Today we’d like to introduce you to Mo Merrell.
Hi Monique, so excited to have you on the platform. So before we get into questions about your work life, maybe you can bring our readers up to speed on your story and how you got to where you are today.
I started sewing when I was a kid, my mom taught me by hand how to mend my clothing and I used that knowledge to sew my Barbie doll clothes. I didn’t get back into sewing until I was about 24. I partnered with a friend and he and I made clothes for local fashion shows for a few years. I lost my passion for clothing and didn’t sew for a few years until my early thirties when I happened upon a Youtube video on how to make a zipper pouch and the rest is history.
I purchased a basic sewing machine and made as many pouches as I could from recycled fabric around my apartment. I then joined a sewing group and found inspiration for sewing handbags. I purchased a better sewing machine in 2016 and started making handbags at home. Sewing became the only thing I did after work, I pushed myself to sew more challenging designs until I had become good enough to my standards to sell my bags.
I came up with the name Mars Jameson after my parents, my mother’s name was Marsha and my dad’s name is James. I began to get serious with bag making in 2017 and started going to local pop-up shops to get my work out into the community.
In 2022, I got the opportunity to be the Community Commons store in the Mall of America. It was a store with 8 local businesses in one space. It was an amazing opportunity because I got to sew my bags directly in-store, on display for everyone to see and it was so much fun. I met customers from all over the world and have my bags in Canada, France, Italy, Morocco, and various states around the country.
I left Community Commons in September of 22 due to the amount of stress I had from sewing 7-10 hours a day every day, my body shut down and I was exhausted. I learned that I would love to have a store one day but that I couldn’t do it on my own being the only one to manufacture my bags. Now, I have my bags in the Meet Minneapolis store in downtown Minneapolis and my business is online and I am back to doing pop-up shops which I love.
Would you say it’s been a smooth road, and if not what are some of the biggest challenges you’ve faced along the way?
It’s been a rocky road. Working at Community Commons took a toll on my body, especially since I suffer from Fibromyalgia and was hospitalized. I was so drained, I’d lost weight and the fibro pain was worse than it had been in years, I had reached a boundary and had to take a break from sewing.
Like any business, I struggle with an over-saturation of the market; it can be tough because I know there are others out there better than me so I ask myself what I bring to the table that’s different than the others.
Another struggle is finances, trying to build a business living paycheck to paycheck is hard but I refuse to give up on my dream. I do what I can within my financial reach and it’s been fine.
Thanks – so what else should our readers know about Mars Jameson Brand?
Mars Jameson is a custom handbag business. I design and create handbags of different styles. I specialize in using water-repellant materials mainly because I take public transportation and wanted a bag that would handle the outdoors but still be bright and cute while being durable and water-repellant.
Each bag is made with one machine, a straight stitch Juki Tl2010q and I sew them right in my living room. Many don’t know that bag makers use patterns, like clothing to create handbags. I use both my own and other patterns from my favorite pattern makers. Patterns can be anywhere from 20 pages to 80 and more. When I make a pattern, I do so in my “free-create” space where I look at a piece of fabric and mentally create the bag in my head and then I start to cut out the dimensions I want the bag to be and sew from there. That process can take up to 7 hours whereas creating a bag from a pattern can take up to 2- 4 hours, depending on the complexity of the bag.
I am most proud of my time in the Mall of America because it was an emotional experience related to the death of my mother on Sept. 11, 2011. I was headed to work on the bus when I was talking to my mother on the phone and just before getting to the mall, she dropped the phone I thought she was going to call me back but unfortunately, she had passed away from a then unknown and inoperable brain aneurysm while talking to me. I didn’t know she had passed until I got to work at the mall and received a call from my sister. Fast-forward to opening day at the Mall of America, I had so many emotions because I had to take that same bus and pass that same spot where the call dropped every day to live out my dream.
I had to walk into the mall and take the same route I took to my former job and go through all of those emotions to get to my store but when I got to my store, I’d see, MARS JAMESON through the window and all of those emotions of sadness ended up a smile to see what I had created in my mother’s name. I didn’t think I could go through that routine every day but I knew my mother was watching over me and that helped me to keep going. It’s been hard to run this business without my mom here to see what our love of handbags turned into. I am proud that I was able to turn that bus ride from sadness to joy and to keep going with it.
Mars Jameson takes custom orders as well as sells ready-to-ship items on my website. Purchasing a bag on the site that isn’t ready to ship takes up to 8 weeks to create. In reality, it takes me way less time and most bags go out quicker than 8 weeks. My most popular bag is the Mosa Tote named after my nickname. Every bag I make has a name that is either a friend or family member or the first name that comes to mind after I complete a new style. I love getting custom orders because it allows me to freely create something original. Each bag is unique in some way and I will never recreate a one of kind bag again.
I may make something similar but customers buying one-of-a-kind bags can know that they have the only one from my brand and that makes me happy. I do not make men’s bags at the moment but I will if asked to create something custom. I don’t work with leather often as it is too expensive but I do offer leather options or take leather custom orders.
So maybe we end by discussing what matters most to you and why?
What matters most to me is authenticity. Everything I do with Mars Jameson is from the heart and authentic.
I make what I love and love that people want to own something created from my hands, because who am I? I’m no big-name person, I’m little ol’ Mo. Being genuine means everything to me.
Contact Info:
- Website: www.marsjameson.com
- Instagram: @marsjamesonbrand
