Small Business Highlight: Love, Bren

Handmade items feel special, not only because there was extra time and effort put into them, but also an immeasurable amount of love. Today, we are spotlighting Love, Bren, a handmade clothing, drinkware, decor small business started by Brennan Reeks in 2020. Starting out, Brennan only crafted handmade macrame rainbows for herself as a hobby. She sold some to her friends and family, which led her to creating an Instagram page dedicated to her rainbows. But Brennan eventually grew Love, Bren by also selling embroidered t-shirts, mugs, keychains, rattan pop sockets, tote bags, earrings, and wall hangings as well as expanding to an online store, being in retail stores, and selling wholesale. All of Brennan’s items are adorable. I’ll leave some pictures below so you can see for yourself.

One of my favorite items from Love, Bren is her rainbows, so I asked Brennan what the process is like for starting a rainbow. She said, “The most exciting and fun part of the process is choosing color ways and designs for the rainbows.” She went on to tell me that she loves to experiment with using different mediums such as varying textures of fabric and decals. This gives the rainbow its own unique flair, making it one of a kind. Brennan sells her rainbows in Mini, Classic, and Large sizes, as well as different themes, including Floral and School. The school themed rainbows have two colors of yarn and one fabric layer in the middle with pencils or crayons on them. There is also a Rainbow DIY Kit, so you learn how to make it yourself. You can pick from a myriad of colors and which size you would like to make: Mini (3 colors) or Large (5 colors). It comes with all the tools you need (excluding glue gun and scissors) and a video tutorial that Brennan filmed herself. All her rainbows have a wooden bead at the top to add essential oils, as well as an adjustable string so you can hang them anywhere you would like, such as your car, room, or window. You can check them out here!

I also asked Brennan what a goal was for running her business. She said: “One of my biggest goals for my business was to eventually have an in-person retail spot to shop my products. Earlier this month, I accomplished this goal when I signed a lease at Painted Tree Marketplace in Memphis where I will have a booth full of my products for people to shop in person!” This is such an accomplishment and we wish Love, Bren all the success in her new retail spot!

Love, Bren recently released new products, including more embroidered t-shirts, embossed mugs, and a sticker. One of the t-shirts says “being alive is the special occasion” with a disco ball above the text (see below) and I wanted to ask her about the significance behind the message. “Like many people, I have been loving the way that disco balls have become trendy once again, and I knew I wanted to find a way to integrate them into my products,while spreading a positive message. The inspiration for the ‘being alive is the special occasion’ design was the concept of finding something good in every day and is meant to encourage people to celebrate every day because it is such a gift just to be alive.” Here is a link if you would like to purchase: Special Occasion Embroidered Tee.

Since Brennan started Love, Bren after just being a hobby, I wanted to know what was the biggest surprise that she has found from running her business. She said something that she really didn’t expect was the technical side to running a small business. “I love to create and design products, but I often find that I spend less time doing that part and more and more time figuring out how to create a website, learning about best shipping practices, legal aspects of running a business, etc.” Running a business can come with many uncertainties, but Brennan seems to be doing it with ease.

And the last question I had for Brennan was what she loves about running a small business in Memphis. “I have recently started leaning into the community of small businesses in Memphis, and have been so inspired to see other business owners following their passions and creating amazing products.” This is something that is so special about Memphis and one of the reasons why we love highlighting all the local businesses in our area! Thank you to Brennan from Love, Bren for taking the time to talk with me about her business and what she has learned along the way. If you would like to shop her products, here is her website. And if you would like to follow her on social media, here are the links to those as well: Instagram and Facebook.

If you are a small business owner in the Memphis area and would like to be featured on our blog, you can contact us at blog@theprofitlink.com! Here are all of our social media links: Instagram, Facebook, Twitter, and LinkedIn.