Meet Anh Clayhold | Founder of Little Charmers Market

We had the good fortune of connecting with Anh Clayhold and we’ve shared our conversation below.

Hi Anh, maybe we can start at the very start – the idea – how did you come up with the idea for your business?
I would call it fate if there was such a thing. My oldest daughter was given two hand me down smocked dresses. Upon receiving them, I felt this familiarity and somewhat nostalgic but I couldn’t really put a finger on to as why I was feeling that way. I of course loved those dresses on her and I thought they were special and exquisite. I then had a conversation with my husband about how I don’t see little girls wearing these kind of dresses anymore and he suggested that maybe I should look into starting a hand smocked business. I brushed the idea off and didn’t really think much about it for a while. One day, my children and I were going through some old photo albums and we stumbled upon several pictures of 6-7 years old me. In the photos, I wore these beautiful dresses that were made by late my grandmother. I looked closer and realized they were smocked dresses.
Growing up in Vietnam back in the late 80s, early 90s, our life wasn’t as comfortable that my parents could just buy me new clothes all the time. I probably got 1-2 new dresses on special days such as birthday, Christmas, Lunar New Year, etc. So of course, people resorted to DIY, hand-made clothes. Fortunately, my late grandmother was very crafty with thread and needle. She often made me clothes to wear and smocked dresses were one of them. I remember how much I loved them and how special I felt every time I wore them.
All of a sudden, everything just clicked. I realized why I have this special love for smocked dresses. They remind me of one of the best memories of my childhood. After that moment, I started to think about my children and how fun it would be if i could do something like that for them. I wanted to create with them a piece of childhood memories that will last their lifetime. That’s how Little Charmers Market began.

Alright, so for those in our community who might not be familiar with your business, can you tell us more?
Little Charmers Market is an online fine children’s boutique specialized in smocked children’s clothing. It is run by one person, me, Anh Clayhold. It is basically a one woman show 🙂 I launched it about 3 weeks ago and it has been quite challenging. I am a full time mom with three young children, so it is definitely not easy juggling between the kids, the family and the business. There have been moments where I felt lost but something inside of me told me to not give up and to keep moving forward.

Designed in Arizona and made by skilled artisans in Vietnam (where i am originally from), our smocked clothes are made by hand. Each item takes more than 6 hours to smock and since it is made by hand, even with the same design, there are multiple variations. Because of that fact, each piece is unique and special. We are a clothing brand that cares deeply about our children’s future. We want to create beautiful clothes but not at the expense of the environment that we live in. We are proudly a slow fashion company, our clothes are ethically made and produced in very small batch.

Any places to eat or things to do that you can share with our readers? If they have a friend visiting town, what are some spots they could take them to?
Arizona is a beautiful state to live and to visit. There are so many places to see and many restaurants to eat. Did you know Scottsdale has more restaurants per capita than New York city? Crazy right? Must see places for any out of town guests are Sedona, Grand Canyon, Monument Valley and Antelope Canyon. Those places are absolutely beautiful and unique in their own ways. Restaurants to visit in Sedona are Mariposa and L’auberge. Absolutely stunning.
Scottsdale is a city where the fun is at. Start your morning by having breakfast/brunch at Arcadia Farm cafe. After that, if you feel like you need to walk off some of the calories, stop by Scottsdale Fashion Square or Kierland Commons/Scottsdale Quarter for some window shopping or real shopping 🙂 For lunch, walk over to Olive&Ivy or Prep&Pastry or Zinque.
For dinner, depends on what you feel like. Fun, vibrant restaurants such as Sumo Maya and Toca Mandera are always trendy. Cafe Monarch for a fail proof, worth every penny romantic dinner. Tia Carmen for the most beautiful restaurant in the Valley with great food.

Shoutout is all about shouting out others who you feel deserve additional recognition and exposure. Who would you like to shoutout?
I would thank my husband and my children for supporting me. And of course, thanks to my late grandmother for giving me an inspiration even after she was no longer around.

I also want to give credit to Pictureperfectnow.us . They have been helping me with product branding photography.

Website: www.littlecharmersmarket.com

Instagram: www.instagram.com/littlecharmersmarket

Facebook: www.facebook.com/littlecharmersmarket

Image Credits
Loops at Pictureperfectnow.us