We recently connected with Sunny Wells and have shared our conversation below.

Sunny, thanks for joining us, excited to have you contributing your stories and insights. What’s the backstory behind how you came up with the idea for your business?

In 2014, shortly after my first grandson was born, my oldest daughter was just starting her photography business. Knowing I was a seamstress, she called me and asked if I would be able to make her a dress for her clients to use. She directed me to some photos she found on Etsy. They were very basic with just a tube top and a very long chiffon skirt that was open in the front. I told her I could do this relatively easily. I made her a few dresses, which she loved. She then asked if I would be willing to make a few more for a few friends of hers. She suggested a price that I could sell them for. I did this for a few months before deciding to open a shop in Etsy, At the time I was a stay at home mom. My younger children were 5 & 7 and my youngest had just started kindergarten; so the prospect of starting a new business was very exciting for me.

Sunny, love having you share your insights with us. Before we ask you more questions, maybe you can take a moment to introduce yourself to our readers who might have missed our earlier conversations?

I was raised in a large family in the 80’s. I have 9 siblings and my mother was a full time mom. In the 80’s, this was pretty unique as the Baby Boomers were known as being the “zero population” generation. Most of my friends were an only child or at the most had one sibling. My mom was what Roseanne Barr would lovingly describe as a “Domestic Goddess”, as she excelled in things such as cooking and sewing. It’s interesting that my sisters and I all seemed to go into “domestic” industries. I own a dress shop and I have a sister who is a pastry chef, one who makes and sells handmade quilts and afghans and another that manages a restaurant.

My mother taught me how to sew when I was very young. I actually can’t even remember the first sewing lesson I had. I remember making shorts for summer and skirts and dresses for school. When I was a teenager, i began designing my own patterns & making formal dresses for school dances. I loved the ability to make something truly unique that no one else would have. I carried this ability into my years of being a young mom with my older children all being born between the ages of 20-24.

When I first opened my shop I really wanted to create exceptional dresses with beautiful detail but also ones that would withstand washing and a little abuse. Since my main clientele would be photographers, I knew these dresses would be worn by multiple women in some “off the beaten path” ” areas. I noticed many of my competitors were using a fabric that resembles T-shirt material called “Jersey Knit”. I wasn’t crazy about this because, even though it was a relatively inexpensive fabric, it also wrinkled very easily and was very thin. I ultimately decided on a fabric called ITY Knit. It’s a little more expensive than Jersey Knit, but lasts much longer, isn’t sheer, has very consistent 4-way stretch and recovery and doesn’t wrinkle,

While most of the designers in my industry have many of the same style of dresses, I felt this set me apart since my dresses would definitely last longer and be easier to maintain.

We’d love to hear your thoughts about selling platforms like Amazon/Etsy vs selling on your own site.

I began on Etsy, which was a great place to start. For the first 4 years I grew consistently every year. When Etsy went public and opened up their market to international sellers I knew it was time to get off the platform. My goal was always to have my own website. Fortunately we live in a day and age where that is possible! I have a cousin who does website design and helped me get it up and going. The hardest part was transferring all the products, which had to be done one at a time, by hand.. but I was very happy with the overall finished product. I ran both my own website and Etsy for a while but eventually shut down the Etsy shop in 2019.

We’d love to hear about how you keep in touch with clients.

Most of my clients are photographers. While I never let myself be offended by a client who purchases from multiple vendors in my same industry, many of them are incredibly supportive and will often times message me with suggestions or ideas if they don’t see a specific style on my website. Most of the time I’m able to work with the client to create the design they are wanting, I think between that and the quality of my work I’ve been able to create a very loyal client base.

Contact Info:

• Website: https://www.missmadisonphotoprops.com/
• Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/missmadisoncouture
• Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/MissMadisonCouture?mibextid=LQQJ4d
• Twitter: https://x.com/mmboutique22?s=21&t=6mWKg2_nhv02LADQKcwv2A

Image Credits
Kayleigh Ashworth Photography Lynn Puzzo Photography Karin Sanders Photography