Kaylee Johns is one of those moms who loves dressing up her daughter. And proudly showing off the toddler’s style.
“London is taking over my Instagram,” she wrote shortly after her daughter turned 1 month old. “And I’m not sorry about it.”
There were pictures of little London wearing overalls and tie-dye onesies and pink puffy coats.
“I was like dressing a little baby doll,” Johns, 26, said. “Obviously, I’m her mom, so I think she’s adorable.”
Her fiance, Neko, feels the same way.
“We’ve always been into fashion and anything creative,” Johns said.
Johns enjoyed it so much that she started making clothes for London. That turned into a toddler clothing business, fittingly named after her daughter. She launched London Grae Co in May.
She describes her line of onesies, shirts and beanies as a mix of funky and statement pieces. Graphic tees come in colorful colors and phrases including, “My mama is my boo,” “Your voice matters” and “Feeling groovy.” Near the end of 2020, she put out a long-sleeve T-shirt that reads, “Later hater.” There are plenty of rainbows, peace signs and tie-dye patterns as well as holiday-themed designs.
Johns, a native of New Mexico, and her fiance moved from Austin, Texas, to Colorado Springs in 2019 in search of a more outdoorsy lifestyle. At the time, she was “very pregnant” and running a custom teddy bear business.
After London was born, Johns felt like she needed a change. Using a Cricut cutting machine and her creative juices, she started designing onesies and listing them on Etsy.
Johns was intentional about building her brand around positivity.
Some of her first designs say, “You are magic.” Another one supports the Black Lives Matter movement.
“I think it’s important to show what you believe in,” Johns said. “With everything going on, it’s important to speak up and show where you stand.”
And maybe, she said, the kids who wear London Grae clothes will learn something from the clothing’s messages.
Johns’ online business has grown steadily.
“Being in the pandemic, I think a lot of people are wanting to support small shops,” she said. “They want to support us.”
Her business (londongraeco.com) is partly powered by her Instagram page, where there are lots of pictures of cute babies wearing cute clothes. London makes plenty of appearances, but not as many as when Johns first started out.
“Now that she’s 18 months, it’s so much harder,” Johns said. “I can’t get pictures of her to save my life.”