Ivy and Kay Creations

My name is Kayla Colson, and I am an apparel and custom gift designer. During college, I was in a sorority and would witness my sisters trying to order things from Etsy but then complain that they could not customize them enough or get them delivered in time. I looked at the things they were ordering and thought, I could do that!—and that’s just how Ivy and Kay was born.

As I was creating this business, I was also attending business school. I was lucky to be able to take the things I learned in class in the morning and apply them to my business that same night, which proved really helpful in building my brand. After undergrad, I came back home to RI and spent a year at Brown earning my master's in innovation, management, and entrepreneurship. After that, I spent a while looking for a full-time job. During that period, I poured myself into Ivy and Kay.

I forced myself to take a look at my shop and reevaluate the items I was selling. I started asking, Would I wear this? and used my answers to determine what products I wanted to start making regularly. This pivot evoked a really positive response from my supporters. Rather than focusing on custom orders, my own line was born through this process. I began selling at local fairs and continued to sell online.