We’re excited to introduce you to the always interesting and insightful Carrie Dietze. We hope you’ll enjoy our conversation with Carrie below.

Carrie , appreciate you joining us today. What were some of the most unexpected problems you’ve faced in your business and how did you resolve those issues?

Lets face it, starting a business isn’t easy and more than likely will come with issues. First, we had to learn to sew! Neither me or MaryClair’ had ever sewn nor did we own a sewing machine! So we signed up for a private lesson on MaryClairs’ husband’s, grandmothers machine! Our sash pattern is very easy so we pretty much mastered it right off the bat thank goodness! Hurdle #1 check!

Awesome – so before we get into the rest of our questions, can you briefly introduce yourself to our readers.

MaryClair and I met when I found a job with a local designer after moving to Fairhope, Alabama. Though she’s young enough to be my daughter, we quickly became fast friends over fabric samples, mood boards, and iced coffees. We spent our days working side by side, sourcing for clients and, at the end of each day, MaryClair would put everything into CAD and create mood boards to pull it all together. I was fascinated by her ability to do this! While I have a degree in Graphic Design and she in Interior Design, we both shared a love for design. Eventually, we both left the designer job, and after a few months, we decided to do something together.
In 2017, I started a business designing graphic T-shirts. We had just moved to Florida, and I had zero friends so I had time on my hands and decided, “Why not start a business?” Mistake number one—don’t try this alone! My husband is great at business planning, but once it came to execution, it was all on me. Although the business was successful in its first year according to Shopify stats, it quickly morphed into a boutique rather than focusing solely on T-shirts. I started buying jewelry, shoes, and other items, which diluted my brand. My advice to MaryClair as we started our venture together was simple: Keep it simple and on-brand.
We met at a coffee shop with a vague idea of what we wanted to do. In the South, embroidery and monograms are a big deal, so we knew we wanted to create something sweet and classic. After considering a few ideas, we settled on embroidered wreath sashes. I had never seen one in person, but ordered one online to try it out. When it arrived, we quickly realized the humidity and heat ruined it, but we loved the concept. We had no sewing machines, no knowledge of embroidery, and no experience making them, but we were determined to learn.
We decided on the name Southern Sash + Co and began to make a list of tasks to get started. The first challenge was learning to sew. MaryClair got a sewing machine from her husband’s grandmother, and I arranged a private lesson for both of us. We bought 11 yards of fabric and made a pattern out of poster board. The beginning was tough—we needed a large space to cut fabric, a mat, and a better cutting tool. We started with a hand roller cutter, but it was slow and dulling the blades quickly. We were discouraged but kept going. Our next hurdle was finding an embroidery vendor. After some trial and error, we found Mitzi and Jeff, a local couple who do beautiful embroidery out of their home, and we’ve been working with them ever since.
We also decided to design our sashes seasonally, using each month’s holiday to inspire new designs. Choosing thread colors and making the designs unique to our brand became my favorite part of the process. After selling a few sashes to family and friends, we returned to buy more fabric, only to learn it had been discontinued. We needed to find a wholesale supplier, but we didn’t have an account. I called the vendor directly and discovered there was no minimum order requirement, so we opened our first wholesale account and placed our own order. We were thrilled! I also researched fabric cutting tools and bought an electric cutter, which made the process much easier.
When MaryClair was 7 months pregnant, we took our first road trip to Atlanta’s Mart to find a wreath supplier. After that, we were officially in business!
At the time, I was working part-time at a local home store in downtown Fairhope, Willow + Gray Home. My boss, Amanda, was incredibly supportive and allowed us to sell our wreaths and sashes in her store. That was a huge break for us, especially when we participated in a “girls’ night” event in August. It was a success, and soon people were coming into the store specifically to shop with us.
Our next big opportunity came during the Arts and Crafts Festival in Fairhope, a popular event that draws people from all over. We set up a booth in front of Willow + Gray, and our sashes were a huge hit. This added out-of-town customers to our list, and Southern Sash + Co really started to take off.
Now in our second year, we’ve found a groove. I focus on sourcing and ordering fabric and wreaths, while MaryClair handles sewing when her one-year-old is napping. We meet to iron, package, and prepare the sashes for sale. We’ve received custom orders and are even debuting college and Greek sorority sashes on our website. Our sales have doubled compared to last year, and we’re excited to see what the future holds!

How did you put together the initial capital you needed to start your business?

We each put in around $1000.00 . $600 to get started and then another $400 to leverage some other stuff we needed to keep our heads above water. We have never been in the red. It’s a small business…we are still growing but we are impressed with how we have stayed in the black even paying ourselves every few months.

Contact Info:

• Website: https://Southernsashco.com
• Instagram: southernsashandco