There is nothing cuter than a little baby girl with a precious bow in her hair! Am I right or am I right?! Today's #FollowFriday is a friend of mine who makes the sweetest hair bows for little girls! She sows and assembles all of them at her house here in Charleston, SC. I've already bought a few for my nieces because I think they are the perfect gift! Continue reading to find out more about My Little Bug Boutique.

My Little Bug Boutique

Owner: Avery Raley
Products: Hair Accessories, Bows

TDC: First of all, what inspired the name, My Little Bug Boutique?
MLBB: Like most funny nicknames, this one sort of just “happened”. I think when our daughter, Elliotte, was probably around a year old or so, I started calling her all sorts of variations of “bug”. Little bug, bug-a-boo, silly bug, etc. When I decided I wanted to open an Etsy shop, naming it after her just seemed appropriate. She’s the little bug behind the boutique!

TDC: Tell us a little about your background and what lead you to open up your shop!
MLBB: Ever since we found out we were having a little girl, I was giddy about being able to dress her up in ruffles and bows, even though I’m not super girly myself. It’s just so much fun! We were gifted a lot of bows when she was first born, but as she outgrew them I found myself missing having all the different colored bows to match each and every outfit (high priority, obviously). In an effort to save money, I decided to try and make her some bows myself. I found that as a stay at home mom, I actually really enjoyed the creative outlet of making the bows and how customizable they were. Fast forward about one year and a sewing machine later and I thought opening up my own shop might a great way to help contribute to my family financially while also doing something I enjoy!

TDC: Do you currently have a favorite item in the shop right now? 
MLBB: It changes weekly! I’d have to say currently I’m really loving the spring line of “classic” bows! I love the pastel colors and I think they’re also my favorite to put Elliotte in because they really stand out.

TDC: Your daughter is absolutely precious. She is coming up on 2 years! Do you have any tricks for keeping bows in her hair!?
MLBB: You are sweet! Well as I’m sure many other girl moms would say, keeping a bow in her hair isn’t necessarily an easy feat at this age. She’s extremely busy and she’s been known to rip her bow out and throw it on the floor, especially in the car. But I think two things specifically have been helpful in getting her to keep it on. 1) I’ve been putting bows on her since she was a newborn, so really I think she’s just used to it. She knows that if we’re going somewhere, no outfit is complete without a bow! Plus she truly loves to accessorize (hats, necklaces, you name it) so I think she enjoys that part of it too. 2) All of our clip bows in the shop have a rubber grip attached, specifically made to grip onto fine hair like many kids have and keep bows in place. That makes all the difference, especially for little ones! For the bands, the elastics we use are super soft and grow with the child so they won’t dig into their head or feel uncomfortable, making them much less likely to want to pull it off!

TDC: You also just made a very important announcement on your shop’s social media! Do tell!
MLBB: We did! …We are currently expecting our 2nd “little bug”! I am due in September and super excited to find out if we’ll have another bow wearing girl, or if we’ll need to be adding some boy bow ties to the shop!

TDC: What is one of the biggest life lessons you’ve learned since being a mom?
MLBB: Oh gosh. I could write a book on that question alone. I think I’d have to say that the biggest lesson that comes to mind is that nothing is concrete! Babies, toddlers, children.. they’re always changing! As soon as you think you’ve become a pro at something, they change. As soon as you think you’ve figured something out about your child, it changes – for better or for worse! It’s a lot of learning and adapting at every age and every baby is different. And as much as I’d like to, I can’t take credit for anything she’s good at, haha. Most of it is just her personality and the way the Lord made her! I think it’s really taught to me to hold an open hand as a mom. To know that I’m not in control of anything that I just have to trust the Lord with every little thing. It’s hard to do when you naturally want to do the best, safest, most beneficial thing for your child 24/7, but it’s also quite freeing. To know that the Lord, who’s much more capable than me, is actually in perfect control!  

TDC: You’ve lived in the Charleston, SC area for about 2 years now. Can you share some of your favorite family activities to do around town?
MLBB: Hmmm. You know really we just love to be outside, especially in Charleston! Elliotte (and of course the soon to be new baby) isn’t really old enough to do a lot of “structured” activities, so the best things for us right now are just being in wide open spaces where we can explore and Elliotte can run around. We love the beach, the parks, going downtown, that sort of thing. We also love the farmers market and similar free outdoor events where we can walk around (did I say for free?) and listen to music and grab something to eat. It’s stroller friendly and no one cares if your child is making a racket!

TDC: Last but definitely not least...what is your favorite Charleston area restaurant right now?
MLBB: How does anyone pick just one? I’m gonna cheat and give two answers (okay maybe three). For me personally I’m a huge fan of Mediterranean food. So I tend to go for places like Zoe’s Kitchen or Tazikis over and over again – I know those are chains but since not everywhere has those options, I’m gonna consider them Charleston perks! For the family, we really like Taco Boy downtown! It’s super affordable, has a really fun atmosphere and it’s kid friendly (aka loud)!

Be sure to follow Avery on Instagram as she continues to grow My Little Bug Boutique! So much excitement ahead for their family. And my personal favorite bow is the green glitter. Is it cool if I wear that one?! :)

Stay tuned for our next #FollowFriday in three weeks! Hint: All the tennis pros are wearing it!

Best,
Emily Kirby