Mustard Pie Clothing: The Secret Behind The Successful Girls’ Boutique Clothing Brand
Mustard Pie Clothing is a popular baby and boys designer clothing brand for girls only. Founded in 2008, the Mustard Pie brand is designed by Shannon Rihm and is located in Chicago, Illinois. The collections are available for girls from 3 months to 12 years.
The story of Mustard Pie began when Shannon was expecting her first daughter. She was fired from her job and investigated various ways to earn a living from home. He first started a small business on eBay that sold designer clothes that he found for sale in local stores. In the end, he came across designers on Etsy and eBay making custom boutique girls clothing for the highest bidder and was shocked. She was inspired and motivated to learn how to create these clothes herself. She always had an interest in design, so she decided to learn to sew on her own and thus took her first step to create Mustard Pie Clothing. Around November 2007, she began taking sewing lessons, reading books, and buying fabrics to use in her design experiments. After many hours of practice and much trial and error, she began designing and creating unique boutique clothing for girls. Soon, orders came in from all over the world. Her business was booming and she made the important decision to start a real clothing brand to keep up with the demand. That’s when Mustard Pie Clothing was born.
Choosing the name for her new girls’ boutique clothing brand, Shannon recalled a funny story from when she was a child. At just five years old, she tried to reproduce her mother’s famous lemon meringue cake for Mother’s Day. He searched the closet and found what he could only guess was the cake’s delicious yellow filling – a big jar of mustard! She filled the pie crust to the top and innocently created a strange mustard pie. This story came to mind when Shannon was starting her brand because it reflects the vivid imaginations of children, just as each piece of clothing Shannon creates reflects the essence of childhood.
Mustard Pie Clothing is fresh, elegant and feminine. It is layered with bold prints, elegant patterns, and beautiful colors for everyday or special occasions. Shannon’s designs are always made with children in mind. She would not create anything that her own child would not like to wear. For example, the clothing is soft cotton and tagless for comfort. Each garment is carefully designed and the designer encourages her daughter to give input and suggestions before the clothes come to life. A typical outfit comes with several options for the customer to mix and match to create a look as unique as their child’s. The brand produces a limited number of garments, so many customers pre-order their favorite boutique girls’ clothing sets in advance, as the collection often sells out before hitting store shelves. Mustard Pie launches new clothing collections several times a year. Regular lines debut in the fall and spring. Extended looks crop up throughout the year, such as in late fall and around Christmas and Easter.
Shannon encourages her client to submit photos of her daughter wearing Mustard Pie Clothing. Then choose some children to model the next collection for the company. Mustard Pie also runs contests to show their appreciation for the continued support of fans. Shannon’s business has been growing every year and in 2014 she launched a new sister brand, Jak & Peppar. This new line of boutique clothing for girls is designed for “the free spirit in all of us.” In the years to come, Jak & Peppar and Mustard Pie Clothing will continue to grow and create beautiful outfits that reflect the unique and beautiful side of youth and femininity.