Hey there!
I’m so glad you’re here in the Peony Garden! I’ll introduce myself! I’m Erin Mann, and I’m the creator behind the Peony Garden. My high-school-sweetheart-husband, Andy, and I have 4 amazing kiddos: Lydia (11), Caden (9), and Bethany (4), and our sweet baby Owen in heaven. I’m distractable and imperfect, I have a messy desk and an obsession with iced coffee, I know ridiculous amounts of useless trivia and I love taking forever to do my eye makeup for special occasions. I love Jesus and I love gardening.
I also love Mary Kay* and signing up in 2015 was one of the best decisions I ever made. I love the culture and the products, and how it can ebb and flow with the seasons of life. Currently it’s a hobby, but my blood will ALWAYS run pink! My independent MK business is truly where the Peony Garden began. I was always having way too much fun making graphics for my business, despite knowing it was a “non-income-producing activity” that I should limit. The more I made, the more I shared them with others, and they started getting a lot of attention. I received so many compliments on them that in April 2018, I figured I’d put them all into a Facebook group to share with others, just to make them easier to find and share. I called it the Peony Garden because I featured peonies in so many of the designs I was making at the time (plus, I love peonies!). Before I knew it, I had hundreds of followers and tons of special requests. Without meaning to, I had developed a following and I needed to take a hard look at what this could become. Could this hobby bless more than just consultants? Could it bless my family, too, if I made it into a business?
It wasn’t an easy decision. Despite working my way up to team leader, we were in a SERIOUS financial dry spell from my husband’s loss of employment 6 months prior. This was NOT the time to be taking chances and leaps of faith. But God kept nudging. He promised to provide and we marched forward in faith. We officially opened Peony Garden Graphics on July 4, 2018. Two months later, we discovered we were pregnant with our little Bethany. I’ll tell you the rest of the story some other time, but let’s just say that EVERYTHING fell into place. God knew exactly what was in store, and why we would need HIS plan, and not ours. There have been twists and turns and potholes and detours over the last 5 years, but here we are: the Peony Garden has grown and evolved and become such an amazing part of this busy, beautiful, crazy life of mine. It has allowed me to homeschool my children, supplement our income, and be fully a part of the pink culture I love so much.
I sincerely hope you find products and services here that allow you to make the most of your business. I hope that by taking some “non-income-producing activities” off of your plate, that I can give you more time and energy to devote to reaching more women with the love of the pink bubble and the opportunity of a lifetime. If you can learn anything from my story, it’s that God has His own plan, He keeps His promises, and HE IS GOOD.
XO,
Erin
*Mary Kay, Inc, and Peony Garden Graphics, LLC, are not officially affiliated with one another.
