Cups of Love by Allison Mercurio

Allison and I go way back, so its hard for me to call her anything but Ally Brown (maiden name).  I could probably dig out some fun slumber party or grade school track pictures, but since those pictures would probably include a 12 year old Jenny Hemmer (my maiden name) I will refrain. 

Cups of Love began at the beginning of 2017 after a year of research and planning. Allison is a devoted wife and mother balancing the demands of a young family with starting and running her own business.  

What made you start Cups of Love?

I am a Certified Occupational Therapy Assistant with 3 beautiful children and a husband! After I had my first I went part-time so I could work and experience being a stay at home mom. When I got pregnant with my daughter I realized the cost of child care was going to be more than my income so I decided to stay at home. We cut back on some of our expenses such as eating out, went down to one family car, cut out cable and started watching how we spent our money more closely. Then I found out I was pregnant with our 3rd! 

The kids were starting to get older fast! New clothes, shoes and activities were constantly hitting our wallets. I knew if I wanted to continue to stay at home with them I need to bring in some sort of an income to help supplement some of the cost. 

I have always had an obsession with funny coffee cups and sayings. I feel like a good cup of coffee in a cute cup can really start your day off great! So I started making coffee cups, wine glasses, beer mugs and tumblers! (I also occasionally make other personalized items with vinyl such as shirts, towels and other home decor!) I started selling to just family and friends and then by word of mouth, it just took off from there!

What is the best part of the work you do?

 Being able to do something I love while helping others out in the process!

I take a portion out quarterly to buy feminine care products to drop off at shelters or to hand out downtown to homeless women in need as a way of giving back to the community for allowing me to do what I love.

Aside from feminine care donations I like to make cups and donate them to several local charities and events around town! I am always looking for different and new exciting ways to give back to the community. I think its important for my children to experience and see that!

How do you practice work life balance?

 It can be a struggle! I try to get as much done as possible during naps and when the kids go to bed at night. Sometimes I get a little less sleep then other nights. If I have a large order coming up I try to set a specific time during the morning for a few hours to work and I set the kids up with a craft activity to do next to me so that we can still spend quality time together while I get some work done.

What are your best selling products?

 Although coffee mugs are my favorite....Stemless wine glasses are my top seller! Glittered sell for 10.00 each and plain are 8.00 each. I also a lot of orders for the Tumblers with straws for gifts for people!  I can monogram any cup/glass too!

   

Basic Pricing: 

Coffee Mug : $8.00 

Plain Stemless Wine Glass $8.00 

Glittered Wine Glasses $10.00 

Beer Mug $10.00 

Tumblers $12.00 

Decals $1.00 per square inch.

You can find Cups of Love on facebook by following @cupsoflovecincy