“I bring in up to $10,000 a month designing princess costumes!”
“I’m a daughter of immigrants, so when I was a child, our family didn’t celebrate Halloween. When I had my daughters, I couldn’t wait for them to dress up. But when I started to look for girls’ costumes, I found that they were not very interesting and poor in quality. Since I know how to sew, I decided to make my daughters’ costumes myself, and I also made costumes for family and friends once they saw what I could do. I sold a few on Etsy as a hobby and creative outlet, but as my sales grew, I decided to start my business, Bailey & Ava (BaileyAndAva.com), which I named after my daughters.
“To get the business off the ground, I decided to create costumes I could easily replicate. I sourced the materials from the fashion district in Manhattan, then found a wholesaler at DG Expo, a trade show for small designers. I also discovered small sewing shops that bring in people to sew the costumes. I primarily sell handmade princess dresses, wands and crowns, as well as superhero costumes for girls. I market the business on Instagram, in Facebook groups and with Facebook ads, but my biggest sales still come from Etsy.
“Designing costumes is such rewarding work! I love to see photos of the kids in their costumes and know that it makes people happy. I earn between $3,000 and $10,000 a month, which goes back into the business, pays for travel and allows me to make donations to the Birthday Party Project, a nonprofit organization that hosts birthday parties for homeless children and those in transitional living facilities.”