The Birds of a Feather
Wake Up. Kick Ass.
Born and raised on a farm in Burt County Nebraska, Tammie and I grew up deeply rooted to family and community values. Years of 4-H, farm life, school activities and athletics laid an important foundation for being curious, courageous and taking big risks. While we both hold degrees in education, we headed into the business world in the mid and late 80s and never looked back. Other than holding my teaching degree so I could coach volleyball for 30+ years, that PE degree hasn’t held a lot of water. Tam and I even worked alongside our big sis, Cherie, at Valmont for a couple of years each working in different departments, but, sharing lunch time on the daily. As life kept rolling, our families were growing. By 1989, the Johnson clan had expanded every which way but loose and we welcomed two remarkable humans into the world within three months of each other named Nicole and Jaclyn. These beauties (Cola and Jackie) were destined to carry on these countryside virtues while pursuing big dreams.They grew up knowing how to show sheep, ski the slopes, play whatever sport was in season, decorate t-shirts and gingerbread houses, travel and embrace change. From their early years when they had their make-believe business with their cousin, Whitney, called Nic-Whit-Jacks, it was the humble beginnings of a brilliant idea. Both graduates of UNK, they are Lopers for Life.
When May of 2017 showed it’s pretty face, change was on the horizon in the biggest of ways. A personal and professional shift, found Cola and I facing a crossroads. As Ross would yell out in the epic scene of Friends, we chose to PIVOT!!
Together, we were destined and determined to start our own business. With a long history in the promo biz, we relied on strong relationships, creativity and faith. On June 12, our entrepreneurial journey became official as a mother-daughter team. I can only best describe the start as if we hopped in a car and stole it…we literally just took off!
Fresh Eyes. Wise Eyes.
Starting out as Soul & Swag, the aqua blue colors opened up the doors of opportunity. We immediately took my sister, Tammie to a wonderful lunch at Pitch in order to woo her back into the industry. She had worked with us previously, and we knew we needed her intellect, organization and relationship talents to move the business forward. Plus, she makes excellent scotcheroos, banana bread, potato salad…actually, she’s inherited our mother’s cooking and baking talents, let’s leave it at that. Therefore, we are set for any gathering. Fortunately, maybe even reluctantly, she said, yes and our quest began. Having worked together, we knew how incredibly well our skills and talents countered each other which always resulted in a beautiful balance. Our humble beginnings started in my niece Sammie’s basement just beyond the doors of Cola’s rental bedroom. From there, my quaint apartment suited us as we used my second bedroom as SXS headquarters. We dove head first into the networking world, joining chambers and organizations in order to meet people and grow our brand. Little did we know, that these steps were building the foundation to so many incredible friendships and educating us on the phenomenal companies and organizations that serve our state and communities.
Once we were gaining traction in our pursuit to change the narrative in the promotional products space, we knew we needed another person to help make it possible. As I curated a spicy, but, serious job description, I asked my niece, Jackie, while she was working a shift at Blue (the OG) if she’d give it a proofread. I wanted to know if the words I used and the description sounded intriguing. As she carefully read through each and every word, I could see her intention to give me great feedback on my writing. She slowly gazed up at me and inquisitively said, “Can I apply?” Not sure she was actually serious, I told her she certainly could, but, perhaps the person to confirm this with was Cola. Those make-believe business days and life as roommates that blurred into sisterhood didn’t mean you automatically are meant to work together. It’s sticky business working with family and in this case, we trusted our gut and brought Jackie into the fourth desk chair that squeezed perfectly into my home office. We decided that Tam and I were the wise eyes and Jack and Cola were the fresh eyes and that adoption of learning from each other became the backbone to our culture. There’s something to gain from each other every single day.
By February of 2018, the squeeze was on with samples filling my garage, appointments and 1 to 1’s happening in my living room or coffee shop or client office. We felt like we needed a better landing pad to expand our story and my vision wouldn’t stop pestering me, so we set out to find a space. In this search, we realized that many retail offices have really stupid bathroom locations and no real beauty so we were going to have to build it out ourselves. Once the spot was finalized, the dirty work began. We turned an ugly space into a beautiful studio. Cola learned that she now knows how to lay flooring and I found out my brother has incredibly talented craftsman skills. I asked him to build a bar, a 1/2 wall, some tables and clothing racks and he turned every vision into an incredible reality beyond my highest expectations. Even my 85 year old mother got in on the task by sanding and staining every single piece. I am truly blessed to come from such an remarkable family.
As more time passed, we were feeling the community rallying behind our women-lead business. Even though a pandemic threw all sorts of things at us, we knew we could persevere. Well that, and the fact that we didn’t have a plan B. We decided to hire again, this time bringing on two people to help with all of our order processing and bill paying. Ron and Alpha started within a couple months of each other and they feel like our family even though they are a world away in the Philippines. I think all of the lessons I learned from my parents hosting families through the Lions Club and then hosting nine exchange students from several different counties over the years opened our minds and hearts to all the good people that are in this world.
• MYLO •
At the end of December, 2022 and beginning of January, something triggered us for change. Was it too soon? We had only been in business for a little over 5 years. But, it was tugging on me that we might need to consider a brand change. I had been brewing this in my head for quite some time and as is normal with ideation in our business, we throw it all out there and let each other mull it over. Cola was not about it, until, one day, something moved in her mindset and it happened after a frustrating conversation with a person we had never met. Funny how serendipity works. I went to work on names, websites, colors, mascots, idea after idea. At last, one day, I said, “What’s the best compliment we could ever receive from a client?” Cola said, “That they are happy with their order?” I’m like, “Yes! When they say, we love what we got from you!” Merch You Love was the answer and MYLO was the perfect acronym. We love being women-owned and you should love the experience when you work with us. It all fit. Along with our mascot.
Since we have been designing brand experiences long enough to make us lifers, (more than 60 years for our entire team!) we believe that the branded merch marketplace is hungry for change. Not everyone knows it yet. Because change is scary for a lot of folks. But, we know how to help build momentum in a brand, help plan events and experiences and help clients tell their story. We want our clients to set the bar high when they work with us. We expect to spark remarkable results with ridiculously amazing products on every project. We know that change is inevitable and we believe that humor, forgiveness, creativity, deadlines, respect, brand identity, sticking to budgets and the beauty of great design in imperative to success. We invoke curiosity and kindness and in the end, we just need more LOVE in the world, so why not spread a little of it through awesome branded merch?
Family Ties.
When people ask what it’s like to work with family every day, I say this…it is the most rewarding life I could ever imagine. Blending work and personal life together is just reality for all of us. But, doing it along side family like this…well it’s dang special. We fill each others gaps when it comes to skill sets. We elevate each other with compliments and gongs. We pray together. We love unconditionally. We work brilliantly to do the best service we can for each other and our clients.
We do think that a lot of our family thinks we actually don’t really work, but, somehow we do. Even though we have a 17’ bar in our studio, we still find a way to accomplish our tasks. Hard to believe. On the other side of it, it’s hard. Really really hard. Cola has had two babies without a paid or real maternity leave. My 94 and 92 year old parents have had health issues. Many times we might be traveling at the same time leaving no one at the studio. Sometimes life sucks and we have to just give each other grace to get through tough times. Sometimes we over share. And this past year, 2024, well, it’s been rough to say the least. Jackie took a leave of absence to care for my sister (her mother) Cherie as she gracefully fended off a nasty brain tumor and in the midst of that, out of the blue, she lost her dad. The night after her dad’s celebration of life, she went home and sat beside her mom, with her nearly nine-month pregnant sister as they watched their mother take her last breath. All of our hearts and souls have been exhausted. Our sales took a hit simply because we were not focused. Our attention wavered to care for each other instead of worrying about anything else. But, I wouldn’t want it any other way. We will continue to grow, there will be more amazing and lucky team members and we will always be stepping up and stepping out to be positively different. Life happens, we have to chose how to respond and let me tell you, these women in my life, on my team, in my family are the strongest, smartest, most beautifully talented women ever.
There’s More to Your Story
In the end, whether you were raised on a farm or in a barn or in the city, it matters not. What matters is, we are here to serve. To do the best we can and give of our selves with our hearts and our faith. That is the essence of true leadership after all. So here we are, set out to do all things with love. Our story matters. Your story matters. Your brands story matters. Together, we can stay curious, fuel each other with abundant laughter, creative energy and when it gets tough, suck it up buttercup, life is what you make it! We’re here to make it as wonderful as possible. What we’ve discovered about this industry is that it’s massive. And while some view us as small or boutique in nature, or possibly even “expensive,” the reality is, we can do pretty much anything. In a world of print on demand and endless creative resources and product sources at our fingertips, the world of promo is very pliable. It’s not how much money is in your budget, it’s how you spend the budget money you have. It’s about reframing how you invest in your brand. If every company bought more responsibly, our footprint would be better when we leave. If ever company put forth their core values and care for sustainability, philanthropy, recycling and caring for our planet into how they purchase, they would find greater return on their investment. No one should buy to fill a closet. But, we aren’t here to “should” on people. But, we do want to help your story evolve. We want you to look good, feel good and help others around you feel that same love. There are no projects that are out of reach. We can help you get there because that’s how we were raised. To give the best of ourselves. My 94 year old father is still giving to his community, he can’t stop - it’s in his blood. Do good, have faith, stay humble and above all, love like you mean it!
One day, when I’m striding in heaven with my fancy schmancy colorful robes, I want to be able to gaze through the universe and say, I gave everything I had to honor God. Let’s all give our love. It’s worth it. Totally worth it.
