If you ask Melissa Clayton (pictured) how she turned a small jewelry brand into a personalization titan, the founder and CEO of Tiny Tags will take you back to two of the most important conversations she’s ever had—as a mom and as a businessperson.
The first began as an email exchange between Clayton and a woman named Reggie whose son had just died of complications from leukemia. Reggie’s friends had asked Clayton to design a necklace to honor his life, and Clayton’s emails with Reggie, which initially just involved sketches of the jewelry piece, grew into deep conversations about motherhood, grief, and much more.
“I’ve never had a mother share with me what that was like, and it hits you, especially as I was tucking my son in at night,” says Clayton. “What did I do that I was so lucky to have a son? It changed what Tiny Tags meant to me and how I felt about motherhood—I learned you should never take it for granted.”
Her friendship with Reggie moved from online to in person and continues today, one of Clayton’s most profound friendships, she says. Clayton had started Tiny Tags in 2012, after giving up certified public accountant work and becoming a stay-at-home mom, but Reggie’s influence—plus such books as Brand Warfare—led her to revamp the brand from costume jewelry to fine jewelry, with motherhood as the focus.
A second pivotal conversation in Tiny Tags’ development happened when Clayton joined the business owners group called EO, or Entrepreneurs’ Organization. During a class, someone asked Clayton a classic business question: “What’s your why?” Clayton says she answered quickly that her “why” behind Tiny Tags was that she loved her kids.
The person leading the class pushed back—it had to be more, everyone loves their kids. Then, the next question pushed Clayton to tears, she recalls: “What’s your relationship with your mom?”
“That’s when I had my Oprah ‘aha moment.’ I spent more time afterward thinking about it. I grew up with my dad, and my mom struggled to show up. Now, I was running a business that celebrated motherhood and children,” Clayton says.
“I knew Tiny Tags was my way of telling other moms the importance of showing up for your kids. They need you. Don’t let all of this other noise become a distraction. Because in the end, they only want you. Do they want perfect nurseries? Do they want perfect birthday parties? No. They only want you.
“When you tap into that, it’s the fuel for what you’re doing,” she continues. “I can’t wait for Monday mornings—this business outside of my boys and my husband is the greatest gift of my life.”
Tiny Tags is a very emotional, customer-driven business because of those conversations with Reggie and at EO, Clayton says. She thinks often of the dad who called her to design a necklace for his wife, who had just given birth to their first child. He had to call because he couldn’t calm down enough to place an order online.
“The joy and excitement were still in his voice of what it was like to see that—to become a dad,” says Clayton.
Other client stories that thrill her are the friends who have gotten together for an annual vacation for two decades and purchased necklaces for each other, and the mother and daughter who designed a piece to commemorate their trip to the 50th U.S. state they visited together, marking the completion of a lifelong journey.
In April 2023, Tiny Tags launched an exclusive, limited collection in 200 Target stores and online for Mother’s Day. The promotion went so well, Target added Tiny Tags to its regular jewelry offerings.
For Clayton, this feels like a full-circle moment, as she went back to a price point that was closer to where she started. Still, she stands strong in her mission to talk to mothers and celebrate their stories, she says. One of Tiny Tags’ new collections is Angel Numbers, jewelry showing a personally selected number that is special to the client.
“When you work here, you do have such an incredible sense of gratitude for the everyday because of the stories you hear. We’re all inspired by the power of a mother’s love,” Clayton says. “I love every story that I’ve heard, and they’re woven into who I am today. I think about those moms, those grandmothers, those dads.”
(Photos courtesy of Tiny Tags)
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