Category Archives: Work

Blog, Limited Edition Mimi, Mimi SALES!, New Mimi Green, Sew Sew Sew, Work

Happy Birthday Mimi!

Posted on by Amanda Jackson

It has been the best of times. Really, it has. Yesterday marked the 1 year anniversary of my first listing to etsy — the Cecilia Collar.

Now, a few incarnations later, the Cecilia is our all time best seller and it has a super close place to my heart.

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I really can’t believe that it has been a year! I guess when you are working so hard, learning so much, and having so much fun times just flies by!

Even though it has been a really happy year, this week was really emotional for me. I really wanted to take inventory of my life and ask myself, “is this where I thought MG would take me after a year?” Truth is that I don’t know. I didn’t start this business with a plan — I just totally dove eyes wide shut!

In fact, before I started I did no research to find out what I needed to be a real-life company, I didn’t look to see what others were putting out there in the doggie fashion world, I didn’t worry — it just felt right so I did it!  I know it must really bother some people in my life at times, but that is just me — if something feels right I go for it, if it doesn’t I stay away. I don’t always have clear reasoning, but I know what is right in my heart and Mimi Green was something that felt right for my family.

The decision to start MG was my own, but all the sweat and tears hasn’t been just mine. First my mom started helping me sew when I got so overwhelmed I just wanted to crawl up and hide. Then my sister Paula would come watch the kiddos for me so I could get some un-interrupted work done and when she wasn’t here Dan was entertaining them and keeping them out of momma’s way! Auggie has grown up with the sounds of my machine — he even had a bed in my studio until I had to make more room for a second machine. And why you ask? Well because my wonderful husband jumped on this runaway train and joined me in the venture this January. Lately, my mother in law has helped us with the flowers– she sends boxes from Wisconsin full of them every week!

And then, not to be forgotten, there is my little sis Paula who not only watched the kids, but learned the biz and is now just as valuable to the process as Dan and I are. She comes over every day after school and keeps us sane and organized. As you can see, it really has been a gigantic group effort.
Noah helps with things that he can like sweeping the studio or connecting buckles. Even Auggie gets in there and makes huge messes helps out! 😉

I won’t lie and say that it has all be fabulous. There have been a lot of ups and downs, mentally and financially, that have taken their toll this first year. I will say that I think that I have grown so much because of this and I have learned to be a better problem solver which isn’t my Strong suit!

Besides everyone who has helped me grow this baby, I am so thankful to all the awesome people I have met this year through Mimi Green. Customers in this industry are fantastic, I mean people who love animals are usually good people to be around! All the stores we have worked with have been great. In fact, I do consider some owners that I only talk to via email friends.

So what does this next year bring? I don’t know for sure, but I want to start it off running! Today I present to you our 1 year anniversary designs. And there are a many more than these that Dan has under his hat still!

Meet the ‘Annie’ Anniversary Collar:

annie aniversary collar

The Buttered Popcorn Anniversary Flower:

pop corn dog collar flower

The Blue Bird Tank:

blue bird dog tank

And the Flying Heart Tank:

flying heart dog tank

We have one more tank coming out this next week that will be super cute. I am dipping my fingers into the world of doggie T-shirt design — we will have lots to show you including some awesome 70s style iron-ons!

I hope you all keep following us this coming year. I think that now that we are finally acquainted with Mimi Green we will be able to spend the year coming up with even cooler products for your dog!

xoxo-Amanda

Cessie the pug

Blog, Sew Sew Sew, The babes, Work

My Sometimes Invisible Brain and My very Visible Gullibleness

Posted on by Amanda Jackson

Yesterday I told everyone that I work with that manatees are invisible in the wild. Yup, I said it and everyone believed me. And where did I hear this factoid? From my good friend Chad. He was apparently making a joke about how he went on a Manatee tour in Florida this past weekend and how he saw no manatees. I saw the photos and took it literally, I mean how would I have known, there was even a picture of Captain Jack, the invisible manatee tour guide.

After Internet researching for 30 minutes, my boss Doug alerted us to the fact that manatees are not ever invisible, not even in the wild. At least that is what the interwebs told him. I proceeded to defend myself by showing all of them Chad’s photos of invisible manatees and the shadows these gigantic mammals cast.  “Look,” I said. “This clealy says that manatees are invisible except for in captivity.” Boy did we call have a good laugh at me when Doug pointed out that he thought that Chad was joking.

Here is the picture that I printed out for my cube of the invisible manatee, it is the one below the photo of Jim Henson’s puppets from the Labyrinth.

Officemanatee_012

Here are some more facts about manatees that you might not know:

1. The average adult manatee is about three meters (9.8 feet) long and weighs between 362-544 kilograms (800-1,200 pounds).

2.There are approximately 3,000 West Indian manatees left in the United States.

3. Manatees can live 60 years or more.

4. Manatees are pregnant for a year. This is what I attribute their slow decline to. If I had to be pregnant for 12 months or face the demise of my species, I can’t say that I would take one for the team. We’d be goners.

Speaking of procreating, Auggie is turning 6 months next week. Here is a sneak peak at the present I am making for him….

Officemanatee_007

Yes, almost six months have gone by. Nuts how fast it goes.

At home, Blog, Sew Sew Sew, The babes, Work

Posted on by Amanda Jackson

One good thing about working at a news distribution service on Christmas night was that I had 10 hours of uninterrupted time to do whatever I wanted.

And look what I did.

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My aunt Lisa finally had her baby on the 23rd and she gave her a name the 25th — Sofia Louise after my grandma.  So night before last I sat in my cubicle with my embroidery hoop and a jar full of thread sewing away.

All went well till it was time to go home and assemble the bib. Apparently staying awake all day Tuesday and then coming to work and staying up all night wasn’t good for my motor skills.  It took me near 4 hours to make the bias trim, sew it on and wrap the gift up.

But here is my favorite part—

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It has arm holes so that she can’t move it and accidentally get her shirt dirty. I know how important this feature is as Auggie will remove any article of clothing that isn’t tied onto him.  And even then its likely that he will get it off, but that is another blog for a different day…

On the way to see her it occurred to me that there was a way easier strategy to making the bib. I hate how I over think things sometimes.  I just need to remember that this was the prototype. I’ll make her another one when I get the recipe down pat, not that she notices my sloppy stitching and uneven bias work, but still. Her parents must have thought I was drunk when I made it. Yes, it was that bad.

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Sofia is super cute as you can see from this picture of the back of her head. Meanwhile, I am super tired looking, but I swear it isn’t as bad as it looks. I am getting quite a bit of sleep which was confirmed when my aunt told me that she was up with a crying Sofia all night long. That has yet to happen to me with Auggie.

Thank God for small miracles.

At home, Blog, Food, Friends, Sew Sew Sew, The babes, Work

Self Portrait, Age 26

Posted on by Amanda Jackson

In the wake of my 26th birthday (Sat, yahoo!) I have flown  into reflection mode.  How things have changed this year. If I would have made predications based on my state this time last year, I would have said that the year was going to be horrible.

Au contrer mon ami.

If all the years in my life were in competition for who was the best thus far, 2007 would win. Here is why:

1. Auggie was born.

I cried an awful lot last December. I had the baby blues somthing bad and no puppy or $500 esspresso machine or new furniture could make it stop. I really tried to bandaid it though.

In January I found out that I was pregnant.  Next to my wedding day, this was the happiest day of my life.

It literally feels like a miricle that Auggie, only one short year later, is here— flesh and blood here. I didn’t think that he existed, not this year or any year. And not only has he made an appreance, but he is amazing. He is perfect. He is all mine.

2. I quit smoking.

Woohoo! I will live to be a very  tawdry version of myself and damn my skin will look good.  More importanly, I will be around to teach the grandkids about the importance of drinking good coffee, creating every day, and the power in buying handmade.

Oh, and I get to see Dan as an old man. he he.

3.  I fell in love with my husband all over again.

Wasn’t sure that we were going to make it through the first year of marriage, but we did it and are way more crazy about each other than ever before. No pain no gain, eh?

He lets me be me. And he like me too. Couldn’t get any better than that.

4. We moved into an amazing house and got really cool jobs.

Love the new pad– there is so much room for all of us now. I must point out that the decorator was impecable. 🙂

Both Dan and I work as editors, he during the day and I at night. It works out perfectly. Noah and Auggie always have one of us home and what can I say, I like the night life.

5. I fell in love with sewing all over again.

I create, therefore I am. Anyway, that is what I tell myself for validation. It had just been so long and it felt so unbelievely good the first time I pulled something off my machine that was real. I always defined myself as an artist but I had to re-evaluate after I hadn’t created any art in months. I thought that I had lost myself. It is really fantastic seeing that part of me come back to life.

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6. Lastly, and maybe most importanly, I am so healthy now. And I am sure that it is due to the 5 forementioned things that I have to be happy about.

Now I shall leave you with this:

“There are some days when I think I’m going to die from an overdose of satisfaction.”

~Salvador Dali

At home, Blog, The babes, Work

Waiting for Guffman, Gudot, and Oprah: A Blog About Existentialism and the New Mom

Posted on by Amanda Jackson

Auggie got his first set of shots this weekend. He was quite a trooper, better than I was for my flu shot earlier in the week.  He cried for a bit and then was his normal, happy self again as soon as I nursed him. He and I are good at nursing. I really love it. That’s the thing I would say if Oprah ever asked me what is "One Thing That I Know is True."  Strangely,  it is so encouraging to me that I at least know that this one thing is 100% true.  Sometimes it seems as if no one knows anything really.

Our nursing makes Auggie so happy he has to throw his hands in the air and laugh really dramatically.   

In other news, Noah has really great hair. I came to this realization after I downloaded the photos from a memory card that we lost last year and happily found recently. This being a cool haircut is not something Noah says he knows is true. Believe it or not, he would rather have this beautiful hair shaved off so that he would never have to wash it or comb it again. Although lately, with the new baby and going back to work, I appreciate his plight.  He usually has the freedom to create the meaning in his life, but I have to draw the line at his hair. Everyone has their limits after all.

Oh and I ended up eating milk products while baking with the girls on Sunday. And Auggie’s tummy got upset, I was super sick at work and Dan didn’t sleep all night. It’s no joke that we are ultimatly responsible for our destiny.

I blame the whole mishap on the fact that I forgot to bring my apron with me. All that talk about taking it to make me feel better and then I left it at home. I am weak, what can I say. 

At least I take responsibility for it all: the apron, the desserts, the haircut, the fantstic nursing. Yup that’s right.  I am a regular  Postpostmodernist today,  a Sammy Beckett if you will.