Our Story

If there’s one thing I’ve learned, it’s this:

Your past doesn’t define you. It prepares you.

My story didn’t begin with a business plan or a dream of owning a clothing brand. It began with survival.

When I was 15 years old, my life changed forever. After enduring abuse, I entered an orphanage and later the foster care system. At an age when most teenagers were worrying about football games, prom, and what college they wanted to attend, I was trying to figure out where I would sleep, who I could trust, and whether I would ever truly belong.

I carried trauma that no child should have to carry:

Abandonment.

Rejection.

Fear.

Loneliness.

I spent years believing my story would always be defined by where I came from. But God had different plans.

As life moved forward, I became a mother.

My children became the greatest gift I had ever received, but somewhere along the way I lost myself. While pregnant with them, I gained nearly 140 pounds. I didn’t recognize the woman staring back at me. I was exhausted, overwhelmed, and ashamed. I decided I wanted more, more for myself and for my children.

Through consistency, nutrition, and fitness, I transformed my health and lost the weight. For the first time, I realized that changing your body isn’t just physical. It’s emotional. It’s mental. It’s spiritual. I thought I had climbed the biggest mountain of my life. But then another one appeared.

I became seriously ill.

I was diagnosed with a rare kidney disease and autoimmune disease. I was told that my health would continue to be a lifelong battle that would end in early death. There were moments when fear tried to convince me that my future had already been written. Instead of accepting that, I chose to learn and change.

I immersed myself in nutrition, exercise, and everything I could about healing my body. Fitness became far more than working out. It became medicine. It became therapy. It became hope. It taught me that our bodies are capable of incredible things when we refuse to quit.

Just as I was finding my footing again, life shattered my heart.

My brother was killed in a tragic car accident. 

Grief has a way of changing you forever. There isn’t a workout that takes that pain away. There isn’t a diet that heals a broken heart. You simply learn how to carry it while continuing to move forward. At the same time, I was living in an abusive relationship. For years I stayed. For years, I told myself it was "normal." Like so many others, I questioned myself more than I questioned what was happening to me. I believed things would change. I believed if I tried harder, changed myself, loved harder, or stayed longer, things would somehow become different.

They didn’t.

Walking away was one of the hardest decisions I’ve ever made. It meant rebuilding my life from the ground up and doing so with my kids watching. But something incredible happened after I finally found the courage to leave.

I started talking about it.

The more honest I became about my story, the more people reached out with theirs.

Women messaged me saying they finally felt seen. Some found the courage to leave abusive relationships of their own! Others simply needed someone to tell them they weren’t crazy, they weren’t weak, and they weren’t alone.

That’s when I realized something that changed my life forever.

Healing begins when someone is brave enough to speak out.

That realization became Ink & Iron.

This company was never created simply to sell apparel. It was created to start conversations that people are afraid to have.

Conversations about trauma. Abuse. Grief. Chronic illness. Mental health. Eating Disorders. Healing. Resilience. Hope. 

Because silence keeps people trapped. Truth sets people free.

Every drop we create is centered around one of these topics.

Every item we create represents someone who refused to let life’s hardest moments become the end of their story.

Every piece is a reminder that scars are not signs of weakness.

They are proof that you survived.

But this company is about something even bigger than me. It’s about my children.

Ink & Iron is a business built by my children and me. I’m not just teaching them how to run a company. I’m teaching them how to build a life with purpose. I want them to understand that entrepreneurship isn’t just about making money. It’s about serving people. Creating opportunities. Solving problems. Standing for something bigger than yourself. I want them to know that dreams are worth chasing, no matter where your story begins. That you don’t have to let your circumstances determine your future.

That integrity matters.

That hard work matters.

That kindness matters.

That courage matters.

My greatest hope is that one day they’ll look back and know they helped build something that gave people hope when they needed it most.

Ink & Iron is our family’s mission.

It’s our reminder that no matter what you’ve walked through…

You are not disqualified.

You are not too broken.

You are not too far gone.

Our motto, Growth Was the Point, isn’t just something printed on our clothing.

It’s the story of my life:

Every loss.

Every setback.

Every scar.

Every tear.

Every battle.

Every victory.

None of it was wasted. It forged strength I never knew I had. It gave me compassion for people I may never have understood otherwise. It gave me purpose.

So if you’ve ever felt abandoned…

If you’ve ever survived abuse…

If you’ve battled illness…

If you’ve buried someone you loved…

If you’ve looked in the mirror and wondered if life would ever get better…

I want you to know something.

I see you.

Because I’ve been there too.

This isn’t just apparel.

This is a community.

This is a family.

This is proof that healing is possible.

This is proof that resilience can be learned.

This is proof that hope can be found again.

And above all…

This is proof that growth was the point.