Why Door Bows? The Beginning of A Bow or Two
It's no secret that I absolutely LOVE our door bows. But why is that, exactly? Today, I wanted to share the story of how A Bow or Two got started, and why Jake and I enjoy bringing you new variations on the classic door bow.
Years ago, my husband and I were living in a home we had just finished building, and I was trying to find ways to decorate and make it our own. I love wreaths, and decided to place one on our beautiful antique front door to add some color and to act as a focal point. I remember it was the Christmas season, and I'd picked a beautiful wreath and attached small Christmas bells to it before hanging it on our door.
That's when the problems started. At this point, over-the-door hangers were really the only option for hanging wreaths (no sticky command strips or hooks in sight), and whenever anyone open or closed the door, it would cause the wreath to swing, bounce, and scratch our door. The damage bothered my husband, and after I couldn't find a solution to the swinging and scratching, I decided to give up on wreaths in order to save our door. For the next fifteen years, I didn't hang anything on my front door. I loved door displays but just couldn't find anything that was cute that didn't cause scratching.
That all changed when I saw a post on social media about a bow-themed wall display in a European home. I remember falling in love with the look, but I wanted the bow to be bigger, nicer, and sturdy enough that I could put it on my front door. It would solve the problem I had faced earlier. Feeling inspired, I went through my fabric, measured it out, pulled out my sewing machine, and ended up with two black gingham door bows that I placed on my front porch. It was what I had been looking for: something to add a pop to my front door, while being soft enough that it wouldn't harm my home. (Here's what it looked like!)
I didn't expect what happened next. I had started making bows because I liked the style and wanted it for my own decor, but I was surprised to find that there was a community that had similar tastes. It was really gratifying, and thanks to my friends' encouragement, I finally launched A Bow or Two.
Ever since, I've enjoyed getting feedback on the door bows we offer. People have asked for colors I'd never considered before (that's what led to our purple door bow, for example), and have used our bows in ways that have surprised me. I remember one example in particular when a woman sent us a picture of how she'd paired her black gingham bows with spiders going up the side of her doors for Halloween. She had such a high level of taste, and I thought the setup was amazing. (We actually ended up reposting her picture because Jake and I loved it so much!)
That's been the common theme during my experience founding A Bow or Two. I love to see the creativity of how people are using their door bows and incorporating them into their decor in ways that I'd never thought of. Many people have reached out to me explaining how they're not just using their bows for front doors-- they're using them to decorate the walls of their kid's room, to decorate their cribs, and more. And it's only been more fun since Jake has joined the team. Blending his business sense with my creativity has been extremely rewarding, and I'm proud that we now work together to bring you the best of what A Bow or Two has to offer. With over 20 different door bow prints to chose from, and with a number of other kitchen and dining decor items now available, we love helping bring long-lasting and timeless decor pieces to brighten the spaces you love.