Beatrice Forms owner Alison Hughes in her studio | Spoonflower Blog

With Spoonflower’s first group of Small Business Grant recipients well on their way to growing their small businesses, we are pleased to introduce you to the recipients of our Fall 2019 Small Business Grant! From children’s wear to whimsical backdrops that will make you feel young again, get to know our 12 grantees and how they’ll be using the grant to take their business to the next level.

Lisa Cartrette, Bashful Birdie Handmade | @bashfulbirdiehandmade

Heirloom quality handmade clothing and accessories for babies and kids made with custom designed fabrics.

Lisa Cartrette of Bashful Birdie Handmade | Spoonflower Blog


“To be selected as a grant recipient means I can make more items upfront so that I can have them available for indie arts & craft shows and allow for faster fulfillment to online customers. With the grant I plan to use the fall floral fabrics that I designed to make a collection of dresses. In addition to the dresses, I’ll be able to add swaddle blankets and throw blankets to my collection which I wouldn’t have been able to do on my own.”  

Three rainbow dresses | Spoonflower Blog
Bashful Birdie tag on the inside of a dress | Spoonflower Blog

Alison Hughes, Beatrice Forms | @beatriceforms

Custom dress forms from smartphone 3D body scans thoughtfully crafted for you in Colorado.


Alison Hughes of Beatrice Forms | Spoonflower Blog


“Our purpose is to inspire personalized creative expression. We accomplish this by making our forms as true as possible to the person they emulate. Until now, this has been limited to just body shape. Our Spoonflower grant will finally make it possible for us to offer specially designed cover fabric in a multitude of base skin tones, as well as custom colors upon request. By creating draped, custom woven covers in their actual skin tones, our clients will not only learn valuable draping skills, but they’ll finally have a dress form that really looks like them in every way.” 

Beatrice dress form with fabric swatches | Spoonflower Blog
Beatrice dress form with fabric swatches | Spoonflower Blog

Katie Jacoby, Chelsea and Marbles | @chelseaandmarbles

Cute handmade gifts to welcome little humans.

Katie Jacoby of Chelsea and Marbles | Spoonflower Blog


“Receiving this grant means I’ll be able to bring some of my most creative ideas to life, designed to enhance play and sensory time with baby while also fulfilling all the needs and wants of the modern mama. I’m so excited to use Spoonflower for a brand new line of baby-oriented learning and stimulation toys featuring my hand-drawn illustrations.”

Baby teethers | Spoonflower Blog
Baby laying on Organic Sweet Pea Gauze™ blanket | Spoonflower Blog

Nancy Mac, Freon Collective | @freoncollective

Handmade, minimal beauty and lifestyle goods.

Nancy Mac of Freon Collective | Spoonflower Blog


“As a small business owner, this grant reflects Spoonflower’s continued support for local makers and designers. As Spoonflower has been my fabric supplier since I started my business, I’m excited to grow my eco-conscious lifestyle brand alongside Spoonflower’s eco-friendly commitments in their fabric distributing and printing processes.”

Kate Perna, Inner Beauty Effects | @innerbeautyeffects

Handcrafted bags as strong, hardworking & beautiful as you. 

Kate Perna of Inner Beauty Effects | Spoonflower Blog


“At the heart of our company, we are committed to supporting, empowering, and connecting women. In part, we honor this commitment by sourcing all of our lining fabrics from female indie artists, and we couldn’t do this without Spoonflower. While the Spoonflower grant will certainly help us with production as we prepare for our first season of markets, its true value goes far beyond that. For us, this acknowledgement feels like a vote of confidence and encouragement to pursue our vision for the future of this brand. Our goal at Inner Beauty Effects is to lift women up, to embolden them, to inspire them, and this has certainly done that for us.”

Jessica Coffee, Jessica Cloe Miniatures | @jessicacloeminis

Miniature and dollhouse printables—crafted to be in the perfect 1:12 scale.

Jessica Coffee of Jessica Cloe Miniatures | Spoonflower Blog


“I’ve been treating this miniature adventure as a hobby so far. This grant from Spoonflower is the
opportunity I needed to really turn up the volume and see what can happen.”

Living room in a dollhouse | Spoonflower Blog
Bedroom in a doll house | Spoonflower Blog

Katie Stewart, KatieStew.art LLC | @katiestew.art

Graphic designer, photographer and maker with an infatuation with vibrant installations.

Katie Stewart | Spoonflower Blog


“KatieStew.art LLC was born from an infatuation with vibrant installations that transport the viewer to another (ideally more magical) realm. I am the founder and sole creator of this design shop that specializes in creating immersive photo booths with custom props for special events. The experiences I create promote play and wonder no matter the viewer’s age.”

Photo backdrop featuring over-sized mushrooms in the woods | Spoonflower Blog

Aimee Ray, little dear | @aimee_littledear

Hand embroidery, craft patterns and printable art.

Aimee Ray of little dear | Spoonflower Blog


“I began selling kits and samplers of my designs using Spoonflower fabric in 2017. Focusing in on embroidery and craft patterns and offering printed kits and samplers has helped my business grow more in the last 2 years than the entire 10 years before. I’m excited to keep up the momentum by continuing to offer new designs and by reaching new customers and fans. Receiving a Spoonflower grant will be enormously helpful in achieving my business growth goals by providing the main piece of my physical product line.”

A collection of embroidery samples | Spoonflower Blog

Eva Wohlfarth, mini bee | @minibee.shop

Minimalistic and cheerful children’s clothing.

Eva Wohlfarth of mini bee | Spoonflower Blog


“I’m feeling incredibly honored to be selected as a grant recipient. Especially this year I can really use the financial support for my business as I will open my first little shop in October 2019. The grant almost feels like a lucky charm and I am especially looking forward to incorporating Spoonflower’s high quality eco friendly fabrics in my Spring collection 2020 since this corresponds to my philosophy of sustainable, ecological and fair children clothing.”

Floral toddler dress | Spoonflower Blog

Sky Cubacub, Rebirth Garments | @rebirthgarments

Gender non-conforming custom clothing for the full spectrum of gender, size and ability.

Sky Cubacub of Rebirth Garments | Spoonflower Blog

“This collection features photos of my father Arturo Cubacub’s paintings from the 1970’s that were remixed into repeat prints by my friend Lindsey Whittle. I made this clothing collection as part of my grieving process in the month after his memorial and the Spoonflower small business grant allows me to share this deeply personal collection with the world. My first sewing projects involved color blocking that was based off of my dad’s paintings, and I had always meant to revisit this idea in the future. When my dad got sick in October, I wanted to make this collection for him to show him how much his work inspired me.”

Colorful outfit worn by a model with face paint in front of bright pink geometric wallpaper | Spoonflower Blog
Colorful outfit worn by a model with face paint in front of bright pink geometric wallpaper | Spoonflower Blog

Sarah Omura , So Handmade | @sohandmade1

Eco-friendly toys for pretend play.

Sarah Omura of So Handmade | Spoonflower Blog

“At this point in my small business receiving the grant from Spoonflower is enabling me to develop some new and exciting products that I believe will resonate with many parents and their children today. I can’t wait to get my play mats and travel toys in front of more parents who I feel could really benefit from having them in their lives. I love getting customer feedback telling me how invaluable their play mat was on vacation, on the plane or even just trying to grab a coffee with the little one in tow. This grant means I will be able to help more parents to stay sane in this ever-increasing tech heavy world and help their little ones use their imagination and creativity to play wherever they may be.”

Toddler playing cars on a fabric playmat | Spoonflower Blog

 Kalli Kunzler, The Warm Fuzzies Co. | @thewarmfuzziesco

Personalized luxury Minky blankets.

Kalli Kunzler of The Warm Fuzzies Co. | Spoonflower Blog

“I’m excited to use Spoonflower’s grant to subsidize meaningful Minky blankets which I will be donating to a nominated individual every month for the next year. My focus will be on giving my “Courage” blanket to chemo patients, my “Loved” blanket to members of the LGBTQ community and my “Fighter” minis to NICU babies. Being chosen for this grant feels like an encouraging vote of support from a company and community that I love and admire. I’m grateful for the grant because it will allow me to fulfill my dream of regularly donating blankets to individuals that will really benefit from the minky’s uplifting message and the love and support which can be felt each time the blanket is used. “

Custom Minky blankets | Spoonflower Blog
Custom Minky blankets | Spoonflower Blog

It’s easy to be inspired by this talented group of creative entrepreneurs!

Keep up the momentum and start prepping your business for the next cycle of the Spoonflower Small Business Grant.

Learn more about the Small Business Grant | Spoonflower Blog