We are more than thrilled to talk to our first Celeb Mompreneur, Ali Landry. Ali is a True M.O.Mpreneur. She founded and started Belle Parish with a fellow southern belle.
“The Belle Parish line is completely inspired by vintage, nostalgic, and classic styles. Belle Parish is about more than the clothes. By designing children’s clothing, it is a way to celebrate family, women, lifestyles, and fashion. They also want Belle Parish to be a vehicle to encourage, engage, and connect with other women. The future of Belle Parish will include products for your home, clothes for your family, and books for your children.”
Meet Ali Landry
(photo courtesy of Jeff Berlin / BerlinCreative.com)
Congratulations on Belle Parish! We wanted to welcome you also to the widely growing community of Mompreneurs! So, let’s hear and share how this came to be.
M.O.M Katie ~ When did the ‘lighbulb’ go off to start your own company, Belle Parish? Was fashion and clothing always the direction?
Ali ~ During my pregnancy I started to really think about my roots, my heritage, my childhood, and the women in my family. I quickly realized that I wanted for her what I had as a child and living in LA, a few thousand miles from Louisiana, it didn't seem possible! Shortly after her birth, my mother Renella would send me boxes of clothes neatly packed away from my childhood. When I told her how much I loved them and that I coudln't find anything like that in LA, she quickly took up a love for sewing. Every few months, 'grandmama' would send a box of beautifully sewn clothes for Estela. I was so inspired to share what I loved with other moms and the response was big! Thus began Belle Parish...
M.O.M Katie ~ What, if any yet, was the hardest part about running your own business and getting it started?
Congratulations on Belle Parish! We wanted to welcome you also to the widely growing community of Mompreneurs! So, let’s hear and share how this came to be.
M.O.M Katie ~ When did the ‘lighbulb’ go off to start your own company, Belle Parish? Was fashion and clothing always the direction?
Ali ~ During my pregnancy I started to really think about my roots, my heritage, my childhood, and the women in my family. I quickly realized that I wanted for her what I had as a child and living in LA, a few thousand miles from Louisiana, it didn't seem possible! Shortly after her birth, my mother Renella would send me boxes of clothes neatly packed away from my childhood. When I told her how much I loved them and that I coudln't find anything like that in LA, she quickly took up a love for sewing. Every few months, 'grandmama' would send a box of beautifully sewn clothes for Estela. I was so inspired to share what I loved with other moms and the response was big! Thus began Belle Parish...
M.O.M Katie ~ What, if any yet, was the hardest part about running your own business and getting it started?
Ali ~ Wow! Where do I even begin. We started the company with our own money and run the business out of the garage turned office at my home. We do everything ourselves, from designing, sourcing fabric, marketing, pr, customer service, shipping and receiving,etc. Fortunately we work with a great manufacturer who does beautiful work and that is half the battle. We also have wonderful reps in major cities that sell Belle Parish and thanks to them we are in close to 70 boutiques across the country. As anyone who owns their own business will tell you, it is very hard work. Every day is a new challenge and we have had to learn this business from ground zero. I do have to say that I am so grateful to all of the Mompreneur's that we have met along the way ,who have mentored us and shared their knowledge of what they have learned on their journey with their own businesses.
M.O.M Katie ~ What do you think about being called a Mompreneur? What does that mean to you?
Ali ~ I am honored to be called a Mompreneur. I wear that badge very proudly. I feel as though I am part of a very special group of women who are strong, determined, smart and who have ultimately created a better life for their families. I have so much respect and admiration for these women and I am humbled to be a part of their club.
M.O.M Katie ~ Where do you see Belle Parish in a year from now? Any other projects on the horizon?
Ali ~ Before I tell you where I see Belle Parish in a year....I want to share with you what Belle Parish means to me. Belle Parish is a world that represents family values, good manners, relationships, security, and kindness. It is a world of simpler times, where favors are free and there are no strangers, and manners are a hand-me-down that become a gentle response to life's complexities. It is where children run free and they don't need a cell phone to call home, rather they shout a little louder and someone can hear them. In the world of Belle Parish, girls are ladies and boys are always gentlemen. It is an informal sophistication that makes everyone feel at home, and home is anywhere you go in Belle Parish.
Currently we are producing samples for Belle Parish Couture, a collection of party dresses inspired by a "Shirley Temple" style from the 1940's. This line will launch during New York Fashion week , debuting with a fashion show produced by Style 360 and Elle Magazine. What we see in the next year is introducing a doll and book series about the inspirational character of the brand,"Belle", and also forming licensing partnerships in order to further grow the brand of Belle Parish. The ultimate goal of creating the brand of Belle Parish is to place importance on values, family and relationships. We want to nurture these ideas in children so that it's not a nostalgic thing of the past, but an idea of the present.
I am also putting on an event called the "Red CARpet Event", celebrities driving national awareness to car seat safety. This celebrity driven event will be the first of its kind and will utilize celebrity parents to help spread the word about the critical importance of car seat safety.
The event will be taking place in Feb. and will benefit charities like the Kyle David Miller Foundation, founded in honor of Christine Miller's 3 year old son, Kyle who died in a car accident due to an improper child safety restraint.
We are currently in talks for a docudrama following me as I navigate my way as a new business owner and mompreneur, balancing work and family and I am currently learning a little German for a short film I will be shooting in August, playing the role of Beethoven's teacher.
We are currently in talks for a docudrama following me as I navigate my way as a new business owner and mompreneur, balancing work and family and I am currently learning a little German for a short film I will be shooting in August, playing the role of Beethoven's teacher.
Thank you so much for your time and feedback. I know all of our M.O.Ms and M.O.Mpreneurs will apply and learn from your experiences so far and will grow with you.
We are excited to follow Ali’s journey down this new path of M.O.Mpreneur-hood and being a M.O.M.
I’m sure there is much more to learn from M.O.Mpreneur Ali, so stay tuned….. follow on twitter: @alilandry and http://alilandrylife.com/ and www.belleparish.com
*****Giving Back & Supporting W.H.O. Foundation******
We asked Ali for a charity that she supports and that we could honor during the month she is our Celeb M.O.M. W.H.O Foundation is one that she and her family are passionate about and close to her heart.
Kt Steppers is donating 10% of all proceeds from their stepper orders during the month of August! It is a great cause for support, so if you want to help as well, share with us how will support W.H.O. Foundation during August. Please spread the word on this wonderful organization and make them Your August Cause! W.H.O Foundation
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