We recently connected with Nicole Hawthorne and have shared our conversation below.

Alright, Nicole thanks for taking the time to share your stories and insights with us today. Let’s talk legacy – what sort of legacy do you hope to build?

My hopes towards my legacy is deeply rooted in my two daughters. Everything I do as a parent relates to who I hope they become as they grow in to adults. Starting a business for beautiful representation started with wanting my oldest daughter to see herself in simple things that she plays with. This business is in her namesake & she is our 6 year old co-founder. Our legacy is wrapped up together because we are building something bigger than ourselves that we hope will last longer than us also. That’s the dream and we are working to make our dream a legacy for all to enjoy.

Nicole, 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?

Jayla’s Heirlooms creates handmade, timeless, & diverse dolls for children to feel beautifully represented. When I was pregnant with my 1st daughter Jayla I realized there weren’t many beautiful brown dolls made of cloth that she could relate to at a young age. So I decided to curate a collection for her to enjoy. And that’s how the idea for our business was born. We work with women artisans from around the world to sew our dolls and most work from the comfort of their own homes. We are intentional about how we grow and desire to be as sustainable as possible with our products line.

Our proudest moments thus far have been winning over $35,000 in business grants, being apart of Amazon’s Black Business Accelerator, & having our dolls featured in boutique toy stores across the US. It fills my heart with joy to see my 6 year old talk about owning her own business and encouraging other young ones to start one of their own.

We want people to know that we are working hard to provide diverse representation for many groups of historically excluded groups! Our goal is for all children to have a doll that is authentic to them and their experience growing up in a world that is full of rich cultural experiences all around. It’s my ode to my girls and by extension to all children around the world.

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

Initially I self funded the business with money from my full time job as a project manager. Once I realized that this was going to take more funds I started to apply for grants locally then internationally and get involved in pitch competitions. This allowed for us to win very critical funds to build our prototype and test our concept. I would recommend to everyone just starting out to apply for as many grants as they can stand! And pitch, pitch, pitch! It helps to refine your business model and allow for you to become an expert at telling your story.

Do you sell on your site, or do you use a platform like Amazon, Etsy, Cratejoy, etc?

We sell on a variety of platforms which include Amazon, Etsy, our website, local pop up shops, and small boutique toy stores. We believe this strategy helps to get our product in front of more & more people. We utilize both paid & organic marketing as well. Its true if people do not know about you, how can they buy from you? So being in a good amount of spots where our target customer is means we have a high probability of them being exposed to our brand and eventually converting in to a loyal customer. I always say go where your people are!

Contact Info:

• Website: www.jaylasheirlooms.com
• Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/jaylasheirlooms/?hl=en
• Facebook: https://m.facebook.com/jaylasheirlooms/?fref=tag
• Linkedin: http://linkedin.com/in/nicole-hawthorne-csm-42277240

Image Credits
Danielle Mellion Chantelle Jordan Briana Groff