Lindsey's Story

Hi I’m Lindsey Ferrell, owner of Ryan & Rose and the creator of Cutie Clips and Cutie PATs. I'm a former teacher for the deaf at White Station High School in Memphis, TN, a nationally certified interpreter for the Deaf (NIC), a proud wife that married her high school sweetheart, (yep we started dating when I was 14) and mother of Ryan Rose, our 7 year old daughter and Charley Ruth, our two year old. I'm proof that by having faith and trusting in God, anything is possible.

A few months after I was born, our family doctor told my parents that I would never be able to walk and later in life I was told that I would never be able to have children. God surely has a sense of humor, doesn’t he?

After 24 surgeries (on my spine, bladder, feet, etc.) you’d probably think I’d say, “I can’t believe what I’ve accomplished.” But, that’s just it; “All things are possible for those who believe." Mark 9:23 is a verse which embodies my life, business, and everything else. I’m a believer in Jesus Christ, and I truly love him with all my heart. HE is the reason for my success and he gives me an abundance of much needed grace daily.

God definitely continues to surprise me on this journey called life. After high school I attended the University of Arkansas and got a Bachelors in American Sign Language. Soon after I moved back home to Memphis and got married. Three years later to our surprise we found out that we were expecting. Unfortunately I miscarried. Although it was heartbreaking at the time, I truly felt the Lord was telling me… “see you can get pregnant, it just is not the right time.Just be patient because I have great things in store for you.” Little did I know those plans involved applying for a teaching job that I was not qualified for, going back to school to get my masters degree in Deaf Education and moving into a new house. Fast forward… life was busy and the last thing that I was thinking about was getting pregnant. Well guess what happened? I got pregnant with Ryan Rose. Remember the baby that I was told that I would never be able to have? Well I had her.

Seven short years ago, God blessed my husband, Bret and I {beyond belief} with our daughter, Ryan Rose. She’s the reason I started this journey and never in my wildest dreams did I ever think she’d lead me to creating Cutie Clips!

When Ryan Rose was a baby, I scoured the market for attractive, durable, high-quality pacifier clips. I wasn’t pleased with anything in stores and everything I found appeared to be too long and unsafe.

Time and time again, I felt as though the Lord was urging me to create my own clips. So I did. Early on, I experimented with different trims, ribbons, and designed a few Cutie Clips. I posted some pictures online and was immediately overwhelmed with the amount of people interested in buying my creations!

Soon after, I opened my Etsy shop; the rest is history.

Often times, I find myself telling people, “I didn’t invent the pacifier clip, I simply redesigned, redefined, and improved upon its original design.” The shortened clip length makes them safer for little ones and the beautiful trims, colors, high quality materials, hand braiding and beaded construction sets them apart from the rest. The name Cutie Clips, reminds parents that they can be used to attach to all pacifiers, as well as teethers, toys, sippy cups, snack containers, and/or any other item that has a hole in which you can loop through. As we like to say, “Don’t want to lose it, Cutie Clip it.”

 

 

In December of 2016, I was able to quit teaching and come on full time at Ryan & Rose. I had spent 11 years teaching, as teacher for the deaf, at White Station High School. It was a hard time because soon after I decided to quit teaching, I found out I was pregnant with Charley Ruth. At first, I was upset. I thought 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 in fact it was the perfect timing. Due to my medical issues, I have really hard pregnancies. I went in to 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 ended up going septic. I almost lost my life on June 2, 2017 when Charley Ruth was born. God showed me his mercy yet again and completely healed me after my c-section. Prayers and two blood transfusions later, I woke up from surgery having no idea what had happened in the last 48 hours with a new outlook on life.

Fast forward to October of 2017 and the idea for the Cutie PAT came to me. Charley Ruth 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 in clear on April 23, 2018. Looking back, God knew exactly what he was doing with Charley Ruth. He in fact had the perfect timing.

I am so grateful that Ryan & Rose allows me to do something I love, provide for my family, and give back to my community. Did you know, a portion of our sales are donated to the Engage Memphis Fund? This charity is near and dear to my heart. To date, Ryan & Rose has donated over $235,000. We've made consistent donations to Engage Memphis, Memphis Family Connection Center, Point Honduras, and Donors Choose. Without my wonderful customers that amount 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. Every Cutie Clip is still handmade, in the USA and CA. Knowing that my 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.

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 now come on full time at Ryan & Rose. He's been an integral part from the beginning. My entire family has been so supportive. They are always there to encourage me or lend a hand when needed.

Like I said, family is everything. We do everything together!! We love to play outside, ride four wheelers, travel, go to the lake, go to church, play play-doh, do puzzles, paint, sing, dance, and go to University of Tennessee football games GO VOLS!!

You 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/or failed occasionally, but we need to be reminded that God loves us. He lifts me up and gives me every ounce of strength and courage to keep going.

He believes in me as much as I believe in him. God 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.