal shower feeling so loved and appreciated and she admired all the details. That is what sparked this passion. Travel, home decor, and parties share another common ground that I didn’t realize for quite some time. They all are shared with the people we love most. So yes we want to make you specifically feel special, but we want to enhance your experiences through the details with the people who you love most and create those core memories.
With multiple parties under our belt, one thing led to another and we found ourselves in a local shop for paint (Shoutout to Grungy Galz) where we happened to meet the owner and show her some coasters we were making. Before you know it, Pretty M.White was formed making handmade home goods! We quickly expanded into multiple local shops and markets and have loved every minute of it. Though most of our time has been expanding our home decor section, we are finally ready to set sail on the other side of our business of travel and parties by offering education and services in both areas. We are so excited to see where this portion of the business takes us!
What we are most proud of in all of this has been seeing the smiles on peoples faces. Getting to see people smile and experience true joy at markets, at their special event, or hearing them rave about how much they loved their trip truly makes all of the late nights worth it.
What else should we know about how you took your side hustle and scaled it up into what it is today?
We may not be doing this business “full time” because we both work our other careers (nurse & civil engineer), however we work on the business full time! Back in 2018, we created our logo and had the dream to start a business but was too scared to fail so we sat on it for over a year. We started creating coasters for family and friends, and were helping decorate events here and there. A year later we were randomly in Grungy Galz, a local shop in Goodyear to buy paint for a project we were working on. Less than a week later we were signing a contract and starting Pretty M.White officially! Little by little we started expanding into other retail spaces and growing our online custom orders. Some of the biggest truths I have to remind myself when putting myself out there is “the worst thing they could say is no” and that’s ok. What is meant to be will happen and I need to remind myself of such things pretty often. Our key milestones I believe are in those small moments where you trust your gut and take a risk. In the moments of feeling imposter syndrome and you still do it anyways. In the times where you shock yourself with the idea you had in your head coming to life in front of you. As well, in the moments of struggle and failure that make you redirect and grow stronger as a business. All of these moments come together and have helped shape our business to where it is today.
Have you ever had to pivot?
We recently had a major life event last year that made us rearrange our whole lives. I was working over 40+ hours a week at a nursing job I had been at for over 5 years when in early 2021 I started to experience debilitating anxiety and depression. There really are no words to describe the way I felt, but I started to become phobic of my nursing job and was unable to work on the business. Thankfully, Jordan and my sister stepped up for me when I could not work and carried the business during that time. Through these months, I felt like I was going crazy and could not understand why I felt the way I did and I knew people were thinking it too. It was truly the scariest and darkest time of my life. I kept telling Jordan I thought I was going to die soon, which like anyone’s response was “Mallory you’re ok”. In May of 2021 I started to experience severe back pain, which led to leg pain, that ended up being a 2 foot long blood clot that was from my knee to my belly button and a small one in my lung. I found myself in the ICU on a blood thinner. The doctors said that my leg was dying off and the top portion of my blood clot was ready to break off and go straight to my heart. Through TPA and a whole lot of invasive procedures I am thankful to be alive and not have any permanent damage. Post hospital, my mental health went back to normal. My body was literally yelling at me for months that something was wrong. Going through this near death experience had us change up our entire lives for the better. I quit my nursing job and focused on myself and the business. It taught me the importance of what treatment I will no longer accept, that my career is not my identity, and my health comes above all. Though I still work as a nurse, I am now in a place where I enjoy my job again and Pretty M.White is the main priority. I am so beyond grateful to be given the opportunity to pursue our dreams and I truly appreciate every day.
Contact Info:
- Website: www.prettymwhite.com (coming real soon!)
- Instagram: PrettyM.White—Travel account coming soon!
- Facebook: PrettyM.White
- Other: TikTok-PrettyM.White Pinterest @PrettyMWhite
Image Credits
-Mikeandmols Photography -Tailsphotography