When I think about what my best selling product has been over the last six years, hands down it would be custom orders. I always love the idea of creating something specifically for a baby based on what the mom wants. And what a fun baby shower gift to get when it’s been made just with you in mind. Over the years my custom orders have varied from blankets to outfits and more recently even a teddy bear! I love when someone asks me to try something new because it always expands my creativity and pushes me to learn something new. I am always transparent with someone if I am working with a new fabric or trying a new pattern but welcome them into the process as I work on it.
Being completely vulnerable here, for a long time I did not recognize that custom orders were what I was best at. It took me a while to recognize that I was offering something that not everyone does. This all goes back to that comparison I struggled with and how social media fed into it. As I mentioned, I truly have always loved custom orders but I thought that I also should have been adding new items to my shop on a regular basis. I thought that trying to keep up with everyone else; in addition to custom orders, would get me to my next goal. But while praying about where I should be focusing my time and energy, I realized that my gift is in those custom orders. I love getting a message that says “Hey Ellen, I have a baby shower coming up, are you able to make something?” I just got one of those a few weeks ago and together an old friend and I picked out beautiful cactus fabrics that matched the color palette of the baby shower. We decided on two crib sheets, a blanket, burp cloths and a pacifier clip. This is a larger custom order; but the beauty of custom orders is flexibility within size and budget.
Another beautiful thing about custom orders is they are often for an old friend or someone I knew growing up. It’s very cool to pray over the mom and the baby. And I love getting excited for someone who I haven’t seen in a while. I recently looked back at photos of my first custom order; it was for an old college roommate who lives in another state. I also lived with my cousin and she is the one who ordered the gift set for our old roommate. The mom works in education so we picked out a cute ABC fabric for the blanket with some coordinating burp cloths. A few years later I got to make the same mom another gift set when she was expecting her second son! It doesn’t matter whether you are selling to strangers and getting a lot of sales, or if you are making custom orders for old friends; making things is a blessing all the time. I am so grateful that custom orders have been my best sellers and I pray that they continue to be for a very long time.
Blessings,
Ellen
