Life & Work with Britany Luker of Spring Hill

Today we’d like to introduce you to Britany Luker.

Hi Britany, we’d love for you to start by introducing yourself.
I started learning to sew when I was just a child. My grandmother was an accomplished sewist/seamstress. She made many quilts throughout her lifetime. I used to play at her feet while she sewed at her sewing machine. She passed in 1996, but not before handing me her love of handicraft work.

When I got my first paycheck from my first job at 15, I bought my first sewing machine, a Singer, from Walmart. It wasn’t the fanciest sewing machine and was not computerized, but it was a good machine to learn on, and it had many decorative stitches to play around with. I didn’t have a home computer or internet, so it was very much a learn-as-you-go situation. I sewed as much as I could after that but made many mistakes. This was especially true, given that I didn’t have access to any material to teach me what to do / not to do. Materials cost money, though, so I didn’t get to sew as much as I would have liked. Eventually, I met my husband, Brandon, and my sewing took a back seat to him. I put my trusty Singer in the closet, and it quickly became a distant memory of something I used to do with my spare time instead of the budding passion it was.

We married in 2005 and relocated from Tribbett, Mississippi, to Nashville, Tennessee, in 2006 with just $750 in our pocket. Then the real work started; life was busy. We were determined to make a successful situation in our lives. Our dedication to our plan paid off big time because some great successes came with hard work. We were blessed with 2 beautiful babies, a girl in 2009 we named Lucy and a boy in 2012 named Jaxon.

In 2013, my husband, an incredible musical artist, joined and remained for the better part of a decade in a locally successful band, The Funky McFlys. He spent more time away from home on the weekends when he had shows to play. Most of the time, I stayed home with our babies in the beginning while he was at his shows. I had difficulty sleeping when he was away from home, so I dug out my old sewing machine to keep me occupied while waiting for his return. I searched the internet for information on sewing to help me learn the craft. I was instantly hooked on all things fiber arts. I loved it so much that I even lay awake at night dreaming about all the beautiful patterns and colorful fabrics I could do so much with.

After 3 years, I started having the dream of opening up my quilt shop someday. In 2018, that business took a minor turn into an embroidery and custom apparel business. I had no idea I would love machine embroidery as much as I love to sew. Each job is like its own little puzzle that I get to solve. Slowly, I have added to the list of things that I offer and have added printed transfers, vinyl decals, HTV, memory pillows, and custom sewing to the mix. I also dream of doing laser engraving and sublimation in the future. I dream of being a one-stop shop for small business owners to procure affordable, quality apparel that’s easy. We deliver to many of our clients free of charge, and we try to position ourselves at a convenient location. My clients are pleasantly surprised when their order shows up on their doorsteps, effortless. We love our community and want to leave a positive mark on that community. We also have huge hopes that our children will one day take up the torch and keep pushing further into success.

Alright, so let’s dig a little deeper into the story – has it been an easy path overall, and if not, what were the challenges you’ve had to overcome?
There have been challenges along the way. Health issues are a big one. I struggle with an autoimmune form of arthritis that I’m currently managing with medication. 2020 happened and upset the entire world. The supply chain has been a complete mess for the last 2 years. Runaway inflation has nearly doubled my business costs when I can get the supplies. I’m not great yet at marketing, and due to the desire to stay as debt free as possible in this venture, getting our name out there and growing our client base has been hard. We are still here, though, and that is something to be thankful for.

As you know, we’re big fans of you and your work. For our readers who might not be as familiar, what can you tell them about what you do?
We are custom apparel decorators. We like to think of ourselves as the small business’ one-stop shop. We customize apparel, business uniforms, monogramming, embroidery, full-color t-shirt prints, vinyl, and HTV. In addition to that, we offer quilt finishing, quilt repair, gifts, and more. We do currently outsource our longarming for quilts, but we do everything else that goes along with quilt construction, including complete custom quilt construction from step one. We even do custom embroidered baseballs and softballs. I love to experiment, so we are always adding things to our list.

Who else deserves credit in your story?
Well, my business partner, Brandon, deserves as much credit as I do, if not more. The Cotton Bin would be a business without customers if it weren’t for him. My church family and my Crafty Sisters in Christ also deserve a shout-out because without their prayers, I wouldn’t have had the courage to step out into faith with this venture. They have listened to my fears and struggles and reassured me that I could get through each one.

Contact Info:

• Website: www.thecottonbin.com
• Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/brandonbritanyluker/
• Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/cottonbin

Image Credits
Johnson Family photo credit – Brandi Alderson All the other photos were taken by me.