Meet Lindsey

HEY!! I'm Lindsey Ferrell, the proud co-owner of Ryan & Rose and the creative force behind all things CUTIE! Before Ryan & Rose, I had the incredible opportunity to work as an interpreter and teacher for the Deaf at White Station High School in Memphis, TN, where I spent 11 fulfilling years. I was also a nationally certified interpreter for the Deaf (NIC) and worked as a video relay interpreter for Sorenson Communications. On a personal note, I am happily married to my high school sweetheart, Bret (yes, we started dating when I was just 14!), and I am blessed with two beautiful daughters, Ryan Rose and Charley Ruth. My life is a shining example that with faith and trust in God, anything is possible.

Let me share a part of my personal journey. When I was just a few months old, our family doctor delivered some heartbreaking news to my parents: I was born with a tumor on my spine, and I would never be able to walk. As if that wasn't enough, later in life, I was also told that having children would be impossible. Throughout my life, I have encountered numerous challenges. From dealing with a neurogenic bladder and the need to catheterize daily, to walking with a limp and having feet of drastically different sizes, to struggling with learning disabilities in school and requiring an Individualized Education Plan (IEP). But you know what? God truly has a remarkable sense of humor, doesn't He?

Despite enduring 25 surgeries on various parts of my body, including my spine, bladder, and feet, you might expect me to say, "I can't believe what I have achieved." However, that's precisely the point: "All things are possible for those who believe." This verse from Mark 9:23 encapsulates my life, my business, and everything else. I am a firm believer in Jesus Christ, and I wholeheartedly love Him. He is the reason behind my success, and He grants me an abundance of much-needed grace every single day.

God continues to surprise me on this extraordinary journey called life. After completing high school, I attended the University of Arkansas and earned a Bachelor's degree in American Sign Language. I then returned to my hometown of Bartlett, TN and got married. Three years later, to our astonishment, we discovered that we were expecting a child. Sadly, I experienced a miscarriage. Although it was a heartbreaking experience, I genuinely felt that the Lord was telling me, "See, you can get pregnant. It's just not the right time. Be patient, for I have great things in store for you." Little did I know that those plans involved applying for a teaching position for which I was not initially qualified, pursuing a master's degree in Deaf Education, and moving into a new house—the very house where Ryan & Rose would come to life, bless us, and allow us to flourish. Needless to say, life was hectic, and the thought of getting pregnant was the last thing on my mind. But God had different plans for our family. I became pregnant once again, carrying the miracle baby I was once told I could never have.

In 2012, God blessed my husband and I with our first daughter, Ryan Rose. She is the inspiration behind my journey, and never in my wildest dreams did I imagine that she would lead me to create Ryan & Rose!

When Ryan was a baby, I looked everywhere for cute, high-quality pacifier clips. Our mischievous goldendoodle, Penny, had a habit of devouring the nipples off Ryan's pacifiers, adding an extra challenge to keeping them intact. Unfortunately, I was disappointed with the options available online and in stores. They were excessively long, posing a strangulation risk as they could potentially wrap around Ryan’s neck.

During this time, I felt the Lord just telling me to create my own pacifier clips that were safe. And so, the Cutie Clip, the very first shortened pacifier clip, was born! At first I was just making them for Ryan and then friends on Instagram started asking where I got them. So what started as a need, kinda turned into a small business that I never expected or really dreamed of. I started on Etsy, did a few craft shows with my sister Whitney and step mom Lori and then eventually got my own website. We slowly grew on Instagram and from there, the journey of Cutie Clips as a family brand began to unfold.

We decided to call them Cutie Clips because we wanted people to know they could be used for more than just pacifiers. They could be used for teethers, toys too. We also came up with the slogan, "Don't want to lose it, Cutie Clip it!"

I knew from the beginning that I wanted to do things differently. Not borrow money, give 10%+ of our earnings, and pray about everything. I felt the Lord telling me to not call the business Cutie Clips because we would sell other items in the future, I just wasn't sure exactly what those items were.

From 2013 to 2016, I worked as a teacher for the Deaf during the day and shipped pacifier clips at night. Some nights I would stay up till midnight to ship and then wake up at 5am and head to work the next day. Instagram had really grown over the years and was a huge part of our success.

In December of 2016, I felt led to leave my teaching job and work full time at Ryan & Rose. Up until this point, I had only been working out of our house and was not paying myself; I was putting all the money back into the business. Also, I had spent the last 11 years as a teacher for the deaf at White Station High School, a local school in the city of Memphis. Fighting for my deaf students and their rights had been such a big part of my life. The students I had throughout those 11 years were my first “babies,” too. The world was telling me that it didn’t make sense for me to quit, but the Lord was telling me to trust Him. At this point in my life, this was definitely the hardest decision I had ever had to make; however, I knew that it was time to fully focus on my Ryan & Rose journey.

After moving forward with my decision to leave teaching, I found out I was pregnant with Charley Ruth. At first, I was upset. I thought to myself, “Lord, right now? This is the absolute worst time.” We had been trying to get pregnant for the last three years, and I had finally accepted the fact that Ryan Rose would be an only child. Well, God knew what he was doing, and would soon show me that it was in fact perfect timing. Due to my medical issues, I have really hard pregnancies. I went into labor twice with Charley Ruth, at 35 weeks and again at 37 weeks. The second time I went into the hospital in labor, I was really sick due to a really bad bladder infection, and I ended up going septic. I almost lost my life on June 2, 2017, the day Charley Ruth was born. God showed me his mercy, yet again, and completely healed me after my c-section. Many prayers and two blood transfusions later, I woke up from surgery having no idea what had happened in the last 48 hours, but I had a whole new outlook on life.

Fast forward to October of 2017 and the idea for the Cutie PAT came to me. Charley would not take a pacifier, and I thought “how cool it would be to create a smaller teether, similar to a pacifier?”

From there came the idea of a pacifier and teether in one. The first Cutie PAT was released on April 23, 2018. Looking back, God knew exactly what he was doing when he brought Charley Ruth into the world. He in fact had the perfect timing.

In addition to Ryan and Charley, my family is such a big part of my life. Without my family, there is no way that this business would be successful. My husband Bret, who formerly co-owned a HVAC family business has been working full time at Ryan & Rose since 2019; however, he’s always been an integral part from the beginning. My younger sister, Whitney, has been by my side since I began making the very first Cutie Clips, and is an essential part of the day-to-day and behind-the-scenes operations. My older sister, Ashley, has been full time with Ryan & Rose since 2019, and was a local clip maker even before that. She makes all things Target, TJ Maxx, and Marshalls run smoothly. To be able to work with my sisters every day has been one of my biggest blessings in life. They are extremely hard workers, and we all three owe that to my mom, Pat, a.k.a “Mia.”

We were raised by a single mother who worked tirelessly to provide us with everything we needed. She instilled her work ethic in us from the very beginning. We lost our mom in 2021 due to Covid complications, and it was the hardest year of our lives. However, I am still able to see her daily in the happenings at Ryan & Rose. She gave so many selfless hours throughout the years, whether it was helping us ship out of my home, working at our new warehouse, or helping with the girls so we could be at the office. She was so proud of our success, and I owe so much to her and her memory.

My dad, Randy, and stepmom, Lori, have always been huge supporters of Ryan & Rose. My dad is definitely one of my biggest cheerleaders, and is always so proud of our accomplishments. Lori also sells some of our products in her Painted Tree Boutique in Bartlett, TN, and has also helped in the office over the years. Their love and support means so much to me.

And last, but definitely not least, Bret’s parents played an integral part in Ryan & Rose. My Mother-in-Law, Barbara, gifted us $500 to get our business started. Their generosity allowed us to start Ryan & Rose without taking on any debt, and we’ve been able to continue to run our business debt-free. We will forever be grateful for their gift and confidence in our dream, and their endless love and support throughout the years.

As you can see, my entire family has been so supportive from the very beginning. They are always there to encourage me or lend a hand when needed. Family is everything to me and we do everything together!! We love going to the lake, riding four wheelers, watching supercross, watching TN football and the Grizz and of course worshiping Jesus.

I am so grateful that Ryan & Rose allows me to do something I love, provide for my family, and give back to my community. I am so grateful that we are able to consistently donate both locally and globally, to a few of my favorite organizations: Mission Church, Memphis Family Connection Center, Empowered to Connect, Point Honduras, Keesha’s Warriors, Reset Church, Deaf Millennial Project, and many more. All of these are near and dear to my heart, and without our wonderful customers, it would have never been possible; thank you from the bottom of my heart. In addition to that, Ryan & Rose has been able to provide jobs to over 50 individuals over the years. 

Every beaded Cutie Clip is still handmade in the USA. Knowing that our company has been able to provide for us, as well as others, has been one of the most rewarding aspects of owning a small business. I don’t believe in creating products just to create something to sell. I want it to be the highest quality, a need that needs to be fulfilled. God continues to inspire me and help me to be innovative. That inspiration has led to so many products that I am proud of: Cutie Handles, Cutie Holders, Cutie Clinks, Jesus Bracelets, and even writing our first book, “Cutie, I Pray.”

There have been many highs and lows and many seasons that we are so grateful for.

At Ryan and Rose, one of our core values is to pray, and pray some more! Whether big or small, we believe in laying it all at the Lord’s feet. He has always been faithful to us, and continues to provide for us. There have been many times where I was on my knees in prayer, wondering how I was going to pay our employees…but He always provided. He made our house work for us for 7 years, until the perfect building came along. We were able to pay cash for it and continue on our debt free journey for R&R.

As you can see, all things are truly possible to those who believe. We all struggle, life surely isn’t easy, we’ve all made mistakes, felt defeated at times, and failed occasionally, but we need to be reminded that God loves us. I have had many challenges in my life, but God was always there. He lifts me up and gives me every ounce of strength and courage to keep going. He has a special purpose for each one of us. As we seek Him, we discover His ways are perfect and His plans are always best. I truly believe that His plans are bigger than any dreams that we could ever imagine for ourselves.

I am so grateful the Lord has given me this platform to share Him daily; whether that’s through our book, “Cutie, I Pray,” Jesus Bracelets, or sharing our lives through social media. I am thankful that He has chosen me to share about His goodness and faithfulness.