*from this post
Happy Friday! Today is a very happy day indeed. (And not just because there’s a Design Darling promo code at the end of this post!) 😉 Three years ago on March 1, I launched designdarling.com, an online boutique that would complement the daily blog you’re reading right now. I was ten months out of college, four months out of a desk job I hated, and had been blogging nearly every day for two and a half years. What had started as this little labor of love had become a fast growing community of women around the country who loved the same things I did, a readership and customer base I’d been almost unintentionally cultivating since my junior year at Bucknell.
I was just starting to get into Instagram and Pinterest at the time and couldn’t shake this crazy feeling that I was meant to take the leap and turn Design Darling into what it is today. I wanted to build a business that was one part daily fashion/interiors/lifestyle blog, one part product assortment — pretty little things I wanted to share with my readers and would ship out myself, at first from my parents’ dining room table and later from my studio apartment. It didn’t make sense to most people I knew in real life but I’m so glad I trusted my gut and went after it with all I had.
I always get a little sentimental this time of year, and there are days when it really does feel too good to be true. Every day I get to write about the people, places, and things I love and share them with tens of thousands of young women just like me. I get to scour the internet and trade shows for products I can’t live without and introduce them to customers who share my aesthetic. I get to take pictures, to work with bloggers and small business owners, and to meet readers and customers who inspire me, challenge me, and keep me going day after day, year after year. I tend to gloss over the day I started blogging (five and a half years ago… what?!) but I never forget March 1, the day I went from being a slightly lost recent grad to a fledgling but determined small business owner.
Not every day in the past three years has been sunshine and rainbows but I know I’ve been insanely blessed: to have started blogging before it was cool, to have parents who let me live at home for a year after college, to find vendors who were willing to work with me when I had literally $1,500 in my bank account, and to have awesome siblings, girlfriends, and a boyfriend who’ve pitched in on late nights shipping boxes in time for Christmas Eve. I know I’m not saving lives over here but in the story of my own tiny life, Design Darling has changed everything. I can’t thank you enough for reading, shopping, sharing with family and friends, pinning, tweeting, instagramming… It all means more to me than you know.
So today I’m celebrating three years. Three years of small business ownership, late nights, endless monogramming, post office runs, pink grosgrain bows, and happy customers across the country. If you’re so inclined, please use Design Darling promo code CANTSTOPWONTSTOP for 20% off all designdarling.com purchases now through Monday at midnight eastern. Thank you for an amazing three years and here’s to many, many more! xoxo
adorable pictures and dress ! love that!
http://nurielfashion.blogspot.co.il/2015/02/hello-everyone-it-has-been-exhausting.html
That picture of you belongs in a magazine! So pretty Mackenzie!
Congrats! Love hearing more about your story and the history behind DD.. you should be very proud of an incredible brand and site! 🙂
Hi, I’m just wondering about the additional costs that appear during checkout. I selected three items at a cost of $69.00, however, when I whent to check out, the amount of the sale increased to $81.36 (no explanation was given for the increase). I understand that there are shipping charges, but this was the amount shown PRIOR to shipping costs. Are there fees for processing? Did anyone else have a similar experience? Thanks for your help!
Hi Lisa,
Do you live in New York? If so, it could be sales tax as we have to charge city, county, and state taxes. If not, please feel free to email me so I can help you look into this further!
Best,
Mackenzie
Congratulations! Your boutique is fantastically curated and I wish it many years to come!
xoxo
Hannah
http://www.frecklesandolives.blogspot.com
Congratulations on three years! Keep up the good work! Always a great read. xo Ash
The Yellow Petunia
Happy 3 Years! Congratulations on all your (very well-deserved) success!!
i don’t usually comment but i remember when you just opened the shop! it was around the time i also got into blogging and i was so very jealous (in a good way) because that would be my dream! congrats!
anna
http://www.jujuandlucy.blogspot.com
Congrats on three years! The best is yet to come!
Sarah Jessica
The Laws of Beauty
congratulations on three years. I’ve been a customer since the beginning and have yet to actually gift any of the things I purchase because I can’t seem to part with any of them. cheers!
Congratulations on your 3-year anniversary! That’s a huge accomplishment, one you should definitely celebrate!!
I don’t see where to put the promo code in when checking out. Can anyone help?
It’s right after you’ve entered payment information. Sorry for the confusion! 🙂
Congratulations sweet girl! Your eye for color and design has been inspiring me since I started reading your blog, probably just over three years ago(!!). It’s such a joy to be able to love your work, and I’m so glad that you do. Can’t wait for all to come! xx
Congrats!!!! That’s very exciting!
Yay! Excited to shop but when I go to check out I can’t find the spot to the enter the promo code….Where does that happen?
So proud of all you have accomplished!!! Keep up the amazing work!
Ummm were you Bucknell class of 2012?! Small world!!
And congrats on three years! That’s a huge accomplishment!
2011! Thank you!
Just an FYI, your designdarling.com link doesn’t work. 🙂 Conge=rats on 3 years!
3 years already?! I can’t believe it, I remember when you opened the online shop. And I loved those blog posts you wrote about it when you were starting up the shop. I’m sending you a huge congrats! Wishing you many more years of success. You are such an inspiration to me, I would so love to get my blog to that level, to wake up everyday getting to run my own little slice of the net, not having to do a job that sucks!
Congrats, congrats, congrats!
🙂
mikky
Congrats Mackenzie!!! I remember when your shop first opened – crazy to think it’s been 3 years! Hopefully shipping to Canada is in the works? 😉 xo
Congratulations on three years of Design Darling, Mackenzie! Your shop is adorable, and a monogrammed lover’s dream!
Ellen | A Pop of Pink
I thought when I saw your dress we were going to guess if it was blue and black or white and golf, hahahaha
I know when it is on you, it’s going to be blue! Love it
Happy 3rd Anniversary!!!
Hahaha that would have been great. Thank you so much!
What a perfect opportunity to make my first order! I learned about your blog from the College Prepster (which I learned about from another source….love social media!) and I’ve been following ever since. We have a very similar aesthetic and I’m about to put the finishing touches on my brand new white, blue, and gray home office. Thank you for sharing!!
so proud of you!!! it feels like just yesterday that you sent me your blog. the world is your oyster, my friend!
xoxo
Congrats on the blogiversary! How exciting that your ventures have headed in the direction you want to go. Cheers. So, how do you enter the promo code? I don’t see a place to do so? Thanks!
Thank you! You’ll see a spot for the promo code right after you’ve entered payment information!
Perfect, thanks!
The link to your shop in the post is not correct- its linking to https://mackenziehoran.com/designdarling.com
Fixed! Thanks for the heads up!
Happy three years, Mackenzie! Excited to see what the future holds for you and Design Darling!
xx
Kira
What a beautiful story about a beautiful business. Here’s to many more years!
Ashley
Sunday Brunch
Such an inspiring post, Mackenzie!! So proud of everything you’ve done and cannot wait to see what the future holds. Congrats!!!
Congratulations, Mackenzie! I love your shop, blog and style. Hope you have some fun plans to celebrate this weekend!!
xx, Alexa