Meet Jennifer Cox | Owner/Creator- Momma Osa

We had the good fortune of connecting with Jennifer Cox and we’ve shared our conversation below.

Hi Jennifer, we’d love to hear more about how you thought about starting your own business?
I started my business as a way of giving back. I knew I wanted to start a company that was creatively inspired and to make product as I am a Designer by trade, but I also knew that the more product I sold the more impact I could have on the world. I thought I could start small and design and manufacture socks and tees and for every pair of socks and tee I sold I would also donate one to charity. I found out that clean socks were one of the most commonly requested items from Homeless people, so originally my goal was to be able to help solve that problem.

What should our readers know about your business?
WHAT IS MOMMA OSA?!?!?! • We help make memories!!! And we just happen to make all kinds of Tie dye kits. Our pop up will be a hands on experience of Tie dye along with customers being able to buy their own Tie dye kits to take home with them. You can purchase a plain tee or a Vintage Tee to tie dye yourself.. or take one home w you to Tie dye yourself. We will have tie dye supplies to make your own Tie dye tee, which will be cleaned after each person makes their own garments.
• By making Original Tie dye garments with our Tie dye Activity Kits we bring families and friends together. Our kits include all you need to have a tie dye party all in one box. Just add water and you could have your own new Tee shirt, socks or pajamas or accessories in less than 12 hours.
• Garments that YOU design and that YOU created yourself.
• For every kit you purchase, a portion of the proceeds gets donated to Homeless Youth and/or Foster families.
• We started by selling Tie dye socks and for every sock sold we donated a pair of socks to homeless youth. We sold masks during the beginning of covid and for every mask sold we donated one to at risk communities. We have donated over 10k masks and 5k pairs of socks to date. Part of our mission at Momma Osa is to give back and inspire change through creativity.
• You can find us on Nordstrom.com, Landsend.com and SaksFifthAvenue.com along with specialty stores across America. We were also featured on Good Morning America in March of 2021. Our Mission is growing more and more in the wholesale market to provide Tie dye Kits to Companies such as Fab Fit Fun who services over 2 million people along with our Ecommerce business. Bringing memory making and creative experiences to you in a box!

When I think back about if it was easy, i just need to be clear it was NOT easy. Launching a company in 2020 was started as a side hustle. Then I was laid off 3 weeks later. I found myself with a good sized investment with out my day job salary to filter into the equation. But the good news was that we had interest and momentum, so I followed the opportunity and talked to anyone that would listen to me about the Tie dye pop ups and products. Things were really picking up w our calendar booking and getting accepted into coveted street fairs… and then.. COVID LOCK DOWN HIT! I found myself in my house surrounded by all the supplies for pop up tie dye parties and now safer at home. No outlet to sell at Pop ups.

I remember having a moment.. ok, maybe more like 20 moments/minutes of panic and ugly crying. I just leaned in and allowed myself to have all the feels! Then when it was over, I said, now that you got that out, what are you gonna do about it.. yes, I was talking to myself. And then, it hit me, I looked down and saw a brown box that came in the mail for my boys. I asked my self, what if, I just made all of this in a kit for people to use so it all came together and easy like a party in a box? I started playing with all the components I was surrounded by. Hand crafted Mini Tie dye bags, Tie dye bottles, slap bracelets, tie dye hair ties on bright and vibrant colored paper, socks and tees.. and VOILA!!! Momma Osa Tie dye Activity kits were born into existence. I took a picture and launched it on my website the same day. It was not perfect, but it was the beginning of something beautiful. It was the first step to what the kits are today. Sometimes things don’t have to be perfect to launch. Its just having the nerve and the confidence to know that its going to evolve and grow.. and it did just that.

There were all kinds of other obstacles but another one that is easy to explain is the new store dropshipping interfaces. I am a designer by trade and have never done any of the logistic, shipping type of responsibilities of my business. So this was beyond challenging. Lots of reading and implementing of tasks I have never done before, all the while trying to be a distance learning teacher to my two boys ages 8 and 11. I would be lying if I said there were no tears and feelings of total uselessness. But i got through it and am so proud of myself for being able to sort it out and now is easy. I feel so good to be able to say that.

One of the other things I would love for the world to know about my brand and our story is that, This brand was started as a way for us to give back, and now has opened doors for us to help homeless youth and foster families but has also, given me the opportunity to understand that I absolutely love inspiring people to tap into their creativity and we also get to inspire change.

Any places to eat or things to do that you can share with our readers? If they have a friend visiting town, what are some spots they could take them to?
Well, that is an interesting question because during covid, I have really gotten comfortable being home and enjoying cooking at home, and not having to go other places. We do love walking in our city so We walk down to the local Burger Joint in Belllfower called Fronks. The kids like to play video games on Tuesday Game night that starts at 5pm.

We also can’t wait for Korean BBQ to open back up on Bellflower Blvd. One of our favorite things to do is to walk down to steelcraft and get some ice cream and Tacos or Pho. And we can’t wait for The Nest Tambien to open up right on Bellflower Blvd.

Bellflower is an up and coming city. Its where i grew up and they have really focused on community here. I would take them on a walk around the city on our beautiful and clean walking/bike paths, and if they wanted to see the beach, we could go down to Rosie’s Dog beach and let my Golden Doodle named Salsa, run and play with his friends. We would grab Italian Sandwiches from Foggia Italian Market and Deli and go have a picnic at the park.

For Dinner, if we were not grabbing an amazing Bottle of wine from Emilio’s Beverage Warehouse ( honestly, amazing selection and really respectable prices) and making steaks from costo at home, we would probably be heading down to Nicks on 2nd Street. I love that place and am always so happy with anything I order on the menu. Just a great meal every time and super consistent.. And if whomever has not tried the butter cake. Well, we would not be able to leave until they had some.

The Shoutout series is all about recognizing that our success and where we are in life is at least somewhat thanks to the efforts, support, mentorship, love and encouragement of others. So is there someone that you want to dedicate your shoutout to?
My first shout out goes to my Dad. My dad lives 10 feet away from me and has been though all of this with me. He is super supportive and helps me pack and ship and do whatever I need. He helps me stay organized and I should apologize now for me taking over his garage with inventory, but he knows how much I appreciate all he does for me, every day. He is really such a strong force in my work ethic, drive and motivation and am so grateful to have him with me on this journey.

My 2nd Shout out goes to Arie Pe, My first Business Mentor for Momma Osa. He heard my small little idea and motivated me to get all of the roadblocks/excuses out of the way for me to accomplish my goal. He also has really been there, rolling up his sleeves to help when I have needed him to brainstorm, and deliver when we were growing and I was about to loose my mind.

Website: www.mommaosa.com

Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/momma.osa/

Linkedin: https://www.linkedin.com/in/jennifer-cox-31b2856/

Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/mommaosaofficial

Youtube: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UC5TBXpzO9SuWLO43aUQ3jEg