Meet Mike, I’m Sure Glad that I Did!

Our Story

An intrepid new mom building an empire from the ground up with nothing but her bare hands, her street smarts, and her insatiable appetite for success would be an amazing story, but it isn’t mine.

When January Moon was an idea that felt so preposterous I was afraid to speak it out loud, Mike was the person I told. He sat with me while the baby we begged and prayed for, nursed and cried and nursed and cried and nursed and cried into the early hours of the morning. He summoned the energy to ask me a hundred questions about teething jewelry because he could tell, even through the slow moving infant haze we were living in, that this little idea felt big and important to me. “You could do it,” he said, “You should do it.” The next day over so much coffee, he decided that we should brainstorm company names. By the end of that day, he was spouting off a giant list of local stores I could sell to (while simultaneously dancing Sheppy around the kitchen and eating his dinner.)

Mike Has Always Believed In Me

Those days, I felt like I couldn’t tie my own shoes, I was delirious, exhausted, and up to my leaky boobs in self-doubt. I wasn’t totally sure whether having a baby, let alone a company that makes baby stuff, was something I was cut out for, but Mike was relentless in his belief in me. Before long, silicone beads, sample necklaces, and clasps covered every usable surface in our house and that unending faith he had in what I was doing managed to make its way over to me.

We Are In This Together

Over the past few years, he has celebrated and studied my work. He knows about jump rings and bead shapes and non-toxic materials and he cares about them. He’s felt torn over nearly identical rope samples just like I have and wondered whether the fall collection has too much rust in it and not enough sable. He’s gone to Home Depot five times in a day to make me a fancy booth to use at markets and tradeshows, he wanted me to have something I was proud of because he was so proud of me. Mike has lifted every heavy box, liked every Instagram post (even when I’m right beside him on the couch) and opened our home up to photographers, models, and lots of little babies. When business is well, busy, I can hand him an armful of children and dash out the door. When business is slow, more often than not, I end up in his arms myself. Mike has always made me believe I could do this and a huge part of that belief is knowing that I’ll never be doing it alone.

January Moon Is Not Mine, It Is Ours

It belongs as much to my family as it does to me. It especially belongs to Mike, who teaches our kids to be curious and loving and brave and in the same breath has taught me that I can be those things too. His heart has broken alongside mine when there have been failures (and trust me, there have plenty) and it has shared in every little moment of glory, it has made my heart stronger and fuller and surer than I ever imagined it could be, I am so thankful.

Happy Father’s Day to Mike and to all of the awesome dads out there who make life, love, and raising littles a true partnership. We love you.

XO Jenny