We were lucky to catch up with Emily Cass recently and have shared our conversation below.

Emily, looking forward to hearing all of your stories today. What’s the backstory behind how you came up with the idea for your business?

I had inherited my grandmothers paints when I was a teen. I hung onto them because they were sentimental to me. They were left boxed away for years. Then as a young mom I craved ways to get out my creativity. I was always crafting and creating with my kids and for my kids but had very little time to invest in my own artistic endeavors. When my kids were all in school I decided to invest more time in pursuing art and creativity for myself. I had a few friends who were super encouraging, one asked if I wanted to host a market in my house and sell my art, another encouraged me to turn my art into notecards. After quitting my job during Covid to care for my kids, I decided to try running my business full time. I felt like the cards were a great way to help people connect and show love to one another in such a hard and lonely time. I started by mostly selling my notecards but then expanded to include art prints, t-shirts and sticker.

As always, we appreciate you sharing your insights and we’ve got a few more questions for you, but before we get to all of that can you take a minute to introduce yourself and give our readers some of your back background and context?

I am a mom of four from the border town of El Paso Texas. For me art is therapy and helps me find myself in the midst of being a mom and wife. Sharing my craft with people took some courage, its really hard to put yourself out there. I really wanted to put something positive out in the world. It blows me away that people decorate their homes with my art. I love interior design and love the idea of helping people have vision for what they want there space to look like when buying art and I love to provide prints as an affordable way to decorate. Everyone should be able to have art they love!

Do you have any stories of times when you almost missed payroll or any other near death experiences for your business?

Last year one of my children got very ill. She required intense treatment and it took a toll on my ability to run my business. I was overwhelmed, depressed, and did not have the same amount of time to dedicate to my business. She is doing really well now and so is my business. After going dark for a couple months it was hard to get back into markets and be seen again on social media, but I just remind myself that its about the journey not the destination. I take one day at a time and try not to compare my journey to the journey of others.

Okay – so how did you figure out the manufacturing part? Did you have prior experience?

I manufacture everything in my house, from the original artwork, to the packaged finished notecard, shirt or print. It has been full of trial and error. I wasn’t afraid to ask those who were a few step ahead for advice, like what kind of printer they used. or where they ordered packaging. You also have to get over yourself and realize failure are just a part of the process. I have tried many things that didn’t work, I regrouped and tried again. Some products are a hit and others aren’t, I try not to take it personally and just keep going!

Contact Info:

• Website: loveyoumucho.square.site
• Instagram: @love_you_mucho_designs