Creating Became a Lifeline

Amy is a mumma of two little girls and the maker behind the felt name banners known as Namey by Amy.

An ordinary morning means getting both girls ready before she heads into the studio. There was no grand plan behind any of it: “I never planned on starting a business.”

She made a name banner for her daughters and her niece because nothing out there matched what she pictured. Someone spotted it during a newborn photoshoot. “I made one for a friend of hers, then another, and before I knew it, Namey by Amy was born.”

Something that didn’t exist

What she couldn’t find, she made. Amy already knew how to embroider and bead, so she put the two together into something detailed and personal that wasn’t out there at the time. Every order nudged her further along.

“Every request pushed me to learn new techniques, refine my skills, and experiment with new ways of creating. In many ways, my customers have helped shape me into the artist I am now.”

Creating became a lifeline

The tidy origin story isn’t the whole of it, and Amy shares the rest openly.

“I was deep in postpartum depression after having my second daughter, and creating became a lifeline.”

The beading and the designing gave her somewhere to put her focus on the heavier days. What looked from the outside like a business taking off was the thing holding her together. “What started as an escape from anxiety and depression has become something much bigger than I ever imagined.” Growth hasn’t always been easy. “Sometimes that growth has been exciting, and sometimes it’s been overwhelming.”

The juggle

Her girls are home with her full time and the work fits into the hours around them. “It’s a constant juggle between motherhood and business ownership,” with “a lot of days where I feel like I’m failing at everything all at once”: not a good enough mum, business owner, wife, sister or friend.

Her people

What holds her together is people. Her husband is extremely supportive, and there have been “countless FaceTime calls with my sister in law and besties that have talked me off the ledge on particularly hard days.” What grounds her: “my girls bursting into the studio for a cuddle, my family reminding me to step away from work, and the people around me who help me remember that I’m more than just the business.”

Why she started

“I look at my girls and remind myself why I started this in the first place. The whole point was to build a life that allowed me to be with them while doing something I love.”

She keeps her perspective on purpose: “I’m not saving lives”, and “the world won’t end if something takes a little longer than I’d hoped”. Getting through the worst days “isn’t about pushing harder. It’s about asking for help, giving yourself a bit of grace, and remembering that you’re human.”

Show the human behind it all

Her advice: “Show the human behind it all, people want connection. They want to know who’s making the product, who’s packing the orders, who’s behind the screen.” Her other rule is about not chasing anyone else. “Find your niche and make it your own.” The brands that last are “the ones that take inspiration and then create something uniquely theirs.”

Made to be kept

“I don’t see these as trend pieces or nursery décor, I see them as heirlooms. I wanted to create something that reflected a child’s personality, interests, family and story. Something made with real intention.”

Being trusted with those stories she calls “one of the greatest privileges of my job.”

Her hope reaches well past childhood: “Maybe one day the little babies whose banners I’m making now will grow up, have children of their own, and come back for one too.”