10/02/2026
Story Time:
My creative design business originally started as a hair bow business, called Manda Lou's Curly Q's. My specialty bow style was definitely my rounded korker style bows, that started by baking ribbons wrapped on wooden dowels, in the oven to create a corkscrew shaped ribbon. I did lots of big boutique style bows too!
Eventually I bought a sewing machine and wasn't totally sure what I wanted to do with it. I took a few scraps of fabric to test out the machine & my skills and made a stuffed cat for my daughter. Then a friend asked for an accessory for her Halloween costume and I gave it a shot and made a b**r stein purse! For the second time sewing since my Girl Scouts days and not having a sewing pattern, it came out pretty good visually, though maybe not so much structurally. 😅 A big trend at the time I was venturing into sewing was upcycling little girls jeans with fabric patches and ruffled hems, which I LOVED but, I also wanted to do something a little different. So I started making skirts for little girls. Then Manda Lou's Curly Q's became Paisley Meadow and I started designing my own children's clothes! I made lots of holiday pieces and even several costumes. I also made purses & totes bags at that time. Those were so fun!!! At one point I made myself an oversized, unstructured canvas tote bag to take to the soccer field, it fit all 4 of their soccer balls & water bottles!! I still have that bag!!
Eventually I had a desire to learn applique and embroidery, so I bought a machine and it literally sat in a box for a solid year. My resolution that upcoming new year was to learn to use my embroidery machine. It was intimidating but, as crafty as I was, I really shouldn't have been so apprehensive! 😂 Anyhow, my oldest 2 kids were growing into middle school and I had found a screen print tee creator I started following and really wanted to try my hand at that. I researched the how to's and had bought supplies but, hadn't tried anything because I had signed up for my first vendor event and was trying to get t get items stocked up for that when my machine needed to be serviced as I was well past my stitch count for service.....
I dropped off my machine with a one week turnaround quote. Unfortunately, a month later I was still begging for a completion date. I was missing prime holiday sales on etsy & ebay and had nothing prepared for the upcoming event. So suddenly I had to completely pivot my entire business before I even got a chance to share it in a local market as the sewing business I'd become fairly successful with. So I created a few designs and tested out screen printing! Turned my whole living room into a little family sweatshop and had my kids helping me so I would have enough products for my first market. Around that time I had also began working almost full-time and didn't have 8-12 hours a day for sewing. I made some baby gift sets here & there and made some things for my kids but, with limited time, the screen printing became my new business focus. Originally I was designing for both kids & adults but, I've since focused on just adults.
♡ I just thought I would share a little bit of the Paisley Meadow history since the original page got wiped out and some of you weren't around for the Manda Lou days!
♡ I am itching to get into sewing again and I'm thinking we might see a new era soon 🥰
