Meet Morgan
My story begins when I was eight years old! I would hand make birthday cards and Christmas cards and give them out to my friends and family. I started hand writing “The Morgan Factory” on the back. Then, I received the best gift one year, a self inking stamp with my new identity.
I have been sewing my entire life, my mother taught me, she would let me pick out fabric from her cedar chest just to practice on. The smell of cedar takes me back to those wonderful memories! I actually always wanted to be an architect, even though I did upcycle my senior prom dress, fashion design was never a realistic career choice for me.
I started going to the International Academy of Design and Technology for fashion design and it helped me through a divorce. I had no money, no car, and no home. Luckily, I have a very supportive and loving family that helped me back on my feet.
I went back to East Tennessee to see my family for Christmas one year, and someone had given me trash bags full of clothes. I immediately cut them up and made 15 tunics that day. The next weekend I set up at an art show and sold all of them. I was hooked.
For the next two years, I was working in management at Ann Taylor and also worked for Megan Prange. I learned so much in retail and I was naturally good at it. Megan Prange Pattern and Apparel Production is a Nashville small batch manufacturing company. She taught me more than school ever could. I learned a lot about pattern making, pattern grading, and sewing factory style. I worked both jobs and would still come home and sew for myself. I booked music festivals and art shows on the weekends to sell my one-of-kind creations. This is when I really discovered the woman’s body and tested my designs.
I tragically lost a friend in a motorcycle accident that fully believed in my dreams. Six months later I quit both jobs to pursue The Morgan Factory. I continued doing shows for the rest for the year until one day, my tent blew away when all the other vendors around me were untouched. In that moment I knew it was time to do something more - the universe was clearly speaking to me.
I saved my money, moved into a two bedroom home in East Nashville, and focused on online selling and wholesale. This was a very scary time for me, doubts filled my mind. Luckily…it all worked out.
At this time I was still sewing everything myself. Business was growing and the opportunity came to me to hire local refugee women to help me sew. This was a godsend for me…and for them.
Honestly, I have always felt special. In the early days of TMF, I knew slow fashion was my purpose in life. But now, being able to help women of other cultures find peace, hope, and purpose in themselves, my “purpose” took on a whole other meaning.
I started selling on Facebook Live and going to market in Atlanta and Dallas. I killed it! People were very accepting of how different my clothes were and the difference I was making.
During the pandemic, market was not an option. I stay focused and grew my online sales! Now, here we are.
Love and Light,
Morgan and Louie