Former figure skater turned handmade children's clothing designer

I've had this blog section on my website for about a year , and I just realized I've never taken the time to sit down and actually write a blog post. I don't know what I'm doing so I figured a good background to introduce myself is the best way to get this started. 

I'm Madison. Earlier this month I turned 30 years old.... and I can officially say I no longer feel young. I have two kids and we are a proud Air Force family. I've lived all over (mostly along southern states) but we are currently in Burkburnett, Texas which is this TINY little town just north of the small city of Wichita Falls. We moved here last fall and are finally all settled in, that is if you ignore the stack of boxes still in our garage and hidden in my closet. I'll get to those eventually. 

So a little bit about me... I grew up in Charleston, South Carolina. And get this I grew up playing hockey and figure skating. Most people ask me if there is even an ice rink in Charleston hahaha! It was definitely not the norm for the area. But I loved it! I was a competitive figure skater for many years before spending two years doing some small professional ice shows. It was so much fun and definitely an amazing way to spend the last of my teenage years. In between shows I would coach at my local rink and then decided to spend my time coaching full time. This is something I definitely miss in my life and sometimes I still hope of getting back on the ice one day... having an ice rink to coach at would be step #1. Probably my only dislike of small town Texas living. 

But anywhoooo in between shows and stints coaching, I met my now husband. I made the decision to follow him to Louisiana and leave my skating/coaching career behind me so that we could start a family. It was a massive change and definitely took time for me to adjust. I realized a year into being a stay at home mom that I needed something to do outside of just being a mom. So my love for dressing my daughter in adorable clothes turned into me starting to sew my own for her. On a trip to see my mom, I asked her if I could take her old sewing machine home with me and teach myself to sew. That was the moment Maddie Kay Creations was born. 

Sometimes I am still in shock that people buy my clothes and want my designs. I started with old shirts that no longer fit me; I chopped them up and cut then into dresses for my daughter. I have looked back at pictures and they were do bad. From the sewing to the cell phone pictures I was taking and posting online. I am so embarrassed that I thought they were amazing, but I guess we all start somewhere right? My first few dress sales came from me posting a picture of what I was making and people wanting their own! I never really had intentions to sell my clothes. I was just doing it so that my daughter could have cute stuff without me breaking the bank. **Little known fact: Whoever said sewing your own clothes was cheaper than buying stuff lied. Saving money is NOT what happened. But I do have a whole new appreciation for the art of handmade and how much time goes into making quality things.

Over the years I learned proper sewing techniques, upgraded to new machines and naturally discovered designer fabrics. .... don't get me started on my fabric obsession. We need a whole other blog post for that. So from a simple Facebook page to a full blown website, I've grown and evolved over the years. 

I am very grateful that sewing from home is a job that can follow me as we move every few years within the military and it does allow me to work part time while my kids were here at home with me. Childcare is expensive yall!