I call all children, “little one.” Once, I engaged with this little girl so freely at Ulta Beauty that the makeup artist thought she was my daughter. I smiled and told her that this little girl was not my daughter and I just like saying hi to kids. I believe they need to be acknowledged.

When I attended ALT Summit this past March, I saw that a female business owner who was selling t-shirts that said, “have fun little one” and I knew I had to get one. Amrita McIntyre (the woman behind this t-shirt) met me at a fashion show; and, the next day, I ran into her again, as I was taking photos with her shirt on. I was curious to learn more about her, her brand, and this saying she came up with.

McIntyre’s children’s clothing company, Mila James, came to be after the birth of her first child. But her business may have never been.

McIntyre grew up in Modesto, California with her parents, her two brothers, and one sister. After college, she started to work a “safe job” for the city- a job she wasn’t passionate about.

“I was trying to do the things I was supposed to do,” shared McIntyre.

McIntyre always had a passion for fashion. Her husband was very encouraging of this dream of hers. With encouragement from her husband, she started at FIDM San Francisco. In her last year of school, she became pregnant with her daughter. She walked the stage with her baby girl, Mila inside her womb.

As she was shopping for clothes for her “little one,” she was having a hard time finding multi-use pieces.

“I found it difficult to find items in neutral colors, items that didn’t have tulle or items that could be styled with multiple outfits. I don’t mind her dressing girly, but I didn’t want all her clothes to be ‘girly’” shared McIntyre.

From there, she started to create items for her daughter, one piece at a time. With that, she learned plenty of lessons including some on creation and business partnership. Her first manufacturer taught her not to trust everyone and to be strict with her vision.

With her clothing line and blog, she is transparent about all the struggles she has as a business owner and a stay-at-home mom.

“It can be really difficult, but I try to do as much as I can when they are asleep,” she shared.

Now with her second daughter, Nova, in the picture, she has a new mission in mind. Reminding children and parents to “have fun little one”. Parenthood has shown her that so many of us are forcing children to grow up faster than they should by making sure that they’re in all the right clubs, classes, and circles.

“Children are experiencing things. They feel things. You don’t have to grow up to live life. Children are little only once,” shared McIntrye.

With her two daughters, her husband, Amrita McIntyre is off to have fun with her little ones.