*how did it all get started?*

{i get asked this question a lot. most of the time it's what made you start making all this? or what inspires you to create these things? well for those of you who don't know the story...}

{it all started when my older sister adopted a beautiful baby girl from russia in december of 2005. i didn't make my first one-piece until february of 2006, my niece's first birthday. i really wanted to give v something special and for some reason i thought of making an appliqued one-piece. so i purchased a pack of white gerber onesies and whipped up an applique for each onesie. i had no idea what type of response i'd get out of them. after all they were only supposed to be a one time special gift. well my sister loved them and she asked me to make her some more so i did...above is v in one of her first onesies.}  

{i kept using white gerber onesies and would add some cutout fabric pieces by hand stitching them directly onto the one-piece...}

{my ultimate favorite picture....she was sad because she spilled something on her top...so sweet!}

{well after a couple months of making things for my sister...her friends started to ask about these unique one-pieces that v was wearing. my sister told them that i was making them and after a couple more months...they started to request their own unique one-pieces. this one above is what was considered one of my first more "complicated" designs...a bear.}

{as v grew out of her one-pieces, my sister started to request shirts. i would buy solid colored shirts where ever i went and would play around with designs and new fabrics. this is when i finally started to use my sewing machine to secure the appliques to the shirts. i also played around with the machine stitching as you can see on the flower above.}

{i kept experimenting and finally started to play with felt which gave a layered look....and in 2007...}

{my friend, who was a super crafter, talked me into doing a summer craft show called ICE. this is when my hobby started to turn into a business. before i could enter the show, i had to come up with a name for what i was creating. it took me a while but at the time i had already started blogging so i decided to go with what i had named my blog, plum tree studio. my friend was the best, she helped me design my first (and current) logo, business cards and shirt tags. that summer, i experienced my first ever show (as a vendor). what a rush it was. i had made 30 shirts/one-pieces. i had no idea if any of them would sell...but they did. i sold 15 or 16 of my creations that day. it was enough to get me excited about making more. not only did my sister and her friends like my creations but total strangers liked them too! what a feeling that was. my first ever ICE show is what made me decided to make the jump and open an etsy shop. i sold the remainder of my ICE show creations and then when my shop was empty...i realized i needed to make more...and i haven't stopped.}

{to this day...v inspires me to create new things for plum.tree.studio. even thought she no longer fits into my appliqued shirts (still sad about this), she is still able to enjoy something from the plum.tree.studio line. in the past two years, i've created items that she will be able to wear in different ways like button ties and button bars, or more recently, my button earrings. these were created because she got her ears pierced for her birthday. looking back at the history of plum.tree.studio...if someone would have told me 5 years ago that i would start a business because of my sweet niece....i wouldn't have believed them....

but looking back...i'm so very happy it happened!}