Meet Becky Reichman, Bows & Gifts Artist

From an article with CanvasRebel magazine – Read the full interview here

We’re excited to introduce you to the always interesting and insightful Becky Reichman. We hope you’ll enjoy our conversation with Becky below.

Becky, thanks for joining us, excited to have you contributing your stories and insights. So, naming is such a challenge. How did you come up with the name of your brand?

I’ve always loved fabric hair bows. So, of course my daughter Natalie had to have one for every outfit! I decided it would be best if I learned how to make them myself (so I wouldn’t go totally broke). Before I knew it, I started getting compliments from other moms on all the cute bows she was wearing, especially for the Jewish holidays. They all wanted to know where they could buy them or if I could make them one. It didn’t take me long to realize there was a market for Judaica hair bows that I could tap into.

Along with the bows, I had another children’s Judaica product in mind that I knew there was a need for: personalized mezuzahs. A mezuzah is a case that holds a small piece of parchment, inscribed with a prayer, that Jewish families traditionally hang on doorposts in their homes for protection and as a reminder of God’s presence. I wanted a mezuzah for Natalie’s bedroom door, but I couldn’t find a case that I felt would fit her nursery decor or her personality, so I made her one. I painted her a mezuzah with a very cute purple hippopotamus on it, her lovey, ‘Happy’. Happy never left her side so it seemed like the perfect choice for her bedroom doorpost.

Because my daughter Natalie was the inspiration for my business, I named it after her: Little Natalie Designs LLC. It just felt right.

Becky, before we move on to more of these sorts of questions, can you take some time to bring our readers up to speed on you and what you do?

Hi! My name is Becky Reichman, and I am from Dallas, Texas. I am an artist, an art educator, a stay-at-home mom to two sweet girls Natalie (5) and Nicole (1), and the owner and artist behind Little Natalie Designs LLC. I graduated from the University of Texas with an undergraduate degree in studio art as well as a graduate degree in art education and was an elementary art teacher for 6 years until my oldest, Natalie, was born.

My interest in art started at a very young age after watching my mom take a painting class. I had no idea until then, but she was really good! I wanted to be able to paint like she could, so I took her paints and started practicing. My favorite type of art was drawing comics and cartoons. Unfortunately, I was told by one of my middle school art teachers that my art wasn’t “real” art. Thankfully, I then went on to win a school district wide art contest with one of my comic style drawings that same year. This fueled my ambition to continue with art and was also one of the main reasons that I chose to become an art educator. Cartoons are still a very big part of my style, and you can see that in my mezuzah designs!

After deciding to leave teaching for a while to raise my kids, and spending a year at home with baby Natalie, I learned that I really needed a creative outlet and something for me– momming is hard! Little Natalie Designs LLC became that outlet. I was able to stay at home and spend time with my kids and create art.

Little Natalie Designs LLC is a growing handmade business offering CPSC certified hair bows of all different designs including but not limited to many Judaica fabrics and a few one-of-a-kind fabrics that I designed myself. I am always looking to expand and come up with new and fun ideas. I plan to start offering bows for dog and cat collars soon. One of the best parts about my job is seeing what I put out into the world. I have seen pictures of my bows on many adorable kids, dogs, and cats. I even saw one of my matzah bows on a horse!

In addition to ready-made choices, I also hand paint custom mezuzahs. Many of my ready-made mezuzah designs are inspired by my kids and their interests, as well as the interests of their friends. I also design custom mezuzahs for clients who have an idea, a nursery décor, or color scheme in mind, and I help bring their vision to life. Dog portraits are a favorite and some of my most popular custom cases. People will send me a picture of their dog, and I will paint them on a mezuzah case.

I am so thankful I found something I love that also allows me to spend time with my kids. If other people love it too, that is even better!

Do you sell on your site, or do you use a platform like Amazon, Etsy, Cratejoy, etc?

I have a storefront on Etsy. Etsy is a low-risk place to start and continue to grow my business. The more you sell on Etsy, the more they promote your work in their search engines and in offsite ads. The downside is, when I put my shop on vacation mode for maternity leave for my second child, my listings dropped off, and I no longer get the view count that I used to. It will take some more time and sales to get back to where I was. My goal in the future would be to build enough of a following that I could host my own site and not be as dependent on a selling platform for the core of my sales. I also do wholesale orders if the order is put in well in advance.

How did you build your audience on social media?

I am an introvert, and promoting my own art is actually really challenging for me. A large part of my social media growth is due to past clients and some of the amazing women that I have met through social media and have helped me by promoting my work. @ariel.loves, @everydayjewishmom, and @that_peachymommy to name a few. Women empowering women is real!
My advice for anyone trying to build a social media presence is to know that it takes time. Consistent and meaningful posting will help build your presence.

Contact Information:

• Website: http://www.littlenataliedesigns.etsy.com/
• Instagram: @littlendesigns