Scarlet and Gold launches Give Grace campaign, raises money for infertility awareness
By Rebekah Martin
Associate Editor
What does it mean to give grace? Megan Smalley has an idea. Smalley owns and operates Scarlet and Gold, a lifestyle and gift brand based on Christian principals. The company’s motto? “Life is too short not to adorn your walls with pretty things.”
Scarlet and Gold became a reality when Smalley was laid off from her job in pharmaceutical sales. She saw the time off as a blessing in disguise and took the opportunity to create an online shop to “fill her creative soul.”
“I never thought just a couple of years later I would be doing this full time. Our business has greatly evolved from what it started out as,” Smalley said. “The core is still the same – it’s all original artwork, we design everything from scratch, the [phone] cases and wall art are all designed by hand. We create all our products from start to finish.”
Smalley said she wants her business to continually reflect who she is a person. “My faith is the most important thing to me, but I also have a huge heart for the lost. I don’t want to be this place a non-believer comes to and says ‘There’s nothing for me here,’” Smalley said. “Actions speak louder than words. We want to be about showing people our faith by the way we communicate, via email, with customer service, the way we execute excellence in the details, our design work and being excellent in all areas of the business. I want people who interact with us to say ‘What’s different about them?’”
The 2-year-old company recently launched its new Give Grace campaign. The campaign was the brainchild of Scarlet and Gold art director Koral Dean who had the idea after witnessing Smalley and her husband Blake struggle with infertility. Last summer, after being told it was their only chance to conceive, Megan underwent the emotionally, physically and financially draining process of in vetro fertilization only for the process to be unsuccessful. Dean was inspired by her friends’ journey through infertility to create a line of art prints, jewelry and temporary tattoos that reflect the Give Grace idea. Dean then got the entire staff on board with selling their specialized products to benefit Megan and Blake’s attempt to become parents. One hundred percent of the proceeds from the sale of Give Grace products go toward helping the couple reach their goal of becoming patients of the best fertility specialist in the country, Dr. William Schoolcraft of the Colorado Center for Reproductive Medicine.
“Going through infertility or really anything hard in life, the biggest lesson that I have learned is that people sometimes say all the wrong things to you and they don’t mean it. People don’t know how to handle someone going through a hard time. They want to fix it or want to give you hope,” Smalley said. “We have to give grace to those people. Giving grace to others when they say the wrong thing, or when they’re not there for you like you need to be and also giving grace to yourself. To say “This is just a season of life, it won’t always be like this and just to cut yourself some slack. Grace has been this overall theme throughout this battle and I feel like it’s applicable to anything hard in life.”
Smalley said another goal she has in mind for the Give Grace campaign is to help people become more transparent with their struggles. “In this social media crazy world, people have a tendency to portray perfection and it’s just not reality. Everybody is struggling with something and that’s kind of where grace comes in. Being vulnerable about your struggles is so powerful because chances are … someone else is going through it too and knowing you’re not alone is half the battle.”
Megan and Blake are ready to try IVF again and Megan says she is hopeful that the Give Grace campaign will help them get there.
The ladies at Scarlet and Gold want to expand the campaign once it helps Megan and Blake reach their goal. The plan is to continue to sell the products and help others who are dealing with infertility and the adoption process.
“I think everyone’s definition of infertility looks different. We believe that every story matters, it doesn’t matter how long you’ve struggled with it or if your issue is you can get pregnant but you just can’t stay pregnant,” Smalley said. “To me, what infertility means is wanting a baby and not being able to have one – no matter what that looks like. As women we have that desire to nurture and mother somebody and it doesn’t matter what the medical issues are.”
Smalley said a main goal she has for Scarlet and Gold is to give women the opportunity to do life and work well. “I feel like as women in the workplace, we have to choose between family and work and it shouldn’t be that way. Why can’t we be a wife, why can’t we be a mom, why can’t we be a single woman well?” Smalley said. “My ultimate goal though is to make a difference for the kingdom – I think what we are doing matters for eternity and we are being a light in the little things.”
All of Scarlet and Gold’s products including the Give Grace line can be found on www.scarletandgoldshop.com.