Scottsdale designer Christina Invanhoe fell into her passion seemingly by chance, but she credits her opportunities and success to her faith.
Tell me about Ivanhoe Couture.
I create fun and hip baby and children’s apparel. 
Not just girl’s stuff; I have a lot of cool boy stuff and a lot of cool twin stuff. I just got new business cards that say, “If you can imagine it, I can do it.” I also do a mommy-and-me line so mom and baby can match. It’s really popular for pictures. My tutus are great and everything I make is designed to be “playable.” There’s nothing stiff or uncomfortable.
I can design almost anything the customer wants. One customer just asked if I can do crystals on a jean jacket. I never have but I can attempt it. That’s how I got here. I just basically said yes to everything and here we are.
How did you get started?
It all happened by accident! My daughter and I were growling at each other in AJ’s one day and a woman asked us to come next door to her boutique and look at a bib, so we did. We were talking and I told her I had just made a binky holder and a onesie and how much fun they were to do. I didn’t think anything of it and then I got a call 10 minutes later, asking me to bring my stuff in. So, I called husband and said, I need stuff! That was Wednesday and they wanted me to come in Saturday so I went to Michael’s and Joann’s and got to work and I started to learn that I loved it! Things just took off from there. I’m a firm believer that the more you follow the path that is set for you, you’re golden. This is my true passion and I’ve been blessed ever since.
When I had my daughter I became a “professional shopper.” We were always in all the stores and boutiques so I knew all the owners already. People kept contacting me and referring me to other people. We’ve been really, really blessed and I believe you reap what you sow. We’ve been on Sonoran Living Live, Channel 3 and Oasis Magazine did an article about us that you can see on our website. It’s amazing how things just fall into place. We’re in about 12 boutiques in Scottsdale now.
So, this wasn’t a planned business venture?
No, I didn’t plan any of this. When Hannah was about 10 months old one of her outfits fell apart, which inspired me to make the onesie. And I was so tired of licking her pacifier clean, I thought, there’s gotta’ be another way, which inspired the binky holder.
I raised myself as a child. By the time I was in third grade my mom would leave for month at a time. I think that’s where I got my creativity. I had to be creative to survive. You have to look at your blessings and the way things come together in your life. God’s placed me in this spot where I get to be creative because when I was a child, I had to be. My parents divorced when I was 5 and I was alone since then but I believed in God and He led me to everything I love. The funny thing is that I just now got on Facebook and connected with a girlfriend from high school who reminded me, “I remember you gluing sequins on your shoes to match the dress you had on.” I thought, oh my gosh, I did! I totally forgot about that!
How old is your daughter?
Almost 2… she’s 23 months old. And that’s been the true blessing — that I can do this with my daughter. She makes all these friends everywhere we go. If she’s not with me, people will ask, “Where’s Hannah?” Oh, and the tutus, she loves to be in them all the time. It’s hilarious.
How do you balance running a business and a family?
It always has its challenges but I put my faith in God and remember the first, ultimate thing in my life is to be a good wife and a good mom. If I know I’m doing those two things, everything else falls into place. But she really does a lot of stuff with me. I’m waiting for her to get up from a nap so she can go with me to take stuff over to Montelucia. I feel so, so lucky, so blessed to be able to dig into my passion. I’m also blessed with great husband so that I’m able to do this.
What’s the best part of what you do?
I’ve designed for Tori Spelling and Jason Priestly but the best part is seeing the look on kids’ faces when they wear my stuff. They get so excited! It’s not about the money. I feel so blessed that I get to share that. And I’m very reasonable. I think that’s the real part of the deal. I’m a logical mom and I understand that [my products] don’t have to cost ridiculous amounts of money. They are meant for kids to have fun and play around in.
What advice would you give to an aspiring mompreneur?
If it’s your true passion, dig in to it. Also, I’ve learned to always work out all the details before you get into anything. I’ve learned several times that when you’re paying up front, ask all the questions because even when you think you’ve got it straight, you think something and someone else thinks another.
And don’t forget why you’re here. My purpose is to be good wife and mom and nothing else matters. It all works out. If you follow your passion the money will surely come.
