Moms on Mondays - Jackie from North Star Teepees

Today on Moms on Mondays I am featuring Jackie from North Star Teepees!  She made Indy's new teepee for his nursery and we LOVE it!  The best part about her teepees is that they come all ready assembled, with poles and all.  It is awesome because I didn't have to buy poles and it was really easy to set up, it even folds up against the wall for when you're not using it.  She is super talented!  Read her post below and then go shop!

We love Indy's new teepee!

Hi, My name is Jackie and my shop is North Star Teepees. You can also find me on Instagram and Facebook.

I make and sell children’s play teepees, mats, bunting banners and pillow covers. I also specialize in custom order teepees.

I have always wanted to own and run my own business. I have sewn personally and professionally for as long as I can remember. With working outside of the home part time, the kid’s grown and on their own, I thought this would be the perfect opportunity.

I opened up my shop in July of 2014 making kid’s teepees and have been in business for almost 2 years. I have been enjoying every moment, bringing out my creative side.

I went to school in a small town next to a corn field. I met and married my husband and was  fortunate to stay home with our children until they were about school age. I worked for an upholstery shop as a seamstress, and for a wheel chair company sewing padded seats until the company went overseas. I currently work for our local school district part time as well.

I guess my story is a little different. I am not like the typical story that you read about on 

Mom on Mondays about young mother entrepreneurs. I feel very fortunate & blessed in many ways. I am a wife, mother and grandmother. I have been happily married to my best friend for 31 years. We have 3 amazing children together and 5 fun, energetic, full of life grandchildren. I love being with my family, sewing, hiking, camping, and cruising around in my old 1952 chevy pickup truck (still deciding to paint it or not). I still live in the same small town that I grew up in, and my husband and I live in my childhood home. We are so fortunate that all of our children and grandchildren live very close by.

As I stated before, I work part time for our local school district to help with the household. My shop also helps our family as well. Personally, my shop lets me be creative and express myself and communicate with some amazing people.

I have always sewn, and have always wanted my own small business, but I never thought I would be creating children’s teepees and selling them online. What an awesome adventure, I absolutely love it! I am still amazed at how far technology has come, and how it has given individuals the opportunity to work from their own homes and care for their families while making their products. I love the whole process of communicating with the customers, to sewing and creating items for my shop. I always thought that I would open my own business one day and work from our home.

I have a great support team. My husband drills and sands my teepee poles, helps me pack my orders when it gets super busy, plays Mr. Postman and makes many trips to the post office for me. My father (a professional woodworker) helps out by cutting all of my teepee poles.

Since I work part time, I do a lot of my sewing and communicating during the day or evening. 

It does get very busy sometimes, especially during the holidays.

I really love making custom order teepees for my customers. I enjoy connecting with customers and helping them bring their vision to life. I make a lot of teepees for professional photo shoots, baby showers, and that special 1st Birthday!

The most challenging part of my business is juggling my time with two part time jobs and having enough time for my family (and me)!

In the future I would like to keep adding more quality products, and see my shop in some small store fronts and boutiques. I would also really like to sell my teepees at a few local pop up shows and meet some of my customers in person.

I do not have a single favorite product. I would have to say that a lot of my custom orders would be my favorites. They each have their own personality! 

My advice and encouragement to other moms who make handmade products would be to find something you truly enjoy and are passionate about. What a wonderful opportunity for young mothers to stay home with children, express their talents, and help financially.

A few of my favorite shops are: The Wheat Field, Infusion, The Velvet Acorn and Julia E. Dean. 

Thanks Jackie, loved having you here!