Alright – so today we’ve got the honor of introducing you to Mikki/Ashley Eveloff/Ludwig. We think you’ll enjoy our conversation, we’ve shared it below.
Mikki/Ashley, thanks for taking the time to share your stories with us today Let’s start with the story of your mission. What should we know?
2020 was a year of challenges. A basket full of “lemons.’” Life as we knew it came to a grinding halt. We adjusted, readjusted, and managed but nothing changed. Time kept going. More “lemons.” We needed SOMETHING. Something to fill the empty spaces. To bring joy.
Urged on by the silent voice of our Angel (Mimi’s late husband/Mama’s dad), we founded Bling It on by M&M, a trendy and unique company creating personalized and custom designs for babies, toddlers, kids, and adults.
Bling It On By M&M was actually rooted back in the 90’s and early 2000’s as a mere hobby and has now become our dream. While designing funky and unique clothing for ourselves, our Angel would encourage us to launch our own business. Too timid and apprehensive, we let our dream slide. Fast forward to 2020. Bored. Uncertain. Seeking stimulation. With a double dose addiction to shopping and passion for fashion, we realized, “We can do this ourselves! We can create! Be creative! And have fun doing it! Juggling the roles of Mommy, Mimi and designers, Bling It On by M&M was born.
Our designs are meant to sparkle. “Bling it on.” Joy. Happiness. Something for everyone. From babies, toddlers and kids to moms and dads. Bling or no bling. Unique. Trendy. Custom. Personalized. Exciting. From our heart to yours, Made with an extra dose of love.
We pride ourselves in carrying on the legacy of our Angel everyday. His passion. Generosity. Love for people. Kindness. We hope to embrace these virtues everyday creating new friendships along the way. We are beyond grateful for every opportunity.
Great, appreciate you sharing that with us. Before we ask you to share more of your insights, can you take a moment to introduce yourself and how you got to where you are today to our readers
2020 was a year of challenges, change, and uncertainty. Mimi (Mikki) was long retired and Mama’s (Ashley) managerial role at a fitness facility was on hold due to covid. We had no idea when the gyms would reopen. Life was at a standstill. The first few weeks were fun, exciting, playing outdoors with the kids/grandkids. Weeks turned into months. Bored with countless jigsaw puzzles and mindless games, tired of our daily pj attire, we started designing. Sweats, t-shirts, denim jackets, hats, shoes jewelry and more! We needed some sparkle in our lives! Fabric, patches and rhinestones was all it took to get us hooked! Before we knew it we were designing anything we could get our hands on! We loved our designs, the kids loved wearing them, and we thought, if not now, when? Let’s do this! We’ll give it a shot. If we sell, we sell. If not, nothing lost. With the help of our amazing son-in-law/husband, our website was launched October 2020. We had several sales that first day and shock was an understatement. As a real long shot, we also launched our Etsy shop, Bling It On By M And M. One month later, November 1st, we heard that first “cha-ching!” We opened shop with 15 products mostly focused on babies, toddlers, and kids. Today we have an assortment of products for men, women, babies, kids and adults. We are constantly updating with new creations to meet the fashion trends. Over the past two years we have made a mark with our unique jean jackets. When Bling It On began, we were using brand name jackets purchased from retail stores. This was a challenge at times as the stores often ran out of sizes we needed, especially during holiday season. Fast forward…January 2022 we designed our original Bling It On Design jacket, a soft denim, slightly distressed jacket with a perfect fit! This was a game changer and so exciting! Our personalized jackets are one-of-a kind, allowing the client to express their individuality, showcasing favorite things, hobbies, profession, or a personal statement (i.e. Black Lives Matter, Human Rights, etc.). We give the client the option to engage in the creative process, encouraging communication along the way. This enhances our relationship with our clients and ensures the most positive outcome. As with any business there have been bumps along the way. With customer service being our top priority we always try to turn a “difficult” situation into a positive learning experience. All of these experiences have only enhanced our awareness that customer service comes first! As a mother/daughter team working from home, juggling two toddlers we turned our dream into reality. We do it ALL! Creation, production, wrapping, mailing, inventory, social media and more! Whatever it takes, we get it done! It may have taken a worldwide pandemic, but we finally realized if we can dream it, we can do it!
Can you tell us about a time you’ve had to pivot?
2020. Pandemic. The world shut down. And so did we. Life stopped. Everything around us was in turmoil. Jobs. School. Travel. What do we do? How do we get through each day? We can shut down. Quit. Limit our abilities to achieve. Or we figure it out. Turn lemons into lifelines. Keep going. Be RESILIENT. That was the name of the game. Adapt in the face of adversity. Create our plan, say “yes,” and keep going every day. Each day was the chance for a new beginning. Bling It On was our opportunity to create, grow and evolve. We shifted our attitude, our mind, and our mission. We take nothing for granted. We appreciate the support of our clients and community and are truly grateful for every opportunity to create. We will continue to “Bling It On” with all of our passion and love! “When life gives you lemons BLING IT!”
Okay – so how did you figure out the manufacturing part? Did you have prior experience?
We started manufacturing our own line of denim jackets January 2022. We were frustrated with dealing with retailers for products and decided it was time for us to create our own Bling It On jacket. We reached out to several vendors/distributors to help us with our design. It took several months of creating the perfect style, denim quality, distress, button design, and label logo before we were ready to go into production. Sizing was the biggest issue. When we worked with local retailers we found that sizing was constantly off. We wanted to deliver more accurate sizing for our customers. We received multiple sample jackets before determining the most accurate fit for every size from 0-6 months to 16. We waited anxiously for our first shipment of jackets to arrive and were so amazed that everything was exactly as we had expected! Considering that neither of us had designed or worked with manufacturing in the past we felt this was a real WIN for Bling It On! Our jackets are comfortable, soft, slightly distressed and the perfect fit!
Contact Info:
- Website: https://www.etsy.com/shopBlingItOnByMandM
- Instagram: @blingitonbymandm
- Facebook: Bling It On by M&M
Image Credits
True Photography