The Official Launch

This week feels significant. I officially launched the Margot & Maëlys website Shop, something that began as a small idea during the pandemic and slowly evolved into a fully engineered system.

Like many good ideas, it didn’t start as a business plan. It started because I needed a solution. During the early months of the pandemic, I made two memory boxes for my daughters, Margot and Maëlys. I couldn’t find anything that I liked online that I liked, I have the perpetual affliction that I can always do something better.

So I built it.

Those first boxes were simple. Functional. Not particularly glamorous. But they worked. They created a system: one folder for each year, clearly labeled, easy to maintain, and impossible to outgrow. My sister convinced me to make an Etsy shop, so I gave it a shot.

The box that started it all

This was the original listing photo I used for those first boxes

I will never forget that first sale, a box for a little boy name Stewart from North Carolina.

What happened next surprised me. Orders started coming in. Then more. Then questions. Then custom requests. Then repeat customers. What began as a personal project quickly became something much bigger. Before becoming self-employed, I was an Industrial Engineer. When I left my corporate job, a few people quietly questioned the decision. Some assumed it was a waste of a degree. I’ve never seen it that way.

Industrial Engineering is fundamentally about systems. It’s about supply chains, process flow, inventory management, optimization, and eliminating friction. I just happen to be applying those principles to a much smaller operation now.

Every component of this business, from sourcing file boxes to managing vinyl colors, to organizing production workflows, to forecasting inventory, is rooted in that same systems thinking. Nothing here is accidental. Everything has been tested, refined, and optimized.

Launching my own website was the next natural step.

Etsy gave me a starting point, but the level of customization I offer requires more than a standard marketplace template. My products are not one-click purchases. They are configured systems folder quantities, color tiers, label options, font pairings, and personalization details that need to work together seamlessly.

Traditional website builders don’t easily accommodate that level of detail. So I leaned into it. I tapped back into the computer science knowledge I picked up way back in high school and taught myself what I needed to know. Dynamic pricing logic. Conditional dropdowns. Custom field validation. Clean layout structures. A user experience that guides you step by step without confusion. It took months. But the result is exactly what I envisioned: a streamlined ordering experience that makes building your family’s filing system simple.

You don’t need to think about structure.

You don’t need to wonder what to keep.

You don’t need to design the workflow.

That’s my job.

Your job is to fill the folders and save the memories.

Margot & Maëlys has always been about more than a box. It’s about giving families a sustainable way to preserve the moments that matter without drowning in clutter. A system that grows with your child. A place where artwork, report cards, programs, and memories all have a home.

This website represents the evolution of that idea.

From two handmade boxes on my living room floor…

To a fully engineered, customizable system.

To a platform designed intentionally around how real families actually organize.

If you’ve been here since the Etsy days, thank you.

If you’re new, welcome.

I’m proud of how far this has come, and even more excited about where it’s headed.

🩵 Tess