Farm Girl Story

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My Farm Girl Story

Born and raised in a small rural community in Missouri, I knew what hard work and dedication meant. My dad was a farmer and my mom was a stay at home farm wife. Working from sun up to sun down was all I knew. Farming in the 80’s brought many financial struggles to my family. Therefore, at the age of 15, I found myself getting a job at the McDonald’s in a nearby town. It was a far stretch from my dream job, but was a sacrifice I was willing to make for our family farm.

It was not but a year later when my journey in the fashion industry began. I was approached by a manager of a retail chain known as “Ups N Downs” about a job opportunity that would allow me to work in retail with clothing. And that is how it all began, I found that I had a passion for fashion.

Two years flew by and I was college bound. I chose to pursue a degree in Business Management. However, college did not stop me from working for Ups N Downs. In fact, I worked there for special events and was also offered an internship with J.C. Penney! After graduation, I married my high school sweetheart and eagerly took a job offer with J.C. Penney as their new merchandising manager. Not long after, my husband’s job transfer relocated us. Little did I know, I was going to be hired back by the United Shoe Corporation who owned Ups N Downs, but had a name change known as Capezios.

Once again, my husband received another promotion which involved a job transfer. Again, this meant leaving my job behind. So I made the decision to stay at home with our 3 year old son and work on getting my Master’s Degree in vocational business. After 5 years of staying home, the entrepreneur in me came out! With the love and support of my husband, I rented a small 600 square foot house and eventually opened the doors of my very own home décor business, “The Primitive Peddler, Inc.” Of course, I still loved fashion, but having recently built a home, my eyes were set on home décor fashion. Each day started by dropping off my kindergartner and then proceeding on to my little business with my 2 year old (yep, that’s right, she went to work with me every day). I eventually built my own 5400 square foot building two blocks from my original stomping grounds. A third child (yes she came to work with me every day too) and 19 years later, I’m still here.

The past 19 years with my little home décor business have been filled with so many opportunities, memories, failures, and successes. I would not trade them for anything else in the world. However, with my children growing older and starting their own adventures, I began toying with the idea of solely taking my business online. Going back to my fashion and farming roots, Farm Girls Fancy Frills was born. It quickly bloomed from my small 320 square foot office in the back of my home décor business to overflowing into the rest of my building! I was blown away with how quickly we started growing.  Having the opportunity to express myself and show women it's okay to go from wearing muck boots in the barn to something cute, comfy, and stylin' at a reasonable price has made this wonderful journey worthwhile!

There is no doubt that this has been my hardest challenge to date. However, through hard work, dedication, and God my little online business has flourished. I give credit to my mom and dad for instilling in me the true meaning of hard work and dedication. Without them and my upbringing on the farm, I would not be the farm girl I am today...

The Head Farm Girl