CUT-SEW Mommy...

When you see such a pretty dress the last thing you think about is a United States Marine, right? Yeah, me too! In all actuality that perfect and very sexy maternity dress is not only designed by a United States Marine but it is also hand-made by her! Yes, I know how unbelievable and it goes to show how versatile a woman can really be. Brenna the Mommy behind Mercedes Hill Maternity is a human paradox! How can the same woman who is tough and rigid enough to become a Marine and serve on Active Duty be the origin of things so feminine and free?

Brenna isn't the woman who she once thought she'd be and she isn't on a course she ever planned, but marriage and motherhood have a way of changing paths, don't they? As a little girl, she would purposely watch her mother sew. She sat by her mom in awe of her mother's great skill as a seamstress. Brenna at the age of five would sneak onto her mother's sewing machine trying to imitate what she had seen her mother do many times before. When her mother caught her she thought it would be better to teach the very young Brenna how to use the machine properly than to reprimand her for using it without permission. Her first designs were doll clothes that she even sold. Today, Brenna recalls how she quickly grasped the art of sewing but would only resort to it out of need. If she hadn't needed dresses for high school dances or if her mother had only bought her the designer clothes she really wanted she wouldn't have had continue sewing.

Brenna never intended or wanted to having sewing become her career, no way that was the last thing she wanted. She wanted to become a lawyer or business woman so she entered college with those aspirations. Soon a string of wonderful events would anchor her back in her roots. In 2003, she got married, she got called to active duty and she got pregnant and all that would get her sewing again. Yet again, she only sewed out of need because she just could not find the clothes she yearned to wear during her pregnancy. She wanted to be sexy to show off the beauty of her new form and wear materials that she loved. She made pieces for herself, she researched the maternity industry and she sold clothes on ebay. The pieces she made for herself got great reviews from family and friends. The research she did left her feeling that the maternity industry was just bare of the styles she was making. Her hypothesis was positive when she saw how much revenue she was bringing in from ebay. So her conclusion was to start Mercedes Hill Maternity while she was pregnant with her first daughter but she did not intend for it to be a career. She still had plans of becoming a lawyer and even began law school but after one semester she decided that it wasn't the right time to continue. Quitting enabled her to concentrate on being a mom and designing/sewing helped release her mommy stress.

What happened though was that since the the lines inception it doubled, so did her family, her goal became for the business to continue a steady growth rate until it becomes a household name. With new exposure in the form of her very own site www.MercedesHill.com and more bricks and mortar stores carrying her line she is now employing other seamstress WAHM's to help make the garments. She never thought that being a WAHM that designed and made maternity garments as a stress reliever and hobby would lead her to where it has. She loves what she is doing, she's glad that she quit law school, and she is delighted to have found her niche. She once thought she would be a savvy lawyer or cut-throat business woman but by the look of her designs I think she is better off being a CUT-SEW Mommy!

Straight from the Mommy's mouth (new blog feature!):

Q: Brenna, what makes buying from Mercedes Hill Maternity different than from the name brands my readers can find at the big department stores?

A: I am able to offer things like personal attention, custom inseams, custom requests, and high quality. I do not mass produce my items so you can expect exceptional quality and care!

To see more of her designs please visit her site www.MercedesHill.com!

Blog 2 you Later!

ps. those shoes on the model are too hot!!! Love the shoes!!!