The moment I decided to open a storefront.

Having a storefront location wasn’t always in the plans. It kind of just happened. I think about this unexpected chain of events all the time. I remember the exact moment I decided that owning a storefront location was the next step for little h creative. I knew this was what I had to do in order to grow the way I wanted to. It was the Spring of 2015 in Oklahoma City. We were celebrating my sister's bachelorette party and as we shopped one of the new areas, the Plaza District, it hit me. We went in and out of a handful of Mom & Pop owned stores that were perfectly designed to the town and filled with the most amazing handmade items.

I started consciously thinking about each purchase we made as a family. Now that we own our own brick and mortar location, I see the impact that supporting local can make. I work hard to involve as many local businesses when working on projects for clients and also events we hold at the store. For example: our Christmas Armadillo Shirt involved and supported three local business.

Little H Creative printed the shirts, Simon Welch designed the illustration and Erdebaby dyed all of the baby and toddler shirts to match our adult sizes. Three businesses based out of Wichita Falls, one shirt.

Another example would be our new drinkware collection from Pots by Jen. I’ve always wanted to carry more glassware items in the store but I’ve had a mental block about buying items off the internet that are China made. After lots of thinking, I finally reached out to our local ceramic artist, Jenn. We designed a little h drinkware collection together for the store and created a new product that I am absolutely head-over-heels for. The icing on the cake for this collection is the tiny “h” at the bottom of each piece, which is our nickname. A good friend came to me one day and handed me a couple of old little h’s off a letterpress machine that she had found at an estate sale. I wasn’t sure what I was going to use them for until I started imagining this drinkware collection. The best part? 100% of the money on this project was kept local.

My mindset has shifted for our town and how I purchase items for myself and for our home. I want to live a simpler life filled with more meaning and experiences. We have amazing small businesses in Wichita Falls and all I want is to see them thrive. I want people who are born and raised “Wichitans” who consistently go out of town and shop in Dallas to know that we are special too. Save yourself time and stress by skipping traffic and exploring the small businesses and creative beauty in our town.  When you choose to support a local business over a box store, you are saying that you believe in them and all of their hard work. 

I believe that a handmade gift holds more value and tells that person that you love them and that you care in such a unique way. It’s about the story. Every piece in our store has a person or a family behind it along with their journey, a reason it was created. Giving the gift of shopping local only continues to extend that story and become your own.

Let me say, Thank You, from myself and all the vendors at our store.