It was one year ago today that my girl and I sat down, completely unaware of the journey we were about to embark on.
We pulled some construction paper from the closet, a roll of masking tape from the “junk drawer”, sat down on the floor and got to work. Once the masterpiece was on her and securely in place, SHE clipped a handful of colored pens to the neckline and declared it was now perfect. I, of course, snapped a photograph with my phone and posted it to Instagram. As we parents do these days 😉
To be honest, I’m not even sure what to say about the past year, or especially the past three months. We began making paper dresses for fun. We continued making paper dresses for fun. And as long as it’s fun, we’ll continue to make paper dresses.
There was never any intention to gain attention. And when friends suggested, then suggested some more that I start a little blog so I could maybe show a little bit more about how we make our dresses, I went ahead and secured the fashionbymayhem.com URL. And then it sat for months. I didn’t even put the site “up” until four months after purchasing the name. Mostly because I wasn’t sure exactly what to do with it. Each time a friend would ask “how did you make that?”, I’d kind of laugh thinking they were kidding. Because the truth is, there is never a plan when we sit down to make a dress and there isn’t an exact formula we follow. At the risk of going artsy fartsy on you, we sit down and take Mayhem’s (and my) preferred method of learning: trial and error. We start taping paper together, then hold it up to see if it: fits around her, is the length she wants, is “puffy”enough, etc. We don’t use tape measures or rulers and we actually didn’t use scissors until about four months into this project. We’d simply fold and tear the paper when we needed to.
In the beginning it was incredibly easy. And then as Mayhem continued to request dresses, I found myself being challenged in the best ways possible. Having spent the thirteen years prior to Mayhem’s birth creating photographs of other people’s families and children as well as designing and building sets in our studio, I was missing that creativity. And I didn’t even know it. I knew that I currently had the very best job in the world but I didn’t know how to make it my own. I read books and blogs and magazines and articles of every kind about “parenting”. I watched friends share their lives, journeys and ridiculous “Pinterest worthy” crafts. And I wondered what I “should be doing” with my kid.
I tried cooking. And crafts. And I’ve had more Pinterest fails than should be allowed by law.
I’ve wondered how other moms do it all. And then subsequently realized they probably don’t. Or at least they don’t do it ALL well.
When friends started reaching out via private messages and emails late last summer to let me know how much they were enjoying the photographs of our paper dress creations, I was genuinely surprised. But I was appreciative none the less. I was encouraged that maybe I was doing something in this parenting gig a little bit right and I was watching my girl flourish.
Little by little our audience on Instagram began to grow. Moms were sharing our feed with other moms and I found a community who I had a lot in common with. And we were each doing our own thing.
But more importantly, Mayhem and I had found something that we could do each and every day. Something that was fun for us both. Something that was new and different every day. Something that we each learned something new from each and every day. And it was the one thing we did each day that for as long as we were doing it, I knew there would be no tantrums …. 😉 Truth.
When the first story/interview about our dresses was published online in December of 2013, the result was that the number of followers we had doubled. From around 500 to around 1000. And I was genuinely surprised. But again, they were mostly moms, just like me, doing their best each day to raise kids who will hopefully be great adults.
When the next online story/interview was published in late February of this year it was a bit of a different story. What started out as virtually the same interview I had done previously, morphed into our story being shared around the globe. Multiple times. I wasn’t surprised. I was dumbfounded and speechless.
All the while, I’ve kept saying to my husband “But we’re just sitting on the floor taping paper together …. do you think they know that?!?!”. For the record, he thinks you do.
Which brings us to now. And a whole lotta questions that a whole lotta people ask on a regular basis. So on this first anniversary of our first paper dress, we’d like to share a little more about the current state of Fashion By Mayhem.
On Media Appearances:
There’s a reason we haven’t done many interviews or appearances. Actually there are a few more than one reason, but here are the top few:
1. We don’t watch a lot of TV. And the Voice didn’t call … probably because they’ve seen those videos of Mayhem singing. I kid 😉
2. The immediate response from the TV media when our story went viral was EXTREMELY AGGRESSIVE and that was a MAJOR turn off for us. I won’t go into all of the details but having our cell phone numbers “leaked” among networks/shows along with our extended family being just shy of harassed to get in contact with us was not cool. Not cool at all. And you know what they say about first impressions ….
3. Nearly everyone who reached out wanted Mayhem to create a dress “on the air” for them. And I believe the quickest way to destroy her creativity or desire to continue to make dresses is to force her to do it. I don’t force her to do it at home and I won’t force her to make one because it’s good TV. There have been many times over the past year when I’ve suggested we make a dress and she’s said “not right now” or “I don’t really want to” and that’s completely OK with me.
I’m NOT saying we won’t ever do any appearances, but what I AM saying is that they have to be the right fit and sharing the right message for us to participate. I’ll continue to trust my gut on these things. And possibly start doing our own interviews right here 😉
On Monetizing:
Yes we will. We HAVE to. When our story went viral, I discovered very quickly that our only decision was to either find credible (because of my moral/ethical beliefs) ways to monetize or to shut things down completely. Why? Again, there are lots of reasons, but to start with, we incurred lots of expenses right off the bat. The first was that this blog shut down due to traffic overload. The solution? … We had to move this site to a new server. What that meant was that hosting this site used to cost me about $6/month and all of the sudden it was going to cost about $80/month to handle the traffic. I can think of lots of things I’d rather spend $888 dollars on this year than additional web hosting costs, so this thing has got to pay for itself! Second, we had to get attorneys involved right away. They cost more than $888 …. Third, trademark and copyright costs. I’ll spare you many of the details we’ve had to go through to protect our work, but let’s just say, the government is making lots of money on us. Did you know that it costs $35 per image to register your work with the US Copyright Office? PER IMAGE. I’d like to tell you that I have a sizable tab running with them at this point, but they don’t let you run a tab. I might just earn enough points on my AMEX to take that trip though…
So how do we do it?
Well, that’s something we’re still in the process of figuring out. But what I can tell you is that I’m finding lots of ways we don’t want to. I’ve turned down $250, $500 and $1000 offers to post images to my Instagram feed. Because it feels like a conflict of conscience. I’m doing my best to keep my IG feed as true as possible. Have I mentioned some things I like in my feed? You bet! Because I get emails every single day from people wanting to know more about stuff we have/like and where to find those things. And I think sharing an affiliate link to some of those things on this site is fair.
But for all of the stuff I sift through each day, it becomes worth it when you find the few things that completely resonate with who we are and what we do. We’re welcoming the right creative opportunities that allow us to work with fantastic people. The Vogue collaboration was truly beyond a thrill. Why? We got to keep doing what we do. Make dresses, photograph our creations, and then allow them to be shared with a bigger audience. That is called win-win, friends. We’ve had the opportunity to speak in front of and consult with some pretty fantastic companies/brands about photography, storytelling and simply “how we do what we do”. And that is something that we truly enjoy. We’ve been working on a creative collaboration with a company that will allow Mayhem to continue to “do her thing” as well as opening her eyes to experiences so far beyond what we can do here at home. And I’m beyond ecstatic! Because all of these collaborations fit within our goals as a family. And allow us to stick together – which is important to us.
So what else will we be up to?
We’ll see. I’ve been told lots of times that I need to strike while the iron is hot and take advantage of as many opportunities as possible right now. But here’s the thing – I will NEVER get this time back with Mayhem. And I like being a mom. So I’m not ready to give up spending my days with her. I do, however, enjoy that we get to be creative on our terms and if that opens up opportunities that are a good fit for our family, we will absolutely take advantage of some of those.
If you’ve stuck around to read all of this, thank you. THANK YOU. Thanks for sharing in this crazy journey with us. We’re looking forward to whatever year 2 of paper dresses brings!
Hiya- I’ve got to say thank you for this post. I’m an art teacher in the South Bronx at school for children who are in foster care . I noticed that a specific grade level was really struggling with the concept of trial and error and we started a unit on paper sculpture. I actually showed a few photos to a table of girls who want to make paper dresses. I really appreciated learning more about your creative journey and wish you the best!
Hi i’ve been writing a design blog for the past 8 years. I refused ads for years and years due to – I didn’t want to mess up the look of my design blog! – I didn’t want to be beholden to advertisers’ demands – and I just didn’t want advertisers, it seemed so….unseemly.
It wasn’t until I looked around and saw all my peers were making a LIVING with their blogs that I decided to take a few ads on – and, the money started rolling into a newly created paypal account which I just let grow. I recently paid for my daughter’s study abroad semester – myself – with the saved ad money – otherwise, she wouldn’t have been able to go.
just a few thoughts about taking ads and not feeling guilty about it. this is really a job now – in a way – and you are providing massive amounts of amusement for us out in cyberspace and that is WORTH something. Amusement is usually not free when provided by strangers.
You and Mayhem have a talent that you are sharing – and talents are worth something, they always are and they always have been. Nothing to feel guilty about and nothing to apologize for.
I say – go for it.
Love you and your daughter. You have provided hours of enjoyment to me and mine – I just wish mine was still little, we would be copying you!!!
Joni Webb
Cote de Texas
Hi Joni –
Thanks so much – and I totally get what you’re saying. Congrats on being able to send your daughter abroad that way!!! I actually didn’t get around to chatting about advertisers on this site as that is definitely something we’re in the process of putting together as an offering (sidebar ads, I mean)… but again, those have to be a good fit.
And for the record, I’m ALL for people being able to make a living off their blogs/websites and everyone has to do it in ways they enjoy and see fit for themselves.
A very good friend of my husband’s last week joked with me that “nobody believes Shaq is driving that Buick either” in an attempt to let me know that lots of people with big followings promote products/brands that they probably don’t use on a daily basis. He followed that up though with a very quick “I might not be the most ethical person to advise you on this kind of stuff though.”
For me, it’s more that the opportunities that are important to me are the ones that add value to our lives. If I’m going to trade off the time I spend being a mom for money (and pay someone else to care for her), then it has to have some other really significant benefit for my daughter and family. I could work full time right now just writing sponsored content, but I haven’t pursued that because I don’t enjoy writing as much as I enjoy taking care of Mayhem. Now, if Mayhem and I could make a full time living just sitting at home making and photographing paper dresses to our heart’s content, then sign me up because that’s something we totally enjoy and allows us to still be together.
I guess what I was really trying to express is that we’ve got to chart our own course on this thing. I have LOTS of friends that earn their livings from their blogs and I totally respect absolutely everything they do. Everything. But I don’t necessarily want to do those same things. Just the same way they may not want to sit down and make paper dresses everyday with their kids 😉 And the same way I don’t want black olives on my pizza like Mayhem does.
So we’re trying to figure out which things fit. For us. And right now that means not doing everything that comes our way.
But I so appreciate you offering your support – it really means a lot as we’re trying to figure out how to make things work and NOT alienate our audience!
Wow Suzanne – I bet your job is both incredibly difficult and incredibly rewarding. I bet you have a lot of very exhausting days!!! And thank you so much for sharing some of our photos with your girls. Personally, I didn’t grow up thinking it was OK to fail, and I didn’t grow up thinking I was particularly creative or “artistic” either. BUT, I was lucky enough to start discovering before I left high school that being creative takes on lots of different forms. And then taking a photography position while still in college changed everything for me. My husband and I often ask how we can “fail faster” because we know that we will inevitably come up against obstacles in every project we take on. Getting the “failures” out of the way fast tends to get us to our successes a little quicker though 😉 Best of luck to you and your students!
Love how you’re sticking to your guns on what is right for little Miss Mayhem! :0)
Thanks so much for the support!
It’s crazy how social media can change lives these days. Your values and the way you’ve stuck to them is admirable. Mayhem has a wonderful mommy.
Thank you! We are certainly very thankful for all that’s come our way, but it’s very easy for me to see (at this point anyway) how things could quickly get out of hand if we didn’t keep things in check 😉
Beautifully said and I am so happy you are doing all this the right way! You are a good mama!!!! Can’t wait to see the next year unfold! xo
Awww, thank you so much! I’m REALLY hoping our paths cross IRL this year because that would be all kinds of AWESOME 🙂
Hi! Just wanted to tell you how much I enjoy the instagrams- if you did a crowd funding to keep the mayhem afloat, I think there would be a lot of us who would pitch in 🙂
Well that’s certainly good to know. I’ll tell her I have a new idea for making her Disneyland dream a reality! TOTALLY KIDDING of course 😉
Wonderful! Mayhem is truly blessed to have parents that put her first, even through the media craziness. Wishing you another blessed year (with or without paper dresses) with your joy-filled daughter. : )
Thank you so much and I do hope the dresses continue! She’s showing no signs of slowing down or getting bored with it and she’s actually moving on to stuff like shoes now, so as long as she wants to, we’ll support the habit 😉
I’m totally inspired by you and your precious Mayhem. My five year old daughter and I regularly scroll through your feed so that we can check out your “Paper Princess” (my daughter felt that fit her). Thank you for sharing!
Thank you! And I’ll pass the title along to Mayhem who I’m quite sure will approve 😉
Your IG and blog bring a smile to my face! I love your creativity and integrity. You both inspired the girls at my middle school to have a fun paper dress competition, which was so much fun. God bless you in this next year.
A paper dress competition?!?! How awesome!
Thanks so much and have a terrific weekend 🙂
Good for you for following your gut and sticking to your guns as this adventure unfolds- you truly are a great mama and I think it’s wonderful that you’re keeping Mayhem and the time you spend with her making dresses as your first priority. I have a one year old daughter and I can’t wait til she’s old enough to appreciate Mayhem’s creations- maybe we’ll try our hand at a few too (if she wants 😉 ). Keep up the great work!
“If she wants” … SEE, you’ve got the hang of this thing already and your’s is only 1!!! You’re at least a couple years ahead of me 😉
Thanks so much for the kind words and have a great weekend!
Such a great entry. I have enjoyed following your adventures these past couple of months. From all of your pictures I can tell Mayhem is having fun and is such a happy and smart little girl, which definitely comes from having great parents. Best wishes for another great year of making dresses!
Thank you so much – the truth is we’re both having a lot of fun! 🙂
Have a terrific weekend!
I have chills. I can’t remember how I came to this site…I remember reading the Huffington story– perhaps there. I have not commented until today. I think this is wonderful. I love to see your daughter’s creations. I can’t even describe what it means to me. I am a mother. I have two extremely creative daughters. My girls have done the same thing–my youngest more than the other. This was several years ago. I did not have instagram. I did not have a way to share, but with our extended family in actual photos I sent. My youngest came up with some amazing and creative costumes. The best is her “cupid” outfit made out of white paper, tape, and red marker designs. She even had constructed a bow and arrow. She did this on her own and just came into the room sporting this outfit. It was a show stopper. That was kind of the norm. My girls didn’t watch alot of TV. They made working candy dispensers from a shoe box, an umbrella from sticks, laminated fabric, and tape. I was just being mom. I think the publicity is great…yet, I am glad I am not in your shoes. You are just being mom, allowing your daughter to be herself, create, imagine, grow. The posts are so special. I get the importance of it all. It is truely amazing and I appreciate your perspective. In this day and age how do you keep it simple? I see these pictures and I see innocence, a creative mind, a sweet girl who gets to create with mom…it makes me happy. 🙂 I wish you and Mayhem much luck on this public journey.
That is so awesome Kristin! I bet you have amazing memories with your girls too 🙂
I do feel incredibly blessed for the opportunities that have come our way because our photographs have been in the public, and there has definitely been a learning curve in dealing with public attention as well. For the most part though, we’ve been able to stay true to who we are and keep on doing what we’ve been doing. I think the biggest challenge is that if I replied to every email or comment we receive, that could be a full time job itself. It’s OK though, because my pint sized “BOSS” is very quick to tell me “enough email Mom!”
Thanks for taking the time to comment and for the kind words – we really do appreciate them!
Have a great weekend 🙂
Great post! I have followed you since mommyshorts ran her story. I remember you had about 1,000 followers at the time and it’s just amazing how quickly someone (or an instagram account) can get so popular. I have two older boys so it’s fun to see what you and your daughter create. Plus I think your photographs are always stunning! Good for you for sticking to your guns on everything. Best of luck with everything!
Thanks so much Mindi – have a fabulous weekend!
I read your whole post 🙂 and I just want to say I really respect how you are standing your ground as a mom in this situation. It must be really exciting and difficult to manage all the attention! I love checking your Instagram feed every day to see what you guys have made. You have inspired me to try and be creative with my children!
Thank you Laura – being creative can happen lots of different ways so just do what you like 🙂 And thank you for the kind words – you are right it is definitely BOTH exciting and challenging … but I’m pretty sure most of the good stuff in life is. Have a terrific weekend with your family!!!
I’m not a mom. I usually do not post comments on the web, unless it’s to praise an action.
You are a very admirable person for sticking to your values and not letting the entertainment industry change your family.
Thank you for being you!
Thanks Adriana – your words mean a lot to us! We’ve only had a small peek at the entertainment industry so far, and it’s even crazier than we imagined. I think so much of the issue is that everything these days has to be SO dramatized … and we’ve got enough drama in our day to day without watching it every time we turn on the TV. Wouldn’t it be awesome if there was just a good news channel? Or a show that was all good stuff and positivity without having to have some sort of crazy drama involved? A girl can dream, right? 😉
Mayhem is a beautiful child, in and out!! You can see through her personality and smiles that you’re doing things right as her mom! She’s happy, and that’s what it’s all about! Thank you for letting us share in your happiness. Because she really does bring a smile to my face!!
Thank you Laurie – she is a mostly happy kid. With a flair for the dramatic 😉 And having nice people like you stop by to offer a kind word means the world to us! Have a great weekend.
You are a great mum!! I’m so impressed with your paper projects! I’m a mother of 2 girls and wish we are as creative as you girls are. Just want to let you know you have fans in sunny Singapore!
Thank you so much! And have a beautiful weekend 🙂
As a SAHM of adult children, I am so happy to hear that you value the time making precious memories and bonding with your daughter more than allowing this venture to take over your life. No amount of money can replace the experiences you are enjoying now, and sadly childhood fades away far too quickly! I feel we are privileged that you are willing to share these creative memories with us and hope that opportunities will come that will help you financially without compromising your principles!
PS. I guess I should say I am a “former” SAHM since all of my children are now adults!
Thank you so much Cindy for really getting what I was saying 🙂 My husband and I own a business and we’ve often taken on jobs/opportunities over the years simply because they would be financially beneficial but then ended up regretting not having time with our families or for the two of us. So each day when I look at this little firecracker running around our home, I know it’s not going to be this way forever and I just want to be present for as much as possible. I also learned very quickly that no matter how much “stuff” she has, it’s the time that really makes a difference and an impression on her. So we are working on projects that are win – win … financially and principles 😉
I discovered your IG feed when Mayhem’s pictures showed up on Yahoo, and I’ve been hooked ever since. I’m not a parent, just a grown-up little girl who loved to play dress-up. The creativity and sheer beauty of Mayhem’s dresses astonishes and inspires me. I look forward to seeing new Mayhem photos in my IG feed every day. Thank you to you and Mayhem for reminding me that just being yourself and expressing your creativity in your own way can be a great gift to the world.
Thank you so much – and have a terrific weekend 🙂
Happy One Year to you, Mayhem and the rest of your family! 🙂
I love love love your blog and IG. My daughter is 8 and so enjoys to see Mayhem’s creations. My hats off to you for going with your gut and sticking to your mom instincts with everything that’s been going on. It’s total awesome sauce. You and your beautiful little girl inspire me and so many. 🙂
Thank you for being such an awesome mom and protecting your daughter like you do!
I enjoy your blog as well as IG.
Your little one has such an amazing mind it’s such a privlage that we get to see you and her in this journey and that you are sharing these moments with us (the world).
This makes me excited for what the future holds for me and my little one. I can’t wait! But first we need to work on crawling.
I love that you’re keeping it real and keeping your focus on your daughter. Thanks for sharing all of the details and I always look forward to see what Mayhem has come up with.
Whoever told you to “strike while the iron is hot” was spot-on. Mayhem won’t be a little girl for very long so enjoy this ride for now. When she’s a adolescent all this paper dressmaking will probably be replaced with something entirely unrelated. It’s all so cute when she’s still little….unique and adorable. You seem like good parents, so you’ll go-with-the-flow while it flows…and then you and she will move on.
I am not a very creative mom and my science/math side of my brain always takes over. You inspire me and kudos to you for keeping true to how you really want to run this amazing adventure. Have fun and best of luck.
I just had to pop in and say how impressed I am with how you have handle yourself and your daughter and how you have stayed true to yourselves and not get lost in the shuffle and hype. It is absolutely amazing and completely respect you for that. I hope that you will be able to find a way and balance to keep doing what you do but make a little money too. Good luck and I’m excited to see what year two brings too!
From where I sit you are so totally doing it right! Integrity seems like something that is losing its value these days. I struggle with it myself. You are creating such an amazing life and example for mayhem though and that’s something to hold onto and be proud of. I have enjoyed following along since “the day things got crazy” (I added you on if early in the morning and watched theoughout the day as you went viral). You inspire me and I’m sure many others to strive for integrity and more intentional parenting. Keep doing what you’re doing if you ask me.
i love you, i loved reading this.. THANK YOU for sharing your wonderful life with us all!!!! i applaud you for being such a genuine authentic person and not a sell-out. hope for nothing but the best for you & Mayhem both <3 <3 <3
big big hugs & love from Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia!!!
*confetti rain*
Hi Mayhem’s Mama :),
Yesterday, I came across your instagram account with your daughter’s whimsical fashions and your witty captions. I tried to post a comment since the yellow tape post brightened my day, but for some odd reason (that I’m trying to remedy) my IG account posts comments only on users with less than 100,000 followers. Noticing your blog, I resolved to post my comment there instead. Then, I came across your post “One Year of Paper Dresses” which completely won my respect. I’ll be a freshman in college this fall, not a mom, but love your ingenuity and creativity. I’ve already passed along your inspiring blog post. Since you mentioned your family doesn’t watch much tv, you and your daughter might really enjoy this video. (http://www.upworthy.com/if-3-little-girls-did-this-to-my-house-id-do-everything-i-could-to-get-them-full-rides-to-stanford?c=reccon1) Anyways, here is the comment I planned to post to instagram:
“@2sisters_angie I came across your IG account today for the first time and it brought a smile to my face! The designs, your daughter’s attitude, and your captions are fantastic. Thanks for the chuckle. Best wishes to you and your family!”
~@themindtraveler
I absolutely love the message in your post. You are such a wonderful mom to keep Mayhem’s best interest at the forefront and everything else in the background of what you do! I really admire what you are doing and how you have approached everything. I can’t image what it might be like to deal with the negative of all this, whether it be people’s comments or the media, but you appear to be doing it with grace, dignity, and staying true to who you are.
Thank you so much Monica – I really appreciate your comment! The negative stuff is there, but nobody likes a whiner, so I’ll spare you the details 😉 But suffice it to say, at the first sign of things being stressful in this journey we made the decision that if it wasn’t good for our girl (and our family), then it wasn’t going to happen. We’re still learning a lot along the way, but having boundaries in place from the get go has made decision making a whole lot easier.
I’d like to be very honest for a moment. Ugh, when someone says that sentence to me I always think “you probably shouldn’t say what you’re about to”. But because I need to apologize I must start with honesty.
About 2 months ago I ran across Mayhems paper dresses on the interwebs. I thought they were cute so I added you to my IG feed. Time went by and I grew increasingly irked by them. (Bare with me) I’m a mother of 4 and my impression based solely on my very minor view through IG left me feeling like you were exploiting your daughter. So I unfollowed. Now, this is a horrible thing to think of another mother so I followed your link to the blog and browsed around. After reading this post, and a couple of others, I must apologize to you. I’m sorry for not taking the time to look beyond the small glimpse, and for making a very uninformed opinion. Not that my opinion matters one iota. But it has changed. In a time where opinions are made in the 30 seconds it takes to read a post, it’s hard to get a real grasp on the whole message if one is not actively seeking the whole message.
Hi Renee – Thanks so much for taking the time to comment AND for your honesty – I truly appreciate it! You are so right about seeking the whole message and I admit to being guilty of the same thing with others I’ve followed/unfollowed. The past few months have been in incredibly eye opening experience for us (to say the least) and by far, the hardest part, is feeling “watched and judged”. Exploiting our daughter is something that my husband and I have spoken about numerous times and it’s probably the single biggest reason we’ve rejected no less than 98% of the interview requests and project offers we’ve received. She’s a kid and she likes having fun. As soon as dress making isn’t fun, we won’t do it anymore. Period. We won’t force her to make them because we now have an “audience”.
Seriously, thanks so much for taking the time to dig a little deeper and to drop us a line. We’re more grateful than you can know! Take care 🙂
I love love LOVE your blog and IG!! I usually start looking at these “viral” stories and usually stop because it turns into attention/money/fame seeking. I am continually impressed by how you put mayhem and your family first! Kudos to you for that! My 8 and 2 year old girls Love to check out mayhem’s latest creations!
Thanks so much Bree! I haven’t written about it on this blog, but about a year ago (long before our story ever went viral) I had a brief health scare. It ended up being absolutely nothing, but I spent a night in the hospital. It was the first night I ever spent away from Mayhem and I spent most of it with tears in my eyes. After about a bazillion tests coming back negative, the only explanation for what happened seemed to be stress. So when our story went viral this year and the media came at us so aggressively, the stress was our greatest influence … I was getting sick again within the first two weeks of our story being “out there” and there was absolutely no way that I was going to let it get out of hand and end up back in the hospital. I’m a big believer that our health (mental and physical) has to come first, so taking care of us takes priority over the attention/money. Thanks for “listening” … this probably should have been another blog post 😉
I think your post here just confirms what I already knew from reading your blog and following your IG. You’re good people. I enjoy your perspective so much. And for me it’s not even the dresses…it’s that sweet little smile. What a wonderful adventure! Thanks for sharing her with us.
Thanks so much Denise, we appreciate the kind words! And it’s funny you mention it’s not even the dresses for you – as for us, it’s become so much more about the “making” of the dresses versus the “wearing” of them that I enjoy seeing 🙂