Our Story
Hey Little Mama!
Thanks for stopping by! We’re so glad you you’re here.
My name is Chynna and I’m a wife, mama of four boys, and business owner. I love celebrating magical moments with you!I design every piece you see in our shop and manage our team of 35 employees between nap time, school drop-off, basketball practice, and those wee hours of the night when all is peaceful and quiet. It’s a delicate balancing act and I’m grateful for it every single day.
But, it hasn’t always been this way…
I graduated with my Bachelors Degree in English Education. I took design classes for fun in college, but it never seemed like a ‘practical’ passion to pursue. Although I had always envisioned myself with a baby in one hand and an appointment book in the other, my heart changed after my first baby boy was born. I wanted nothing more than to be home with him and soak in every moment.
I started taking on side jobs to make ends meet while my husband, Tyler, was in graduate school and working full-time. I worked in marketing and blogging, which led me to start a graphic design business where I branded businesses for hundreds of entrepreneurs. I never, ever slept because my baby boy was basically nocturnal and very fussy. Those were hard and scrappy years that I look back on so tenderly.
We welcomed our second baby boy in late 2015 and that's when the idea for Little Mama Shirt Shop® came to me. I was frustrated with my postpartum body and a world that pretended like slipping on your tight jeans and heading home from the hospital with a newborn baby was the norm. I couldn’t help but feel alone in motherhood and a longing for a more realistic example of what having two babies under two was really like.
The idea hit me one day when I was pushing my boys in the stroller on a walking path near our home. It was so clear exactly what I needed to do…yet I had no ideawhyorhow.
It was a moment of true inspiration when I realized I could utilize my design skills, manufacture and source comfortable and functional clothes for women, and build a community of moms supporting moms. Little did I know what the future for Little Mama Shirt Shop held for our family!
We made a big life change when we moved from Utah to Idaho for Tyler to start a new job. LMSS® was born in the midst of it all in the back bedroom of our rental home in Rexburg, ID with a $400 investment. I told Tyler that if nothing else, I would make our $400 back. I just had to see if this crazy idea could go anywhere.
I launched the brand with a live Facebook video where I told the world (mostly our family and friends) what I had been working on.
I sold out all of my inventory that first night.
I couldn’t believe it.
I operated the business in a 10x10' bedroom for a year, had another baby boy, and poured all of the business money into finishing our basement, where I ran the business for another year. I had three employees working with me in our basement every day...it was quite the busy (and crammed) place!
When the business became too much for me to manage on my own, Tyler left his corporate job to go all in with me at LMSS. It was a sacred moment full of prayer and hope for our family, and we’ve never looked back. He has taken on the roles of Operations Manager, HR Director, and basically every single finance/admin/technical/stressful detail that needs attention with such grace. Oh, did I mention he is our handyman, too?
Fast forward six years, three warehouses, *another* baby boy, and 35+ employees later…here we are!
We’ve grown our community of moms to 160k+ and have shipped hundreds of thousands of orders to nearly every continent on the planet.
We just moved operations into a new home, our very own LMSS warehouse! We designed every bit of it from the ground up to make it the perfect Ware*home* for our team to ship orders. Come see us if you're ever in SE Idaho!
Balancing business, babies, marriage, and a household has felt like a heavy load at times, but I have felt God with me every step of the way. As the demands of all of these things have increased upon as individually and as a couple, so has our capacity to manage them.
We treat our family and our business with reverence. We know the success of LMSS®, has been largely due to the people we have met along the way... Our customers, our community, our team, and business friends and mentors who have all stepped into our lives at the exact right moment to teach us and guide us.
Running a small business does not come without sacrifice whole lot of grit. While I’ve spent many tearful nights sitting in overwhelm, making tough business decisions, Little Mama Shirt Shop® has stretched me in necessary ways and has given me such a greater capacity to champion for every mother, in every stage of her journey. It has been one of the greatest privileges of my life.
We've always said: It's more than just shirts
Little Mama Shirt Shop® is about building a supportive community of mamas who cheer each other on and build each other up because we have. all. been. there.
And by *there,* I mean in the depths. In the chaos. Neck deep in the joy and the mess and the heartache and the stress and the love of motherhood.
There is no judgement here, because you and I both know that we are all doing the very best we can to raise happy, healthy babes. That's what matters most. There is such a feeling of solidarity in knowing we all have the same goal in that way, no matter our specific style of motherhood. It's truly the Sisterhood of Motherhood.
Thank you for being here. I’ve said it a thousand times and I’ll say it a thousand more. We’re truly grateful and humbled by what this community has grown to be. You've shown so much love for our family and our business. We love being a small part of your big moments.
Thank you for sharing your hearts and your stories with us.
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WELCOME TO THE SISTERHOOD OF MOTHERHOOD