KINGDOM KIDS

When two sisters-in-law put their heads together, combining their passion for children and desire to further the Kingdom of God, great things are going to come about. That’s exactly what happened when Kingdom Kids was born and founded in December 2021 by Brittany Stogsdill and Haley Bailey. By combining their two passions they are now able to offer fair trade clothing and spread the Kingdom of God on a local and global scale.

We want to share their story and mission with you, but first, let us introduce the founders. Stogsdill is a mom of two boys and an elementary school teacher who has been on maternity leave since November 2020. She is a chocoholic and a Harry Potter fanatic. Bailey is a per diem registered nurse in labor and delivery and postpartum. She is also a photographer, loves all things creative, and although she does not have any children of her own she has two fur babies.

Q and A with Brittany Stogsdill and Haley Bailey

Why did you start Kingdom Kids?

Brittany: I have two kiddos a 2-year-old and a 10-month-old, and I didn’t think there was a lot of cute clothing for kids, especially boys. I was having a hard time finding neutral-type clothing, but then even further there wasn't any Christian-type clothing with positive messages for kids to wear. That was something I wanted to change and a big reason for wanting to start Kingdom Kids. There are so many messages of the world and we wanted our kids to see messages of the word. That's been one of our biggest missions behind this when we launched it in February 2022.

How did the two of you decide to become partners?

Brittany: I always had the name Kingdom Kids, but I didn't know what I was supposed to do with it. I was praying and thinking about it when I brought it up to Haley and asked if she wanted to go in on this together. Haley had no background information about the endeavor, but she was ready to jump in right away to whatever it was.

What is the process of creating your clothes with a message?

Brittany: We are both in Spring Hill and live right across the street from one another so it’s very easy to collaborate. The process is scripture-based for all of our clothing. For boys, in particular, there were a lot of loud and colorful prints on the market. Our clothing is very neutral and warm using earthy tones or gender-neutral colors so boys and girls can wear them. I felt boy clothes were overstimulating and there were not many positive messages on them. As far as the messaging ideas, we have a list of snippets from children's faith-based nursery rhymes or scripture-based ones. It makes us remember our childhood and how our parents introduced us to the messages or nursery rhymes.

Haley: We wanted everything to be ethically made since our clothing has faith-based messages and wanted a wholesale source that was not using child labor or paying unfair wages. We did a lot of digging and found another faith-based organization, where a mom wanted to support her family, and also noticed that there wasn’t a lot of ethically made organic clothing for kids. She sources her clothing pieces through a factory in India where everything is double-checked by a third-party auditor. They make sure everyone is paid fairly, there is no child labor, there is paid time off, they receive work benefits, and it is all organic. We purchase wholesale through her and that is very important to us to back up our message. Once the pieces arrive in Spring Hill, each hand-crafted design is personally printed by us.

Where can Kingdom Kids clothing be found?

Haley: Currently, we have one storefront in downtown Columbia, a space at the Ellen J Marketplace, we do pop-ups and sell online. We carry onesies in sizes 0 through 24 months, for kids, we have sizes 2 through 6 and recently started carrying youth small and youth medium sizes. For fall and winter one of our favorite products is a beanie that says, ‘You knit me together,’ which is one of our best sellers.

How do the two of you manage the responsibilities of the business?

Brittany: At this time we both do everything. We both research manufacturers, and we both come up with designs and ideas. We both carry all the weight of the responsibilities, and it works for us. Haley does all of the photography though as that is not that is not my strong suit, and she is a photographer. For me being a full-time mom and Haley with her nursing and photography, it just works with our lifestyles.

Why did you start selling adult sizes?

Brittany: Since we first started this business we have had so many people asking if we would sell adult sizes. I was so adamant about selling kids clothing only because our business is literally called Kingdom KIDS. As I prayed about this I heard the Lord so clearly remind me that I am a child of God, His Kingdom kid. Age does not matter; I will always be His. So now we carry adult sizes as well.

What scripture represents your mission and business?

Haley: Matthew 19:14 NIV and we put a card with this scripture in the package with every purchase.

Jesus said, “Let the little children come to me, and do not hinder them, for the kingdom of heaven belongs to such as these.”

I recently went to a friend's house to babysit, and she had purchased some clothing from us. I saw our little card on her fridge with the little magnet; it meant so much!

Follow Kingdom Kids on social media at @thekingdomkidsco or visit thekingdomkidsco.com to shop their collection. For more information on their charity partner, check out safe-families.org.