Hey friends!
I’m Kristee Seal Frierson and we started Dash Forward in April 2013 by selling pocket tees at the Picayune Street Fair. I had ordered one for myself off of Etsy and I paid over $30 for it. Once I got it in the mail, I realized that this was something that I could easily make and sell at a more affordable price. I had very little experience with a sewing machine, but my mama had a lot, so I asked her to sit down and teach me how to make them. Within a week or so, we had the whole family/extended family working on these t-shirts! Some of us would cut the patterns, others would starch and iron them into the shape of a pocket, and then the rest of us would sew them on the shirt. Seriously such a joint effort (thanks to Arica, Alyssa, Kayla, Aunt Lisa, and Mom)! We still have the original pattern that we drew up. About 6 months later, Andrew (my then boyfriend, now husband of 4 years!) bought me my first tabletop embroidery machine for my birthday and the rest is history.
The name Dash means a lot to me because I feel like it is a word from the Lord. In the 7th grade, I had a classmate pass away suddenly due to abuse at home. Her name was Ashley. After she passed, I felt so convicted because I knew that I could have been a friend to her. I’m not even going to say a “better” friend because, in reality, I wasn’t a friend to her at all. It was something I dealt with for a while, so much so that I had multiple “quiet times” with God just asking for forgiveness.