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If you’re new—welcome. If you’re back—welcome home. Today I’m sitting down with my friend Melissa Clayton, founder & CEO of Tiny Tags—the personalized jewelry brand born at a kitchen table and now beloved by moms, worn by Meghan Markle, sold in Target stores nationwide, and (pinch-me) featured on Oprah’s Favorite Things 2025.

We talk about the quiet courage behind the milestones: bootstrapping for 15+ years, saying no to shiny objects, building a values-first team, and telling real stories of motherhood (the joyful, the messy, the holy ordinary). Melissa shares what focus actually looks like when you’re self-funded, how she course-corrected her brand to speak directly to moms and their villages, and why “hope” often sounds like one more email, one more DM, one more ask.

In this episode:

• Bootstrapping a jewelry brand without outside funding
• Choosing focus over “do it all”
• Storytelling as Tiny Tags’ secret sauce
• From online shop to 1,600+ Target stores (and how long that really takes)
  Currently
• What Oprah’s Favorite Things moment means to a scrappy team
  Oprah Daily
• Gentle truth-telling about new-mom pressure, comparison, and preparing your heart (and village), not just a nursery

Take this with you: You don’t have to be everything to everyone. Know your why. Build your bench. Keep asking.

Guest: Melissa Clayton — Tiny Tags
Web: tinytags.com • IG: @tinytags

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New episodes drop every Monday, so you can begin your week with a little light and a lot of hope.

For more stories, reflections, and ways to connect, visit www.DanielleElliottSmith.com or follow along on Instagram @daniellesmithtv and @HopeComestoVisit