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