Gigi and Max grows hobby into established children's clothing boutique

Children's clothing brand Gigi and Max started as a hobby but is slowing turning itself into a household name. Co-owned by husband and wife team Mike and Kristin Gonzales, Gigi and Max is an online boutique that specializes in fun fabric prints for children and even has options for parents. Before they grew into the nationwide company they are today, it started with a headband.

Before Gigi and Max was a company, sewing was just a hobby for Kristin, who in 2014 had recently become a stay-at-home mom. She needed something to keep herself occupied and asked her mom to teach her to sew. She started with soft, knit fabric and began making headbands for her daughter with big bows on them, called top knots.



Kristin was happy with her product, and so were friends who began asking more about them. Owners Mike and Kristin Gonzales pose in the Gigi and Max warehouse lobby on Tuesday, April 22, in Bettendorf. Gigi and Max is an online boutique that focuses on offering children's clothing from newborn sizes to size eight.

"So I started posting to Instagram and listing them on Etsy. And to be legal, I needed a name, so I did not put much weight into the name, just Gigi was for (my daughter), and Max was my nephew that was born a few months prior," she said. At the time, social media sites like Instagram were still early in their development.

If something was posted, everyone saw it, and at the time, Kristin had about 2,000 followers. That's just a fraction of the more than 161,000 followers she now has. To build up to that, Kristin kept up with the social media posting and selling on Etsy while also trying to up her sewing game and learning how to make clothes.

She'd just started learning to sew with a serger, so she could make stronger stitches to hold fabric better. Then she was invited to a baby shower. "And Mike said, 'Why don't you bring a few outfits for the baby?'" she said.

"So, I made three outfits for the mom to be and at the shower, the reaction I got was just crazy." All Gigi and Max apparel is made with soft bamboo viscose. The bamboo is breathable and cooling.

The whole time, Kristin had been selling her products online and receiving positive reviews, but after getting those same reviews in person, everything clicked, she said. It solidified she had a great idea for a new business, and Mike agreed after hearing about it. "That sort of catapulted us into this newborn going home outfit world," Kristin said.

The outfits they made had sayings like "Hello, world" and "Isn't she lovely" made specifically to be the outfits newborns would wear home from the hospital. Matching headbands came with the girls outfits and hats for the boys. As soon as Kristen added the new outfits to her social media accounts, they flew off the table faster than the pair could make them.

"At that time, we were sitting at a five-week lead time because Mike was cutting the fabric and I was sewing it," she said. The sewing operation then moved from the dining room table to the basement and the couple hired a seamstress to help them complete orders faster. As their family expanded to include their son, Gabe, their business was expanding too.

"Then we hired another (seamstress) to come in, so we had three people sewing in a basement," Mike said, adding it got crowded quickly. "We couldn't keep up, so we started working with a manufacturer in the U.S.

" Mike Gonzales shows off the Gigi and Max warehouse on Tuesday, April 22, in Bettendorf. The 6,000-square foot warehouse features the shipping floor, office area for website and social media management, and a photo studio where local children come to model new designs. The couple found a husband-and-wife-owned company in the Boston area that was able to manufacture much faster than the Gonzales'.

With five full-time employees and heavier equipment, the company would receive the patterns, make the outfits and send them back to Bettendorf in record time. "Something that took me an hour to make was taking them less than 10 minutes," Kristin said. With their help, Gigi and Max had products on the shelf ready to ship and the five to six week waiting period went by the wayside.

They now had things in stock and were ready to ship for last-minute shoppers. As online marketplaces expanded, people were getting used to the concept of having things at their fingertips, Kristin said. "In our world, you can have that too, and we've never gone away from that," she said.

After a few years, the brand continued to gain speed and the Gonzales' were looking to add more details and expand their offerings. It proved to be too much for the U.S.

-based company they had found to handle, so they started working with manufacturers overseas. Mike said the move was mainly for the expertise because the sewers abroad are experts in their craft. With the help of their on-staff graphic designer, the pair choose all the designs from the print down to the ruffles, pockets and bows on the outfits.

"We basically send them the art and they send us the finished goods after lots of sampling and trials," Mike said. "Everything comes into our warehouse here ..

. we inspect it, we look it over, we package it up and then we ship it to our customers from right here." The 'here' Mike referred to is the 6,000 square foot Gigi and Max warehouse in Bettendorf.

Tucked into an industrial park, the building is split into a manufacturing side and a commercial side. Kristin Gonzales shows off this year's swimwear line at the Gigi and Max warehouse on Tuesday, April 22, in Bettendorf. Swimsuits are designed with bright neon colors for water safety.

In the manufacturing area, rows and rows of racks holding packaged outfits are carefully labeled. Gigi and Max carries clothing ranging in size from newborn to size 8, as well as pajama and robe sets for parents. They also offer swaddles, blankets and crib sheets, and recently expanded into swimwear — matching towels included.

Employees pack orders twice a day, first in the morning and again right before the mail truck comes in the afternoon. They ship to more than 500 retailors, including Von Maur. Same day shipping is a big part of the business, and so are exclusive clothing drops.

Every Wednesday, Gigi and Max drops a new print, sometimes multiple at holidays, to keep things fresh. Once all of one design are sold out, they move on to another to help bring customers back in. Gigi and Max exclusively uses an extremely soft bamboo fabric for their clothing.

All the clothing is tag-less to prevent sensory issues. For heavier items like hoodies or joggers, they use a heavier bamboo material that still provides a soft feel with high quality. On the commercial side of things, the Gonzales' have set up a photo studio in the back where they do all of their own marketing photos and campaigns.

They utilize all local models for their website, changing them into Gigi and Max branded outfits, then sending them home with a gift card for clothing. That strategy has helped grow their local fanbase in the Quad-Cities, with more and more orders staying in town. Gigi and Max ships to all 50 states, but is most popular in Texas.

Iowa is a close second, Mike said. In its 11th year, Gigi and Max is continuing to grow, all thanks to social media. Kristin said TikTok is especially helping the brand gain recognition, as they make videos featuring themselves and showing off their products.

It helps connect them to the brand, and the brand to communities, including their own. "People love that they can trust us," Kristen said. "We're two people from Iowa and we're selling stuff that we have in our warehouse.

It's not pre-order, what you're buying is our brand. And people like that a lot." Gigi and Max started in Kristin and Mike Gonzales' dining room in 2014 when Kristin decided to become a stay-at-home mom.

She started sewing headbands for her newborn daughter as a way to keep her busy. Owners Mike and Kristin Gonzales pose in the Gigi and Max warehouse lobby on Tuesday, April 22, in Bettendorf. Gigi and Max is an online boutique that focuses on offering children's clothing from newborn sizes to size eight.

Kristin Gonzales shows off this year's swimwear line at the Gigi and Max warehouse on Tuesday, April 22, in Bettendorf. Swimsuits are designed with bright neon colors for water safety. Kristin Gonzales shows off the mitten and foot cuffs on the zip-up onesies that fold over to cover hands and feet for warmth on Tuesday, April 22, in Bettendorf.

All Gigi and Max apparel is made with soft bamboo viscose. The bamboo is breathable and cooling. Mike Gonzales shows off the Gigi and Max warehouse on Tuesday, April 22, in Bettendorf.

The 6,000-square foot warehouse features the shipping floor, office area for website and social media management, and a photo studio where local children come to model new designs. Gigi and Max apparel is tag less, making it great for children with sensory sensitivities. Gigi and Max are constantly changing the patterns that they offer.

The local company drops a new pattern each week, which are often holiday or season themed. Subscribe to our Daily Headlines newsletter. {{description}} Email notifications are only sent once a day, and only if there are new matching items.

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