By Mary Stephens Pugh
As the holiday season approaches, Elizabeth Lowman, an eighth-grade student at Our Lady of Sorrows Catholic School, will be doing something most teenagers her age have not yet considered.
At 13 years old, she will be crafting and fulfilling gift orders for her online Etsy store and setting up for local pop-up markets. She has more than 40 handcrafted dog accessories available to ship to people across the world.
Lowman took an interest in the retail business at a very young age.
“I would make bracelets and other jewelry and sell it to my Nana,” she said.
When she was 8 years old, her third grade class incorporated an economics lesson with a classroom disciplinary program that sparked her interest in a dream that now has become a reality.
The program each month offered a “class store,” where the third graders could bring toys they no longer wanted or make crafts they would like to sell. Each child had a classroom job and could earn their “store money” for performing their job well. If they made bad choices or broke rules, they received a ticket, paid a fine and would have less money to spend at the class store.
“This economy system works very well with our third grade students and encourages good behavior, as well as introducing them to economics,” said OLS third grade teacher Kim Yerkes. “At the time, I noticed that Elizabeth was always very imaginative and liked to sell items to her classmates.”
Lowman became inspired by the idea of entrepreneurship at 9 years old and decided to begin her own personal business, which she called “House on the Go.”
“I made custom artwork, usually drawings and paintings of houses, and I would sell them to my parents and grandparents,” she said. “It was fun to see people interested in what I had to sell.”
In the fifth grade, her parents gifted her with a Cricut for Christmas, and she began making stickers, decals and iron-ons for fun. Her fun soon turned into money when she started selling the items to people outside of her family.
“In middle school, we learned about economics, so I began to understand even more how things worked,” she said. It wasn’t long before her little business took another positive turn.
In April 2020, during the COVID-19 pandemic, “Broadway Monograms” was born.
With the new name, Lowman posted items she created on Instagram. During that time, her parents gave her the puppy she had always wanted, and she named her Millie. Her creativity sparked once again. “Millie is a girl, and girls need their accessories!” she thought. So she and her mom shopped for fabrics and opened a bank account in Elizabeth’s name for her to buy materials needed to broaden her product line online.
Lowman began creating different dog bandana styles and posting pictures on her Instagram account. She also changed her store to its current name, “Birmingham Pup Co.,” and eventually decided to make her business more official.
“My mom and I had bought things from Etsy before, so I knew it was a place where people sold handmade crafted items, and I figured it would be a good place to grow my sales,” she said.
Since she is under the legal age of 18, her mother, Beth Lowman, registered the Etsy account in her name.
“Her dad and I thought the idea of starting an Etsy store was a bit crazy,” said Beth Lowman. “She kept saying her ‘customers’ (followers on Instagram) were waiting for her to open her store (on Etsy). We finally gave in and set it up over Christmas break; Elizabeth did most of the work, as she’d been researching and reading about how to set it up for months.”
By the end of the year, she had 10 orders for 17 items.
To date, she has shipped almost 500 items all over the country, including several orders to Canada, and is considered an Etsy “Star Seller” based on her reviews.
“I am amazed at her vision, creativity, salesmanship and craftsmanship,” said Beth Lowman. “The quality of her products and marketing just keeps getting better.”
Today, her online store sells a variety of products, mostly colorful double-sided dog bandanas, custom orders with vinyl add-ons, dog clothing, leashes, ID tags, collars and cups with custom vinyl or iron-ons.
“Elizabeth handcrafts all of the items for her store by herself and most of the accessory designs are her ideas,” said Beth Lowman.
As for her creative insight, she gives credit to her dogs.
“My dogs, Millie (age 17 months) and Mazie (age 11months) are my motivation and inspiration,” Lowman said. “They are so fun and even cooperate as models, wearing my products in pictures. I think seeing my puppies in their bandanas makes people want to have something cute for their dogs.”
Millie and Mazie even have their own Instagram account, @millie.and.mazie.the.doodles, which links to her store’s account.
Most of her profit is reinvested into her business for additional inventory and new products. As she maintains the store and its products on her own, she hopes to continue growing her business.
“I’ve designed a better, larger workspace in our basement,” she said. “I would also like to purchase a 35 mm camera to take pictures of my products and maybe even do dog photography in the future.”
Lowman recently created a fall collection and is now promoting her Christmas collection. She also is considering a new product line with the proceeds being donated to the Georgia Sea Turtle Center, a hospital and rehab facility for injured sea turtles.
“I remember Elizabeth being such a creative third grader,” said Yerkes. “I have purchased dog bandanas from her Etsy store recently and couldn’t be prouder of her entrepreneurial instincts.”
When Lowman was asked what advice she would give to other young people who may want to start their own businesses, she said, “Just find something you enjoy doing and do it. I love my dogs, and it gives me joy to make things for them. I also love seeing pictures that people share with me of my products on their dogs. If I make a profit, that’s great, but as long as I’m having fun planning, growing and creating, and I’m not spending more than I’m making, then I’m happy.”
Elizabeth’s handmade dog accessories can be seen on Instagram at instagram.com/birminghampupco/ or purchased at her online ETSY store at etsy.com/shop/BirminghamPupCo.
Mary Stephens Pugh is Director of Marketing & Development at Our Lady of Sorrows Catholic School
