We recently connected with Stefanie Solano and have shared our conversation below.

Alright, Stefanie thanks for taking the time to share your stories and insights with us today. We’d love to go back in time and hear the story of how you came up with the name of your brand?

When I first started sewing, I looked to my kids for ideas. There are hundreds of thousands of baby products on the market, but not a single one was “perfect”. A cute Bandana Bib, but it had scratchy Velcro that would leave red marks on my baby’s neck. A cozy blanket, but it was so big it would drag on the floor when my tiny toddler carried it. Cozy socks, that were instantly kicked off. The list went on and on, and I could have spent a small fortune trying to find the perfect item for my child, or I could make it myself. So, there I was sewing away, perfecting my children’s favorite items and adding some of my own creations along the way. Three + Me Creations was born. My three kids giving me inspiration and myself bringing the ideas to life.

Stefanie , 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?

When I was a young girl, I always had a passion for crafting and creating. I would spend my days making bracelets for friends, painting and coloring pictures, and always had a collection of craft supplies nearby. In middle school I was introduced to sewing. As a class we were instructed to make a pillow, mine was a pink pig and I remember being so proud of myself for making it all on my own.

Fast forward several years to my adult life. I am a stay-at-home mom who desperately needed a hobby. I loved my children, my husband and the life we were building, but I was looking for something that would fill my creative needs. So, on my thirtieth birthday I bought myself a sewing machine. Remembering back to that middle school sewing class, and all the times I watched my grandmother over the years I set out with a very ambitious goal. I was going to make my family matching Christmas pajamas! Oh, boy did I fail. They were the most comical pajamas and the only purpose they served was making me, my husband and our two kids at the time cry in laughter.

Feeling a little defeated, I decided to work on a smaller project. As it was still winter, I decided to make hats for my kids. After researching hat styles, I drew up a pattern, found the perfect fabric and got to work. The sweet feeling of success after defeat. They were perfect. The top knot baby hat and slouch beanie were born! I then started making Bandana Bibs and Snuggle Lovey Blankets. Soon, I had friends asking if they could purchase my baby items as gifts. In 2019 Three + Me Creations was officially a business. Throw in the birth of our third child, a pandemic and several other hurdles it was a very slow growing business, but none the less a business I was so very proud of.

Today Three + Me Creations offers an ever-growing list of products, hand embroidery options to personalize your items and I even accept special order requests. If you are local to central Ohio, you can often find me at vendor markets and pop-up shop events. If you are not local, everyone is welcome to shop my website as I ship items all over the United States.

As a mom, I am always telling my kids to do what makes them happy, and to follow their dreams and passions. As adults I often believe we forget those dreams and passions. We get stuck in the day to day and forget to explore our creative outlets and use our imaginations. So, I invite you to do what makes you happy today. What did you once love that has somehow been lost in the dust?

How’d you think through whether to sell directly on your own site or through a platform like Amazon, Etsy, Cratejoy, etc.

I decided to sell on my own website as I loved the personal aspect of it. I feel like I could have grown a lot faster if I had used Etsy or Amazon to list my items, but I personally felt this took away from the community that I was trying to build with my business. I wanted everything to be personal, to have a relationship with my customers. Buying a personal domain caused my business to grow at a rate I was comfortable with, the word slowly getting out to family and friends and growing into a brand I am so proud to call mine.

Any insights you can share with us about how you built up your social media presence?

Today we live in a world where the number of followers on your accounts is a direct correlation to “success”. The number of views on your latest reel can judge how successful you are as a business to the outside world. My Instagram account has been slowly growing since the day I started my business. I am currently still under 1k followers, but I can scroll through the names and tell you something about each and every one of the people that follow me and that is something to be proud of!

If you are just starting out on social media, my advice would be to be authentic. Post things that matter to you, show your face and don’t be afraid to be yourself. The right audience will follow. Finally, never compare yourself to other accounts.

Contact Info:

• Website: www.threeandmecreations.com
• Instagram: @threeandmecreations
• Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/3andMeCreations
• Other: Email: [email protected]

Image Credits
Amy Grissom