Interview with Emily McCune, Founder/Owner of Grey & Polka Dots Creative Shop 

Guest post by OOHS business students, Leah & Preethi

Leah & Preethi interviewed founder, Emily McCune, to get some insight into the world of business ownership. Emily is an entrepreneur with a private online business called “Grey & Polka Dots Creative Shop.” The business name comes from her son Grey and has taken inspiration from polka dots to also add a girly touch. G&P is a creative shop that creates custom products which include mostly vinyl decals that can go on anything including apparel, banners, chalkboards, pillows, ornaments, mugs and many other items. She also designs and offers custom jewelry including earrings & bracelets. Her ability to serve her client requests as well as her talents seem endless! 🙂

During the students’ interview, they asked Emily the following questions:

When did you realize that you wanted to be an entrepreneur/ what was your key driving force?

“I’ve always had a creative side to me, but never really thought of pursuing it. Once we adopted our son and I decided to be a stay-at-home mama, I wanted to do something with my hobby.“

What is your favorite part of owning your own business?

“My favorite part of owning my own business is that I have the flexibility of working from home, controlling the amount of orders I want to have and most importantly, not missing out on making memories with our son.”

What’s your approach to marketing your business and how do you advertise your products?

“I market my business on my Facebook group page and word of mouth. I don’t have a website or an Etsy page simply because everything is so customizable and again, I like being able to control my work load.” 

What advice would you give for future entrepreneurs?

“My advice to anyone interested in being an entrepreneur is to go for it! Never in a million years would I think I’d have over 1k people on my page! When you have a passion to do something and the ability to do it, there’s no better time to start. Mistakes will be made, but that’s part of becoming a better person. When you love what you do, as cheesy as it may sound, the sky’s the limit!”

Below are two of Emily’s products in action, shirts being featured in a Shred415 Sawmill class!

In many of our classes {Business Foundations, Marketing and Entrepreneurship to name a few}, we discuss branding and how company logos often change over time. Grey & Polka Dots rebranded in August of 2021 and have had a few logos over the years, as pictured below.

We appreciate the time and talents Emily was willing to share with us! Her shop is similar to what we do here at Orange Apparel Co and hopefully we can learn some tips & tricks from her someday. She has amazing products that are fully customizable & make great, heartfelt gifts. Plus, who doesn’t like shopping and supporting local!? To place an order at this awesome shop, you can email Emily at EMcCune1024@gmail.com or find her on Facebook Group (may have to request to join)!