Introducing.....us!

Since some of you don't know us, we figured we would give you an introduction.  FYI:  this is kind of lengthy and might bore some of you....

Boots & Bows Boutique is equally owned & operated by Candis York & Shannon McIlwain.  We live in Sweet Home Alabama or LA (Lower Alabama that is!).  We both shout loud & proud for the Alabama Crimson Tide, Roll TIDE!  But I'm going to give a shout out to Auburn for stepping up and doing so many amazing things after the horrible storms for not only Tuscaloosa, but the entire state of Alabama through an organization called Toomers for Tuscaloosa.  They can be found on Facebook or you can visit their website http://www.toomersfortuscaloosa.com/.  So Thanks!  And Great Job!  I know we've had a lot of Alabama outfit orders, but we want each of you to know that we can do cute things for Auburn or any other team too.  (high school, middle school, elementary school, college, professional, tiny mite, etc.)  Due to copyright laws, we can't make & sell any official logos or any copyright designs on our products.  Those you see on our website were some we made for our children or were given as a gift to someone, which we can do legally.

I'm Candis!  Proud Wife and Mommy to Shawn & Kaylee.  I have the best husband!  He helps out in any way he can (even without being asked!) and is the BEST Daddy too!  My 3 year old gal is full of personality and sillyness!  She is always shy when she first meets you or goes to a new place, but it doesn't take long for her to warm right on up and start entertaining everyone.  She's a little scaredy-cat like her Mommy!  She keeps me laughing (and yelling) all the time.  I must admit that the 3's have just about killed me, so I do hope that things start to get better when she turns 4.  Terrible 2's should be renamed to Terrible 3's.  I'm known as CanCan to all the little ones and I LOVE it!

So here is my long & lenthly story.......I started sewing when I was in elementary school with the help of my grandmother, Mimi.  I remember her teaching me and I made a romper for a 4-H talent project and actually placed.  I was soooo excited!  Mimi had always made our clothing along with several toys over the years and she was my first inspiration to sew.  I love that she is still around to watch me progress.  From elementary school on I watched Mimi a little closer, asked a lot of questions, and begin to help her pick out patterns/fabric/etc and put her to work on "my" projects so I could learn more.  My 2nd inspiration came when the first baby in our family was born, my niece Carlee.  I lived away from home and was by myself a lot, so I used my time (when not working at my full time job) to begin to build my supply and start on sewing projects.  I remember the first dress I made for Carlee, it was Strawberry Shortcake and I have it still to this day as my daughter now wears it!  My Mama (my 3rd inspiration) has always fiddled with sewing over the years and made us many things growing up as well.  She began to get an interest in Embroidery and bought her first machine.  After a while she decided it was time to upgrade her Brother 150 to a Brother Disney Sewing/Embroidery dual machine with lots more options.  So lucky me inherited her first one!  I taught myself how to use it and monogrammed many things while living in Hattiesburg.  I didn't have an editing program so I was limited to sizing designs and adding names.  But I did the best I could and was proud of my work.  Then due to some life changes, I didn't sew/monogram for about 2 years.  I picked it back up when I became pregnant with my Kaylee (my 4th inspiration) and then really stepped up right before she turned 2.  Last year I decided that the Brother 150 was just not enough for me because it was limited to the 4x4 hoop.  I like BIG designs and wanted to start doing appliques, so I upgraded to the Brother PE770 and LOVE it!  I then finally started researching programs and found one that was affordable, recommended, and very user friendly.  Mama & I have been buying designs for years, so we really don't even know what all we have to work with!  I come across some of our designs all the time and am like WOW, I didn't know we had this.  I also then got back with Mimi and learned more about sewing, along with taking a couple of classes from local seamstresses/friends, Debbie & Nicki.  I can't even begin to describe to you the joy & honor I feel upon completion of an outfit, even it it's just a monogram on something someone brought to me.  I love the fact that every order is different and unique.  So I partnered up with a childhood friend and we started Boots & Bows Boutique.  After Shannon & I started the business, we decided that we needed an industrial machine to keep up with orders; so we got the Brother PR650 and love it!  Now we need 2 or 3!  But that will of course have to wait lol.  So here we are today.  Here for you.  Wanting to make what you have in mind.  Or if you don't have anything in mind, that's ok!  We love creating it for you!  And in the end, to understand why our turnaround time is not as fast as some.....I work a full time job and only get to do Boots & Bows in the evenings & weekends.  But I pray my dream continues to grow into something BIG and AMAZING and opens a new door for me as God (my highest Inspiration) is the one who turned me in the direction of starting B&B.


Introducting my partner, Shannon.  She is the proud wife of Anthony and proud mommy of a set of boy/girl twins, Irelyn & Jackson.  Anthony & Shannon just celebrated 8 years of marriage.  The twins turned 4 yrs old Monday.  Irelyn is a beautiful girl with a head full of curly locks and is full of spunk & personality and is fearless.  Jackson is a very handsome boy with tanned skin and black hair, and is mostly soft spoken, reserved, and close to Mommy.  She has now been officially awarded the name ShanShan so the little ones will have something special to call her as well.  I will let her tell the rest of her story another time...............so stay tuned!

We want to say THANK YOU!  Thank you to each person who has been there for us.  Helped us along the way.  Became a fan, customer, or blog follower.  Each and every one of you holds a special place in our hearts!

Luv,
CanCan