Desire Lewis juggles a full-time job, a part-time job, and a new business she launched this year on Etsy. Owner of Parties by Dezzy, this mompreneur also manages the demands of solo parenting her 4 year old son, Andrew Lewis. With her boyfriend Kenneth James behind her, Lewis has turned her love of crafting into another income stream for herself and her son. Parties by Dezzy is a custom party favor shop for families looking for personalized celebrations. Lewis works closely with her clients to make gift bags, invitations, die cuts, stickers, and tags. The work she does takes time, and with two regular job obligations as a home health aide and child care provider, Lewis brings her own son Andrew into as much of the family business as possible to turn Parties by Dezzy time into quality time with him. Read more to see how this enterprise helps Lewis enrich her child’s life – and to find out how you can get an exclusive Child Grows special promotional discount to shop at Parties by Dezzy. Here’s Eisa Ulen Richardson’s latest Mompreneur interview for A Child Grows with Desire Lewis:
Take us on the path you walked to become a small business owner. What inspired you to start a business that supplies custom party favors?
Well since becoming a mom, and having to throw a child’s party, I realized how generic and expensive party goods and favors are. So, I figured if I could just make my own personal visions of parties, I could be more original and save money.
You’ve set up shop on Etsy instead of building your own site to sell your products. Why? What about Etsy works best for your business model?
Well, I stumbled upon ETSY accidentally. I thought of ETSY as being very similar to having an eBay account to sell and buy a few things. When I put my first item up, I was surprised at the inquiries. ETSY has a tool to help me see how often others visit your page. Also, because ETSY notifies me as to where the people interested in my goods have found my page, I am be able to tell what area/country my traffic is coming from, whether it be from Google’s search engine, or that Facebook link I posted on my friend’s page. ETSY works for me because people contact me with their personalized visions, and everything is in one place.
Parties by Dezzie isn’t your only source of family income, as you juggle a full-time job and a part-time job in addition to the demands of motherhood. How do you manage three different streams of income – and three different demands on your time – in addition to active parenting?
Juggling two jobs plus the business is challenging. I also have a four year old very active boy, who wants mom’s undivided attention. I’m usually not home until dinner time, so we spend most of our quality time preparing for bed. Sometimes I am disappointed that the only time I get with him is reading stories, or him “helping” prepare a quick dinner. Having myself spread so thin challenges my time management skills. It gets rough and overwhelming sometimes, and sometimes it seems impossible. Creating designs is a stress reliever from life. I enjoy making a vision come to reality. Having the extra income is useful to help keep my son in activities, because our family is small.
How involved is your son in your business? What influence, if any, does he have on your designs?
He loves my work! He gives input and of course he is always telling me how good of a job I’ve done. He loves helping punch holes in paper products. Also, he lets me know when the characters he likes don’t quite match up to what he is used to seeing in books or on TV.
What exactly can visitors to your Etsy page expect? How are party favors made by Products by Dezzy different from what a shopper can buy at Target or Party City?
Visitors can expect to see unique, handmade party favors. I reply to messages quickly and give input, sometimes countless minutes, tweaking each idea while communicating with my customers. Most retail party favors and designs come very generic. For example, I’ve had someone request Superman theme party treat bags, and want Superman’s original colors, with the addition of Superman’s traditional logo in pink with a tutu for the little girl guest attending their boy’s superhero party.
Where do you get inspiration for your products? Do you have a background in design or a particular interest in art?
My inspiration comes from my love for arts and crafts. Watching people’s responses to my designs inspire me. Also, on ETSY, my customers have the choice to upload their party photos with my designs. To hear how a child loved my handmade designs is priceless. I do not have any official background in designing, however I have always been interested in many forms of art – paper mache, and drawings, to architecture. My designs use particular computer designing software, which is new for me but interesting, and it’s fun to use the computer to design something exactly as I have envisioned it.
What are you goals for this business, and how do those business goals compliment your goals for you and your child’s future?
I would love for it to always remain a small business, possibly one day opening a small shop of personalized party favors. Allowing my business to grow and become more established could one day solely support my son and me, while remaining to be available to spend time with my son while raising him. I know that living in Brooklyn, NY means I will always have to have a stable income. I also know having to be a full time mom and employee is difficult. So, I would hope one day to be able to spend more quality time at home with my son. Something I think a lot of children need to be successful.
In what ways, if any, have the women in your family inspired you? What in your own childhood convinced you that you could start a home-based business while managing all of your other responsibilities?
From childhood I had ideas and thoughts I would try to make a reality. In high school I had a classes in which our final assignment was to make and plan out own wedding in a scrap book (budget included) I enjoyed doing research, and adding my own creative twist to traditional themes.
What else do you think A Child Grows readers need to know about Parties by Dezzy?
Most of my designs are inspired by popular themes, creating one item or template for an item could take hours. My main goal is to make parents and children’s vision come true. I will Offer 10% coupon to anyone purchasing my designs, coming from A Child Grows.
Desire Lewis
Eisa Ulen Richardson is Founder and Director of Camp Fort Greene, and is super excited about two new summer programs in the Camp Fort Greene family: Tech Fort Greene and After Camp Pro. Eisa is also super proud of her mompreneur friends like Desire!