Etsy Featured Designer: Heather of Olive & Ollie plus a giveaway!

"inspired goods made by hand for your little one" 

We still recall the day we came across olive & ollie on Etsy - it was a dream come true! Handmade, quality clothing & uber-cute finds for our littles. We immediately fell in love even more when Heather, the owner, sent us some fabulous goodies. The attention to detail and quality is beyond perfection. olive & ollie is definitely a shop you will began a love affair with -- beautiful clothes for stylish littles. Lucky for us we sat down with Heather to chat and get to know everything about her sweet little shop. 

Tell us about Olive & Ollie. What inspired the name?

Olive and Ollie began very simply, and I never dreamt that it would turn into a real business. I started making bibs and appliquéd shirts for my son who was born in 2006, because I couldn’t find a lot of things on the market for him that I liked. Friends liked my work, and soon people started asking me to make things for them as well.

Olive and Ollie is named after two women in my family, my great-grandmother Olive, and my great-great-aunt Ollie. Both were strong, independent women who made all sorts of things by hand, and shared my belief that handmade is best. In fact, I still have the baby quilt my aunt Ollie made for me over 30 years ago, when she was in her 70s.

How long have you been sewing? What made you decide to start your adorable shop on Etsy?


I’ve been sewing on and off since junior high, which was way too long ago to admit! Honestly, I guess about 20 years or so, which makes me sound really old, doesn’t it?!


I signed up on etsy.com to open a shop in May 2007, but it wasn’t until April of the following year that I listed anything. By that time I now had a toddler and a newborn, and I knew I didn’t want to go back to my day job, so I went full steam ahead with my little endeavor. I would design and sew while my babies napped, but the vast majority of my work was done at night after they were in bed. And I’ve been working that way since then. It’s sometimes tough to work so many late nights, but it allows me to be home with my babies, and that is priceless and totally worth the lack of sleep.

Has this become a full time job or do you still consider it a hobby as so many do when they sew?

This has definitely become a full time job for me, and I’m really excited about the possible directions I could take this business in. I’m so lucky that I get to do what I love and make a living from it.

What's up next for O&O? We are ready for a sweet handmade boutique we can visit! We just can't get enough :)

Thank you so much! A handmade boutique would be great, and may happen some day when my kids are older. For now, I’m working on new designs and also trying my hand at some pattern making as well. I’m also introducing modern quilts for babies and toddlers in my shop, so keep an eye out for those as well!

All things Olive & Ollie

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Heather, as kind as she is has given YOU a chance to win a $50 Gift Certificate to her shop! Read on to see just how you can get started collecting for your Olive & Ollie collection! 

We adore this super cute unique tee for Halloween! 

Leave us a comment telling us just what you would LOVE to get. Make sure you are a follower of cupcakeMAG and Sprinkles.

For extra entries do the following and leave us a separate comment telling us each you have done.

1. Follow CupcakeMAG on Twitter

2. Follow Olive & Ollie on Twitter

3. Make sure you "LIKE" us on our NEW Facebook page.

4. Subscribe to our updates (top right corner above) - just sign up with your email!

5. VOTE for us on Top Mommy Blogs here -- just select "click to vote" -- you don't have to register - just a simple click.

6. Tweet about this giveaway and include @cupcakemag -- you must tweet, not just follow. Also, make sure you tell us YOUR twitter name. 

7. Tweet about this giveaway and include @oliveandollie-- you must tweet, not just follow.

8. Write a blog post about this giveaway on your blog and send us the link.

The winner will be selected by random.org on Wed., October 6th after 11pm. Please make sure you live us your email in one of the comments as well!