Kids & Coffee Clothing – Featured Mom Small Business

It was a pleasure to interview Lindsay and Lisa from Kids & Coffee Clothing this week for our Punky Moms small business feature.  They are two moms trying to savor the humor as they trek through their everyday lives that are filled with dirty diapers, toddler tantrums, seemingly endless piles of laundry and sticky glitter covered floors. Together they dreamed up Kids & Coffee Clothing to represent all mere mortal mamas, the ones who require a daily cup (or seven) before taking on the daily grind. Their goal is for their shirts to serve as a high-five to a fellow mom, a way to say “you’re not alone.” 

 

Lisa is a stay-at-home mom of two girls. Her husband, Ted, is a tattoo artist and a huge supporter of this crazy idea that is Kids & Coffee Clothing. In her free time (what’s that?), Lisa loves reading, crocheting or binging on most CW shows (Buffy forever!).

 

Lindsay is a stay-at-home mom to her son, Ethan, and exists on a whole lot of espresso. She is married to her high school sweetheart and enjoys writing, blogging, reading and wasting way too much time binging on Party of Five reruns (she still totally wants to be Julia Salinger when she grows up).

And on to the interview: 

PM: When was your company founded and where are you based?

L&L: We are based in Coral Springs, Florida and officially launched our line in November 2014.

PM: How many are involved in your company?

L&L: Just the two of us, Lisa and Lindsay.

PM: What inspired you to start your company?

L&L: We are both avid proponents of shopping small when it comes to our children’s clothes. One day we realized that there was such a shortage of practical yet fun clothing for moms. Instead of just talking about it — and bouncing potential tee ideas off of one another — we decided to just go for it. At Kids and Coffee Clothing, we seek inspiration from the everyday chaos that is motherhood: kids and coffee. Lots and lots of coffee.

PM: Did you have a background in business prior to starting your company?

L&L: Lisa has her BA in Marketing and Management from Florida Atlantic University. She is the organized, rational part of Kids and Coffee Clothing. After many years blogging, Lindsay is simply just obsessed with social media and social media marketing.

PM: Did you run into any problems or resistance while launching?

L&L: We have actually been pretty lucky in terms of having support from our families and friends. Getting our brand out there and making ourselves known has been a challenge but also a learning experience as well.

PM: How do you get the most out of your day?

L&L: Our days are spent wrangling our kids and so most of our business time comes after the kids are in bed. We just sort of squeeze every last drop of energy and creativity from each day. Through the power of playdates, we are still able to spend some daytime hours talking business and planning our next move, but the bulk of work is done after bedtime. …And on our weekly coffee dates that are totally a business necessity. Totally.

PM: How is your family a part of your business choices?

L&L: Our families are the inspiration behind everything we do. Kids and Coffee Clothing was founded as a means to support fellow mothers as we trudge through the chaos that is motherhood together. Motherhood is beautiful and wonderful, yes, but it is also exhausting and messy and so we like to laugh about the chaotic parts, like the size of our laundry piles or how long it’s been since we last washed our hair. When it comes to brainstorming new designs, one hundred percent of our inspiration comes from our children or our roles as mothers.

PM: What music inspires you?

L&L: We love all things punk rock, pop punk and indie. Lisa is partial to The Graduate, Bayside, Naked and Famous and Best Coast. Lindsay’s favorites are Alkaline Trio, New Found Glory, Bright Eyes and Iron & Wine.

PM: What is your favorite thing to do when you are not working?

L&L: Sleep! Sleep is a total rarity around here (and washing our hair — does that count as a luxury?).

PM: What do you see in the future for your shop?

L&L: We hope to continue to grow our line and feature more designs and styles, ensuring that we offer something for every mom. At Kids and Coffee Clothing, we like to keep it real and would love to adequately cover all of what makes motherhood so deliriously wonderful.

  

 

Visit their website kidsandcoffeeclothing.com and use the discount code KIDS20 to save 20%