Episode 7

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Published on:

1st May 2024

7: West Coast Catholic: How It Started & The Unique Mission God Has Given Us

Mari and Trey Wagner share how West Coast Catholic started first as a blog and then how they grew it into a successful business with a mission to inspire and equip people to live a Christ-centered life. From starting the business in college selling handmade rosaries to building a brand that encompasses a wide range of prayer tools and lifestyle products intended to help modern Catholic woman grow closer to God. They share the story of how their personal faith journeys and experiences led to the creation of the brand, the challenges they faced, and milestones they achieved. The episode highlights how their mission to bring people closer to Christ through prayer and beautiful, meaningful products has resonated with thousands, making a profound impact on the faith lives of their customers.

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Episode Sponsors

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Transcript
Speaker:

Hey, I'm your host, Mari Wagner,

and you're listening to the ever be

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podcast where faith meets lifestyle.

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I'm so excited.

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You're here.

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Whether you're a new listener

or a long time follower, I know

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there's something here for you.

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Pull up a chair and listen in for

insightful real life conversations

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and actionable steps on how to claim

the Full life God created you for

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if you're a woman desiring to live

a Christ centered life in today's

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modern world, then this is for you.

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Welcome to the ever be podcast.

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Welcome back to ever be today.

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We have Trey again on the show.

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We are going to be talking about a

topic that we get asked all the time.

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About a lot on DMS and other

podcasts that we've been guests on.

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People always want to know how

we started our Catholic lifestyle

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brand, West Coast Catholic.

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It's a business we started in college.

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And today we're going to get

into all the details of how the

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Lord put this on our hearts.

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How, how we even made it, how it got

off the ground, what it is now, and

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kind of our mission and our heart behind

what we do with West Coast Catholic.

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Absolutely.

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I'm excited to be here and to

share this story with you guys.

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It's a fun one.

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And for those of you who don't know

what West coast Catholic is, it's a

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Catholic lifestyle brand that Mara and

I started five years ago that sells

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prayer tools and lifestyle goods to

help the modern Catholic woman grow

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closer to the Lord and grow in faith.

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And it really didn't start

out to be what it is today.

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We didn't really plan to have

a business or have like a whole

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lifestyle brand or anything.

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If you've been following along for a

long time, um, you know, we started with

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rosaries and I would say that's still

probably what we're most known for.

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Still, we've expanded into so much.

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And so let's just get into it.

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Let's just start out.

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From the beginning, um, I would say

it kind of ties in a little bit into

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my conversion and our story together.

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And so we thought it was really fitting

to go into this story after the first

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couple episodes dove into my testimony

and our love story, because it kind

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of just intertwines through all of it.

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I mean, it played a big part in our

conversions and back to the faith and our.

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Like you said, our story and

dating and eventually marriage.

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Yeah so back in 2018, I was kind

of going through a whole like

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change of heart reversion, that's

all in my testimony episode.

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Uh, but I basically, it all started

with an internship that I took

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with focus fellowship of Catholic

university students, um, out here

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in Colorado, where they're located.

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And that summer was a big pivotal summer

for me because I had this desire to grow

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closer to the Lord and wanted to just kind

of like live a more Christ centered life.

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But at that point, I didn't really

know what that looked like and really

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didn't have a lot of people around me.

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That we're living that way until I met

the marketing girls who were on this

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internship with me at focus and they

became really good friends of mine

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and showed me through their life and

through the witness of their life,

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how to live a Christ centered life.

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And part of one of the things that

they showed me was just like this whole

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like Instagram Catholic world, which I

feel like has grown so much since then.

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I mean, like when they first showed me

it, I think there was like, Three girls

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blogging and, and it was much smaller.

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And so I love how big it's gotten.

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I love how many more voices

we have online evangelizing.

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And so at the time I started

following a few of these girls and

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these friends that I made over the

summer, I don't really know how it.

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Became a conversation or how the Lord

even placed it on my heart, but it

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just kind of became a conversation of

like, Mari, you should start a blog.

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Like you should be on Instagram,

like sharing your faith.

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And I was kind of like, really?

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Like I'd have to really pray about it,

but it kept coming back like in prayer.

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And when we talked about it and it just

was something on my heart that I like

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really wanted to do and looking at.

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The way my life played out.

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I think it makes so much sense because

I have such a heart for mission

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and evangelization and, bringing

people to Christ and to know him.

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And so knowing that this is where young

people are at, I see now why the Lord

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was drawing my heart to this place and

not to mention, those are the gifts

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and talents that God's given you is to.

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Create content, share your heart.

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You have a beautiful voice and

God use that through social media.

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And they're calling you to

this, this platform in this way.

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Thank you.

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Yeah.

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Yeah.

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And it all makes sense to me

now, but at the time I was like,

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this is a big, scary thing.

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And I was worried about what people

were going to think, especially like

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people back in school, like in college,

like they knew I was into my faith.

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But if I like started this whole, like.

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Instagram blog about my faith.

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Like, what were they going to think of me?

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But I took a leap and I did it anyways.

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And I started an Instagram blog

called West Coast Catholic.

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Um, it took me so long, pretty

much like all summer to figure

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out what the blog name was going

to be because I couldn't decide.

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And in the end, we just went with

West Coast Catholic because I

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was a Catholic girl on the West

coast growing up in Seattle.

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And for most of my life, I felt like I was

the only Catholic in, in the West coast.

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So that was pretty fitting, I guess.

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Yeah.

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I mean, you mentioned to me numerous

times that the, your experience

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at this internship with focus

really opened your eyes to what a

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Catholic lifestyle could look like.

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And you had never seen that, especially

on the West coast and you never

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had any community or any friends.

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that lived out their faith in that way.

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And so what you wanted to do with this

blog, West Coast Catholic was to show.

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The normal everyday girl had to live

out their faith in their everyday life.

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And too, I remember that with those

first couple Instagram, like Catholic

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Instagram girls that I started to follow,

none of them were from the West coast.

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They were either from the

Midwest or the East coast.

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And I was like, well, this further proves

my point that there are not many Catholics

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on the West coast, but I now knew that

there were other Catholic people, my age,

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and I knew that I had to like, Step out

into this platform and be a voice for

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all the other women who maybe were in

my same Like experiencing my same like

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issues of feeling like I was the only

Catholic feeling like they didn't really

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have community like they didn't know

How to like live a Christ centered life.

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I'm sure that there were women and that

there are in All the West Coast states.

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So anyway, so I started

my blog to speak to Bella.

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Just kind of like your everyday

normal modern women in today's world.

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Um, and I would just at the, at

that time I was in college, I was

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starting my junior year of college.

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And so I would just share kind of what

I was doing in my everyday life, like

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living my faith as a college student,

what that looked like practically.

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Um, and it was just the start of a

beautiful journey to inspire women

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around the world to live their faith.

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And then a few months after

you started that blog, that was

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back in August at the summer.

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Was.

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It's having this total conversion

and reversion into her faith

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that summer with focus.

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I was also experiencing a

reversion into my faith.

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I was a missionary with life

team down in Georgia and just

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encountering God in a radical way.

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And one of the small parts of my job there

was I learned how to make these corded.

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Paracord rosaries that everybody

kind of knows how to make now.

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Mm-Hmm.

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. And, uh, I would just make

these with the campers.

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And so then after that, a few

months after we got back to campus.

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I wanted to gift Mari a

beautiful handmade rosary.

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Yeah.

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I think it was like for my birthday

or Christmas or something like that.

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Yeah.

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And so knowing that I wanted to

create this rosary for you, I knew.

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I want it to be special and meaningful and

have a lot of intentionality behind it.

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And I didn't want it to be the normal

chain link rosary that you've seen.

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And I want it to be different,

unique to match Mari's aesthetic.

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And so I told her I wanted to do this.

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I figured what we could do is get

some cord from a craft store like

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Michael's, pick some beads out.

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I would put the beads on the cord and tie

the knots in between to create the rosary.

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And so Mari designed this rosary

and we went to Michael's together

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to pick out the beads and that

was the first rosary that I made.

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Yeah.

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And I thought it was so cute

that Trey wanted to do this.

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I remember being like a little

bit confused because I don't know.

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I'd never had a.

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Boyfriend want to make me a rosary

before, but I'd always prayed

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for a good Catholic boyfriend.

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So I guess this is exactly what I was

getting and he probably did know I

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had a very strong devotion to Mary.

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I always have my whole life, but even

yet I wasn't actually praying the rosary

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very much at all or regularly at all

at this point in my life in college.

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Um, and so when he said he

wanted to make me a rosary, I

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was like, Oh, that's really cute.

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I mean, I guess I don't.

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Like, I don't pray the

rosary all the time.

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I should, you know, I always thought

like I should pray the rosary more.

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You know, every Catholic knows that.

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with my mom after mass on Sundays.

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Exactly.

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Yeah.

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My family, after our reversion,

when I was in high school, my family

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started to pray the rosary after

mass every single Sunday together.

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And I mean, when I was in high school

and I was a teenager and, I was

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kind of an angsty teen about it.

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And all of us kids were, we

were just kind of like, Oh, why

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do we have to pray the rosary?

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And I don't know if your mom does this.

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My mom likes to pray a solid, like 40 to

45 minutes style rosary with a long list

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of intentions and litanies at the end.

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And it's beautiful.

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Okay.

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It's beautiful.

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We, yeah, everybody's

going to get us to heaven.

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It's going to get us to heaven.

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So thank you, mom.

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Um, but at the time I

was not super into it.

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And so when Trey told me he was

gonna make a rosary, I thought it was

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adorable because he was the Catholic

boyfriend I had always wanted.

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So I was like, this is

probably part of that package.

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This is great.

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And I love Mary and I know I

should pray the rosary more.

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So let's do it.

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And so.

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Yeah, like Trey said, we went

to Michael's, I think, and we

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picked out cord and beads and I've

always been attracted to very like

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natural textures, organic textures.

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I get a lot of my inspiration

from the Lord's creation, from

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the earth, from like color

combinations that he has in creation.

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And so I picked out some beads that I felt

like were earthy toned and like gemstone.

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And we used to do like leather

cord and it was just like this very

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natural, beautiful looking rosary.

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And what I found was

that it was so beautiful.

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And so intentionally made, and I knew

that it was made with great care and

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love and intention because it was

made handmade by Trey for me, um, that

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I was just constantly drawn to it.

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I was just constantly drawn

to the physical rosary.

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Like you always wanted to carry it.

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You just throw it in your

purse, in your bag, take it with

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you when you'd walk to class.

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Yeah.

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I just always had it with me, like

whether it was in my pocket or in my bag.

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I'd put it under my pillow.

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I'd sleep with it.

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And I always had it with me and I wasn't

quite praying at a time yet, but I was

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just drawn to it and I just felt like,

yeah, like that, like spiritual protection

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that Mar that Mary gives you, or just like

having a little like, um, token or like

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tool that like reminded me of my faith

and kept me grounded in my Catholic faith.

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And the more I carried it around with

me, the more I thought, like, I should

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just pray this thing, you know, like

it doesn't actually take that long.

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I don't have to pray my mom's

45 minutes style rosary.

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I'm like, I know the rosary

is like 15 20 minutes.

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And so I started to

add it into my routine.

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And I remember too, when we, uh, when

we were dating, sometimes you would ask

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after Sunday mass to be like, Hey, do

you want to just stay and pray a rosary?

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And I'd always be like, Oh, okay, sure.

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You know?

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And so we started praying

a little bit more together.

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I started incorporating it

more into my prayer routine.

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And If you don't pray the rosary

yet, I highly recommend you do.

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If you do pray the rosary, you

know what I'm talking about.

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When you experience these like graces

of peace that just come into your life

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and desire for the things of the faith

and, um, just the, you just start

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to see the beauty of the faith more.

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Um, the more you start praying the

rosary, because truly the rosary

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is Meditating on the life of Christ

through the eyes of his mother.

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And so you can't, you can't

not grow in love for Christ.

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You can't not grow in love for Mary

when you're praying the rosary.

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So the more I started to incorporate this

into my prayer routine, the more I grew

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in my faith, the more I loved the Lord.

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The more I loved my faith,

the more I loved Mary.

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And I saw the true power, both that

the rosary has and the power of

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beauty and how beauty draws us people.

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Draws us to God.

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Yeah.

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I mean, I think ultimately it

was a Testament of the product.

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This rosary was beautifully

designed had a lot of intentionality

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and meaning behind it.

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And ultimately that led you to

prayer and then prayer is what we

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know leads us to Christ and prayer

is our relationship with God and.

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It is through prayer that we

establish communion with God.

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And so that's ultimately, it was

Mari's experience with the Rosary.

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And that's ultimately what we long

for a lot more people to experience.

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And so meanwhile, all that was

going on, and I was having this

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experience with the rosary in prayer.

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I was still, working on West Coast

Catholic, working on this Instagram

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blog, and it was growing a lot.

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The platform was getting traction

and a ton more people were tuning

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in, and it was just became this

beautiful outlet of sharing my faith.

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And people were just sharing how helpful

it was for them to grow in their faith.

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And so, around a year into

me having the blog, we sat

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down at the cafeteria one day.

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I remember, apparently we have a

lot of big moments at the cafeteria.

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Um, and we sat down for

lunch or something like that.

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And I was like, Hey, Trey, like

a lot of people are tuning into

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this platform and ask me questions

about prayer and their faith.

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And people are seeming to, people

seem to be getting a lot of

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value out of what I'm sharing.

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Like, what if we shared this

Beautiful experience I'm having

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with the rosary with them.

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You know, what if we maybe created

a few of these rosaries to serve the

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community that's starting to follow along.

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Yeah.

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And use this concept of creating a

beautiful product that would then.

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Using that beauty, draw people into

prayer and ultimately communion with God.

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Yeah.

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And we wanted them to be different.

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Like Trey said, like, we don't want

them to be like your average chain

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link one, or like those free ones that

you get at like a retreat or something

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that are like the plastic beads.

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We wanted it to be really beautiful

and different and have a little

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bit of a modern take while still

like holding all the beauty of

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the tradition of the Rosary in it.

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Um, but have it be a product that

someone like you, a modern young.

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Catholic woman would want to carry

around and hopefully by then just

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wanting to hold it, wanting them to care,

having them want to carry it around.

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They would end up praying

it just like you, exactly.

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And so we started talking about it

and simultaneously while those ideas

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were brewing in our mind, we were

like, Our relationship was getting

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really serious and we had started

to discern engagement and when the

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Lord was calling us to do that.

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And at that point in our lives, we were

also really broke college students.

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We had just spent two summers

serving as missionaries.

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And so we weren't making money during

the school year or during the summers.

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And so, Both of our parents were

like, okay, you want to get engaged.

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How are you going to pay for all that?

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Right.

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There's a wedding.

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There's life after.

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Yeah.

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Life after marriage.

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And I was just notoriously known by

my friends as like always, always

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being the broke college girl.

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Like I would make money and then

go shopping and then have a hundred

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bucks in my bank account at all times.

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And so I didn't really have much.

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You know, to my name.

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And so even starting a business

was kind of like, well, how

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are we going to do this?

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Like we don't really have anything.

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And then like looking at our future

and wanting to get engaged and

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married, we were like, okay, well.

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I guess we'll just trust the Lord because

we don't really have a foundation of,

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of anything to really start us out.

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But both of us, we've, I mean, in

our relationship prior to this,

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like we had talked a lot about our

dreams for the future and we were

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both very entrepreneurial minded.

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And that was a dream that we

both had was to start a business.

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And we didn't know what that would look

like, but this was an opportunity that

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we felt like the Lord kind of just placed

in our laps and we wanted to, Try to

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bless your audience with these rosaries

and just kind of see what happened.

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Yeah.

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And truthfully, like, even though we were

both very entrepreneurial people and like,

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that was like, I know for you, especially,

it was a dream to like own your own

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business and kind of do this in your life.

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For me, like, I still pictured

myself like just graduating and like

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going to work at like a marketing

brand firm or something like that.

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Like I never really had like

a big idea for a business.

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And if I ever had one, I would

totally jump in and be like,

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yeah, cause I love business.

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I love entrepreneurship.

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Both of our dads are entrepreneurs.

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And my dad always told me

that like, if you can start

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a business in college, do it.

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But he did a lot of like tech businesses

and growing up in Seattle, I was

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always surrounded by tech startups.

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And so I kind of thought that like, To

have a business, like the big idea had

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to be surrounding like tech or software.

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And so in my mind, I wasn't

even like, I wasn't even really

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thinking about a business.

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And at the time, like, even though we

both loved entrepreneurship, it wasn't

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like we sat down and we're like, we're

going to create this huge company.

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It was, it was really just like.

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Why don't we make a couple rosaries

like bless the people in prayer Maybe

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we'll save up so that trey can buy me an

engagement ring if that's what the lord

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wants And we'll just see what happens.

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Yeah, and so we started

out making these rosaries.

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I remember we did go to my dad He's kind

of like our business coach in life We

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did go to my back my dad and like shared

this idea with him and he was awesome

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And he was like, hey i'm gonna give you

like 200 bucks to like fund the business.

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This is what, you know, what

you're going to start out with.

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And like, I'll be your first,

you know, quote unquote investor.

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And you just like pay it

back to me when you make it.

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And so we bought our first like round

of materials and I think we literally

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bought enough stuff to make 75 rosaries.

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We had like four different skews.

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You started with four different designs.

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Uh, and then we bought enough

materials for about 25 of each.

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Not even like 20.

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Less than that, but yeah,

75 total was what it was.

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Oh, yeah, yeah, yeah.

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Like 20 something of each.

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Um, and that was all

we really planned for.

365

:

I mean, we just planned for that batch,

sell them, bless people, hopefully save up

366

:

for an engagement ring and then, and then

be done and like move on in our lives.

367

:

But the Lord had very different plans.

368

:

Very, very different.

369

:

So I remember that at that time I

was back at a life teen summer camp.

370

:

And so I had all the materials shipped

to me at this life teen summer camp.

371

:

Yeah.

372

:

And in my off time, I would

just be making these rosaries.

373

:

I mean, by the time we wanted to

launch, yeah, we had 15 to 20 of each

374

:

rosary and I mailed them back tomorrow.

375

:

So she could take photos of them.

376

:

And this was the first time I

really ever picked up a camera.

377

:

Like, through my junior year of college, I

had a few, like, elective credits that I.

378

:

Could just like pick anything from, cause

I was a little bit ahead on my credits

379

:

and I've always liked art and creativity.

380

:

And so I'd already taken a

bunch of design and art classes.

381

:

And the only other creative thing

left was really photography.

382

:

And I was like, okay, I feel

like I'd be kind of into this.

383

:

And so I, picked up a camera

that like a friend of mine had

384

:

and kind of took this class and.

385

:

This was right around when

this all was happening.

386

:

And so Trey was like, why don't

you just like use what you learned

387

:

and like take some product photos

and we don't have to pay anybody.

388

:

And I was like, okay.

389

:

So everything was just like, so like

DIY from scratch, like not professional.

390

:

Like we didn't know what

we were doing at all.

391

:

And I took, you know, some pictures that

summer of those first four rosaries.

392

:

And we weren't even like, we weren't

even planning on having a website.

393

:

Like it was like, I think I was

just going to post those pictures

394

:

on Instagram and be like, yay.

395

:

Like DM me if you want one.

396

:

Yeah.

397

:

But we wanted.

398

:

By the time we launched, we were

like, okay, wait, let's make this

399

:

a little bit more professional.

400

:

You were very adamant about that.

401

:

Wanting actual websites.

402

:

Yeah.

403

:

And the B I remember the big reason why

I wanted an actual website, which we made

404

:

this decision the night before launch,

which is pretty on brand for nothing has

405

:

changed the reason why I wanted a website.

406

:

I mean, part of it was professionality,

but part of it, I was like, well.

407

:

If we are going to sell all these

rosaries, 75 is a lot in my mind.

408

:

At that point, it was

like a lot to get 75 DMS.

409

:

And I was like, if people are just

going to be sending me their address and

410

:

DMS and then payment, I just feel like

that's going to be a lot to like handle.

411

:

And we considered Etsy, but you're right.

412

:

I do.

413

:

I have, I like always have

loved marketing and branding.

414

:

And I was like, I at least want

it to be like our own brand.

415

:

If we are going to put it online, I

don't really want it to be on Etsy.

416

:

So then the night before I whipped up

a really quick website, Made up a logo.

417

:

I mean, we didn't have a logo.

418

:

We didn't have colors,

like literally nothing.

419

:

Like I just like picked a random

font, wrote rest, coast Catholic

420

:

and put it at the top of a website.

421

:

And the website, if you knew what

our old website looked like, was just

422

:

a homepage of photos of all of our

products for big blocks, square photos.

423

:

Yeah.

424

:

And it wasn't really much more than that.

425

:

It was just like the product

page that was landing page.

426

:

That was the website.

427

:

And I put that together

and I think I liked it.

428

:

It literally at like

2 AM the night before.

429

:

And then day of launch, August 12th.

430

:

Um, literally a year after I started

the blog, August 12th, I remember

431

:

I got on stories that day and I was

like, Hey, you guys, like I've been

432

:

working on, you know, West coast

Catholic, and I have a surprise for you.

433

:

We are, you know, launching some rosaries.

434

:

And it was just like a very

cute, casual announcement.

435

:

If you go and stalk either my Instagram or

the West Coast Catholic Instagram, you'll

436

:

find there's like a nostalgic reel that

has like all the clips of like, OG West

437

:

Coast Catholic, like the very first days.

438

:

And you can literally see the story

where I went on and I look like

439

:

a baby and I sound like a baby.

440

:

It's kind of cringy to go back and look

at it, but I'm just like, yeah, it was

441

:

just like cute little Mari, like, Hey

guys, like we're going to sell rosaries.

442

:

So let me know if you want one.

443

:

And that day was.

444

:

Not what we expected it to be.

445

:

No, not at all.

446

:

We literally sold all 74 rosaries.

447

:

Plus.

448

:

Plus.

449

:

And then we started selling.

450

:

We didn't want to take the website

down or like market out, mark

451

:

the rosaries as out of stock.

452

:

Cause we just launched.

453

:

I mean, we, we sold everything.

454

:

What, what we had in inventory,

like in a couple hours.

455

:

Yeah.

456

:

So we're like, Uh, just keep it going.

457

:

We'll just catch up.

458

:

Like, we'll just order more materials.

459

:

We'll, we'll order more beads.

460

:

You just say yes.

461

:

Even if you don't know how to

do it yet, you just say yes.

462

:

And you just figure it out.

463

:

And so we were like, yeah, we're

not going to shut this site down

464

:

two hours after we launched.

465

:

Like who knew this many people

were going to want rosaries.

466

:

I also had never bought

a rosary in my life.

467

:

Like.

468

:

It wasn't something that I ever thought

of like, Oh, I'm going to go buy a rosary.

469

:

Like they were always gifted for free.

470

:

Like as a Catholic, you just have

rosaries in your house, you know?

471

:

And so I didn't like, I knew that

our rosaries were beautiful and

472

:

that people would want to buy

them because of their beauty.

473

:

But I didn't know that that

many people would want to buy.

474

:

Definitely took us by surprise.

475

:

Definitely took us by surprise.

476

:

And so like Trey said.

477

:

We just, we didn't shut down the site.

478

:

We kept taking orders and we just

started ordering more materials.

479

:

And we told people like, Hey, by the

way, like, you know, it's just us

480

:

two around here, so like, it'll take

about a month to get your rosary.

481

:

And we started, you know, ordering

more materials and starting again and

482

:

making them again and at this point.

483

:

Customers were very patient with

us for the first, probably six

484

:

months or longer of our business.

485

:

It took them like four, five weeks to

like, our turnaround times were very slow.

486

:

Yeah.

487

:

So, thank you,

488

:

You were, I don't know how

people kept coming back very

489

:

gracious with us, but Yeah.

490

:

But then what's crazy is you

would, you were in, I don't

491

:

know, Colorado or Washington.

492

:

Somewhere on your Instagram

page promoting the rosaries.

493

:

I was in Georgia with all the product.

494

:

And so Mari would just like, send me

the names of the people who bought it.

495

:

And then I would like

package them up and just.

496

:

Like you're playing Manila, yellow, and

then I would just go to the post office

497

:

in Georgia and just drop them off.

498

:

And yeah, we're just like, we didn't

even know what we were doing or how

499

:

to even get the, once we even sold the

product, we're like, okay, now what,

500

:

now I'm going to get it to the customer.

501

:

So like, do you just buy stamps?

502

:

Like, what do you do?

503

:

Like we had no, we hadn't even

done any research anyways.

504

:

So that was the first few weeks.

505

:

Yeah.

506

:

And then.

507

:

You know, I think that

was like end of summer.

508

:

And so school started again,

and we kind of moved everything

509

:

into my room in college.

510

:

I, at this point, I was living in a house.

511

:

It wasn't necessarily like a dorm.

512

:

Um, but we kind of moved stuff around and

got some bookshelves and just filled it

513

:

with our, our inventory and our materials.

514

:

We did end up buying a little like.

515

:

Like a label printing machine to like

not have to handwrite everything because

516

:

for a while I was handwriting after

after like, but in beautiful calligraphy.

517

:

Yes, I was calligraphy writing

every single address on the.

518

:

Envelopes as well as handwriting

a beautiful calligraphy note

519

:

to every single customer.

520

:

So you can imagine how fast my

hands started to fall off because

521

:

those orders never stopped.

522

:

Like they just kept coming and coming.

523

:

And truly like everything started

to happen so fast that we never

524

:

had a moment where we sat down

to talk about what was going on.

525

:

No, we were just playing catch up.

526

:

We were just playing catch up.

527

:

We have orders that need to get fulfilled.

528

:

Yeah.

529

:

Create these rosaries as fast as

possible and we'll talk about it later.

530

:

Yeah.

531

:

So at the time when we first started,

I was the only one making rosaries.

532

:

Then obviously because we were

selling so fast, I had to train Mari.

533

:

So then we both were making rosaries, but

shortly after that, that didn't suffice.

534

:

And so we started turning all of our

friends were like, Hey, like, We'll

535

:

pay you a couple of bucks per rosary.

536

:

Like here's how to do it.

537

:

Let's go.

538

:

And so then we started hosting

these rosary making parties

539

:

to get more people involved.

540

:

We would buy like a pizza or something

and like feed people pizza and like

541

:

our friends would just make rosary.

542

:

There was like a seminary across the

street one day, like one night we had

543

:

like a bunch of seminarians come over and

they were all making rosaries with us.

544

:

Yes.

545

:

So those first batches of rosaries were

made by some very holy potential priests.

546

:

Potential.

547

:

Yes.

548

:

And so, but it was a story of

us just trying to figure out

549

:

how to keep up with demand.

550

:

Yeah.

551

:

And I think as we were falling into these

roles, like we started to fall into like

552

:

certain roles and responsibilities, like

in the business that we were having.

553

:

And so Trey was still, yeah, like you

said, We never like sat down and was

554

:

like, Oh, this is a business, which is why

it was always just West Coast Catholic.

555

:

Cause that was the name of your,

that was the name of my blog.

556

:

We, I remember Trey being like, Hey,

like, should we name this something else?

557

:

And I was like, no, like this

isn't going to last very long.

558

:

Probably like, let's just name it my

blog so that people can find it easily.

559

:

You already know what

West Coast Catholic is.

560

:

But anyways, he started

falling into these like roles.

561

:

So like Trey would kind of like

manage the rosary makers, which are

562

:

really just our friends and kind of

start figuring out like logistics and

563

:

shipping and finances and supply chain

for materials, production, production.

564

:

And filaments, finances, all that.

565

:

Yeah.

566

:

And kind of what just

naturally falls under my gifts.

567

:

I just started to kind of create a, you

know, brand of some sort and kind of

568

:

like put more of our shop stuff on my

Instagram and try and make the website

569

:

better or like take better photos.

570

:

And we started designing these little

like mail cards that would go into

571

:

every order with a little inspirational

quote or something like that.

572

:

We started to like level

it up a little bit.

573

:

So we had these four original

rosaries in the shop for a while,

574

:

and then came Advent and Christmas,

and I designed our new rosary.

575

:

And this was like.

576

:

This was the only other rosary

besides those four, right?

577

:

It was like the first new

design since we started.

578

:

And we chose to just make it limited

edition, like a liturgical rosary for

579

:

a seasonal Christmas rosary in Advent.

580

:

And it's our Star of Bethlehem rosary.

581

:

And I remember we were like, okay,

well, how many of these should we make?

582

:

Like.

583

:

I think we made like 60 or something.

584

:

Yeah.

585

:

I think we made like 60

or something like that.

586

:

Cause we were like, well, like everybody's

already bought a rosary from us.

587

:

So why would anybody want

to buy a second rosary?

588

:

Like only a few people are

going to buy a second rosary.

589

:

So maybe we'll just be getting new

customers with this new rosary.

590

:

So we made the start of Bethlehem.

591

:

And we sold out in like, I don't know,

like, yeah, like, like a day, like less

592

:

than a day, it was like six hours or

something like that, or five hours.

593

:

And we were like, Whoa, okay.

594

:

So maybe we need to restock that.

595

:

And so I think we tried to do a restock

and then, and then we stopped selling

596

:

that one cause it was still seasonal.

597

:

And then.

598

:

Lent came around and we were

like, Hey, let's do this again.

599

:

Let's do another seasonal rosary.

600

:

People loved that one.

601

:

And so we came up with a seasonal rosary.

602

:

And I think that when we were like,

okay, let's open it up a little bit.

603

:

Let's do like a hundred, you know,

let's do a hundred of the Lent rosary.

604

:

And that one's called into the desert.

605

:

We still have it every Lent today.

606

:

And I remember we launched

and that one sold out.

607

:

And even less time, it was

like, Five or four hours.

608

:

And we were like, what is going on?

609

:

This was supposed to last the entire list.

610

:

This was supposed to like,

yeah, last for 40 days.

611

:

And, I don't know, we probably

restocked that one too.

612

:

Because at that point we still

had the whole rest of Lent

613

:

to sell these rosaries for.

614

:

And then COVID hit.

615

:

And by the time COVID hit, we were

in the middle of getting ready

616

:

to produce the Easter rosary.

617

:

Cause we were like, this

is going really well.

618

:

People are loving these liturgical

rosaries, these seasonal rosaries.

619

:

So we had an Easter one

ready called the gardener.

620

:

COVID hit in March.

621

:

It was really well underway.

622

:

And we were, I remember we freaked out.

623

:

We're like, Oh, like people are

probably not going to spend money.

624

:

And people are probably like really

focused on the fact that the world

625

:

is possibly ending right now.

626

:

Like nobody knew what was going on.

627

:

And.

628

:

At that point we had chosen, I

remember to make like 200 of those.

629

:

Yeah.

630

:

Thinking that a lot more people would

wanna buy 'em and that we wanted it

631

:

to not sell out in a day this time.

632

:

Yeah.

633

:

We wanted it to last

the whole Easter season.

634

:

So I was really nervous

about launching those.

635

:

Easter comes, we launched the gardener.

636

:

We sell out in two hours.

637

:

Yeah.

638

:

I remember something crazy.

639

:

I remember it was like two

hours or two and a half hours.

640

:

Yeah.

641

:

And we were like.

642

:

What is happening?

643

:

Like, what is going on?

644

:

And I think that was a moment where we sat

down and looked at each other and we were

645

:

like, what is God doing in this business?

646

:

This is beyond us.

647

:

For sure.

648

:

Yeah.

649

:

Because like I said, like we

weren't applying any business

650

:

strategy, like it was just like

do as it comes, fulfill orders as

651

:

they come, figure it out, move on.

652

:

Like it was just keeping up with demand.

653

:

Like we didn't have time

to do anything extra.

654

:

It was literally, let's just do it.

655

:

Let's stay afloat.

656

:

Let's keep up with all the orders.

657

:

And so at that point, we really realized

like, okay, this is bigger than ourselves.

658

:

I think the Lord is trying

to tell us something.

659

:

The Lord is showing us that like, this

is a need in the Catholic world and

660

:

in the community that we're serving.

661

:

At that point, COVID happened.

662

:

Our classes shut down,

everything went remote.

663

:

COVID was the absolute best thing that

could have happened to us, could have

664

:

happened to our business at the time.

665

:

Yeah, COVID honestly was a blast for us.

666

:

It was awesome.

667

:

Yeah, we were just, we were just like,

we were still on, on the college campus,

668

:

all of our Classes moved online and

a lot of them were pre recorded too.

669

:

Like the professors would just

pre record and post them and

670

:

you just watch them whenever.

671

:

And so we actually had time to

sit down and talk about what's

672

:

happening and be like, okay.

673

:

We just had so much more time that we

could actually put into the business.

674

:

Like before that we were trying to work

on the business, but we basically just

675

:

spent class time working on the business

and then outside of class time making

676

:

the rosaries, shipping the rosaries.

677

:

So yeah, COVID gave us so much time

to actually like Work on the business.

678

:

Yeah.

679

:

And like I was gonna say, like, you

just, we just had time to actually

680

:

sit down and, and like, talk

about like, where is this going?

681

:

Like, is this going to be a business

that we actually like work on?

682

:

Cause at the time it was

a very much a side thing.

683

:

If you call making rosaries till

2 AM in the morning, a side thing.

684

:

Cause at that point it's kind of

starting to take over your life.

685

:

And so.

686

:

Like Trey said, like, we were like,

okay, like, let's get serious about this.

687

:

Let's put time into the business.

688

:

And so we both would just

like, do our like lectures for

689

:

class, like in the morning.

690

:

And we would probably do that.

691

:

Like what?

692

:

Like eight to noon.

693

:

And then the rest of the day was free

and all my other friends, like I've said

694

:

before, in different talks and stuff

like that, like they were science majors.

695

:

They worked so hard.

696

:

They had so much school.

697

:

So they were working

until like 5 PM every day.

698

:

And I was just like, Hanging

out with Trey, working on our

699

:

business from like noon to five.

700

:

And we actually were able to

put time in to make plans, to

701

:

start talking about where it was

going, talk about new rosaries.

702

:

And, and that's where the business

really started to flourish

703

:

as a business and a brand.

704

:

And that's where we started

to decide, okay, what.

705

:

Does the long term future of

West Coast Catholic look like?

706

:

What is the mission of this brand?

707

:

What's our dream with it?

708

:

Are we going to do more

than just rosaries?

709

:

And so then we started

talking about other products.

710

:

Yeah.

711

:

It was really, really fun.

712

:

It was fun.

713

:

And I remember in those early days

when we were dreaming about it, I

714

:

had always said, like, I want this

to be like the Catholic version of

715

:

like Magnolia, like Chip and Joe.

716

:

Like I love, I love

Chip and Joanna Gaines.

717

:

I love everything they make.

718

:

And I was obsessed with Magnolia.

719

:

And I remember just

saying that all the time.

720

:

Like, I want to be the Catholic Magnolia.

721

:

I want this to be more than Rosaries.

722

:

I want this to be a lifestyle brand.

723

:

I want this to be Something that like

provides products that people can bring

724

:

into their home and into their everyday

life that can speak, something about their

725

:

faith without you even having to say it,

that you can just evangelize with your

726

:

home and that when you invite people into

your home or into your life, people just.

727

:

Either either start asking questions

because of the beautiful products that

728

:

they see, or they just know that you

are living your faith and that you

729

:

are a Catholic family or a Catholic

woman, you know, in the modern world

730

:

due to the products that you're

wearing or that you have in your home.

731

:

Yeah.

732

:

It honestly was an extension

of your Instagram blog.

733

:

Like you wanted to.

734

:

inspire women to be in the world,

but not of it and to live out their

735

:

Catholic faith in their everyday life.

736

:

And so now we were just trying to

give them the tools, prayer tools and

737

:

lifestyle goods to equip them to do that.

738

:

That was a really big summer for us,

um, for my Instagram, that was a summer

739

:

I hit 10 K followers and that was the

summer we became focused missionaries

740

:

and we moved our life to Nebraska, or

at least I moved to Nebraska because

741

:

you still had a semester left of school.

742

:

Um, and we kind of started to have to

figure out a lot more, uh, Obstacles that

743

:

came our way because it wasn't really

like the quarantine life anymore where

744

:

there was nothing to do but be home.

745

:

We actually started to

live normal life again.

746

:

And so now we had to figure out,

okay, like how are we going to

747

:

run our business while we're also

missionaries and where are we going

748

:

to like put all of our inventory?

749

:

Because I was living in the missionary

girl's house and like in our inventory

750

:

was just overflowing everywhere.

751

:

Our inventory was growing and growing.

752

:

The more our business grew in

the more our customer base grew.

753

:

And so it was just boxes of beads.

754

:

Everywhere, everywhere, all the time.

755

:

So we found a little office

space in Lincoln, Nebraska.

756

:

Yeah.

757

:

We hired on a team to help

us with production and

758

:

fulfillment of the products.

759

:

Yeah.

760

:

At the time the team was just like

a group of Catholic sorority girls.

761

:

So shout out to them.

762

:

They were awesome.

763

:

It kept us afloat.

764

:

Absolutely.

765

:

And so, but yeah, then we were just

trying to balance missionary life with

766

:

running this small business that was

quickly taking over our entire lives.

767

:

And Yeah.

768

:

And then we were just trying

to discern what to do next.

769

:

Yeah.

770

:

And trying to ask the Lord, like, like,

what do we do with West Coast Catholic?

771

:

What are you trying to really

do with West Coast Catholic?

772

:

Because it kept growing and growing.

773

:

And again, that wasn't

something we really expected.

774

:

And at the time when we became

missionaries, so much of our time

775

:

was going into missionary life

because that was our full time job.

776

:

And so you're working

on your full time job.

777

:

For most of the day.

778

:

And then as a missionary, your

job goes into like nine or 10 PM

779

:

because you're leading Bible studies.

780

:

And so really it was like a lot of

weekends were spent working on this

781

:

or random, like break times when we

weren't missionaries, like we were

782

:

working on our business, but it

wasn't like we were pouring a ton,

783

:

a ton into it to actually grow it.

784

:

And yet, like we experienced so much in

the past, the Lord was just blessing it.

785

:

The Lord was just showing us

that there was something there

786

:

that he was calling us to do.

787

:

And so we really started to discern

with the Lord, like, where are

788

:

you, Taking West coast Catholic.

789

:

And what does that mean for Trey and I,

like with us being missionaries and also

790

:

having this business, like, are we going

to have to like leave missionary life?

791

:

Like, are you calling us to go full time?

792

:

Like, is the business

even able to support that?

793

:

Like, what is the long term goal and

plan with West coast Catholic and,

794

:

and what you're calling us to do?

795

:

And when you're a focused

missionary, you have an initial

796

:

like two year commitment and.

797

:

I, I loved being a missionary and I think

if I didn't have West Coast Catholic,

798

:

I'd probably be a missionary for longer.

799

:

But nearing that two year mark,

we were getting super overwhelmed.

800

:

I remember like, it was a pretty

stressful time for us, um,

801

:

doing full time missionary work.

802

:

Going, you know, trying to do

more with West Coast Catholic.

803

:

We were traveling a ton

at the time as well.

804

:

We're big travelers.

805

:

So it's not like we don't travel

anymore, but I remember we were traveling

806

:

a ton to see family and friends.

807

:

And it was just getting to be

a lot for us to, to handle and

808

:

juggle like in our day to day life.

809

:

And so we discerned that

I would go full time.

810

:

So we discerned that we both would

leave focus staff and Mari went

811

:

full time with West Coast Catholic.

812

:

I got my normal marketing job and.

813

:

And I was just able to devote, Oh,

obviously a ton more time into the

814

:

business, given that it just became.

815

:

My actual day job, um, which as

an entrepreneur, you know that

816

:

there's no such thing as a day job.

817

:

It's a day, night, 24 seven job.

818

:

There's all these jokes on Instagram,

like all these reels on Instagram

819

:

that say like, I left my nine to

five to become an entrepreneur.

820

:

And now I work 24 seven, which is just

the life of like those, especially

821

:

those early years of entrepreneurship.

822

:

It's a grind.

823

:

It's really tough.

824

:

And, um, You just got to get through

them, I think, but it was still beautiful.

825

:

And there was so much

excitement and joy around that.

826

:

And there still is, because I knew

at this point, the Lord had a much

827

:

bigger mission than what we were

doing with West coast Catholic.

828

:

And so I started to pray a lot

about that over the summer.

829

:

And I decided that it was time.

830

:

We had a rebrand.

831

:

I think at this point, it was

year three of having the business,

832

:

year four of having like the

Instagram blog or something.

833

:

It was, it was already a few years

into the business where I finally

834

:

decided, like, we need a rebrand

because if you remember from the story

835

:

earlier, I put no thought into the

brand logo, the look, and I'm such

836

:

a marketing nerd that I knew that,

like, we needed a really strong brand.

837

:

And I wanted to communicate what

I feel like the Lord's mission was

838

:

for us and for West Coast Catholic

through the visuals of the brand.

839

:

Um, Because all of our products,

everything that we do and did at

840

:

the time was all very intentional.

841

:

It all had specific reasons and meanings

to draw you into some sort of part of

842

:

the faith or some scripture or something.

843

:

And so I wanted our brand to,

to be in line with that, to be

844

:

intentional and meaningful and to

communicate these underlying truths

845

:

that the Lord wants you to know.

846

:

And this mission that he's given West

coast Catholic to fulfill and started

847

:

working on this rebrand and then

we launched the new brand in:

848

:

Yeah.

849

:

After a long summer, just grinding through

all the visuals, all of the aesthetic

850

:

for the brand, the colors, the logo,

the icons for the brands, everything

851

:

we learned so much about branding.

852

:

Yep.

853

:

So we did a whole like brand video

that summer too, that we were

854

:

traveling to Colorado to record here.

855

:

Yeah, it was really.

856

:

Having a West Coast Catholic enter

into a new frontier like yeah, it

857

:

was just like a We wanted to just

redefine what West Coast Catholic

858

:

was and who we were moving forward.

859

:

And with that, I also felt like this

was the time to introduce the whole

860

:

lifestyle part of the business.

861

:

At the point, at the time, we'd

only really done rosaries, I think.

862

:

And then at that, in that

moment, when we Rebranded.

863

:

I was like, this is when we are going to

open the doors to the whole like lifestyle

864

:

brand that I've been dreaming of that I

feel like the Lord is calling us to do.

865

:

And so with that rebrand and

the new website and the new

866

:

look and everything we launched.

867

:

Our first lifestyle items.

868

:

Yeah, it was a little tumbler

cup, which is his first tumbler,

869

:

which is still one of my faves.

870

:

I literally use it every day.

871

:

We launched these beach towels or

blankets, Turkish towels, Turkish towels.

872

:

They're a little combo.

873

:

You can use them as blankets in

your home or as a beach towel

874

:

and then a little tote bag.

875

:

Yeah.

876

:

And I remember the day before launch

was also really crazy for us as all.

877

:

Big launches have been big launch.

878

:

You're up into the early,

early hours in the morning.

879

:

We were in Mexico with my family on

vacation, which again, somehow all

880

:

these big things line up with some like

crazy travels that we have going on.

881

:

Cause we just, we're

just always traveling.

882

:

We love to travel.

883

:

We can't say no.

884

:

We can't say no.

885

:

We should, we should, but we were

in Mexico on a family vacation.

886

:

And that happened to be in the middle

of when the new website and the new

887

:

brand was launching and all these

new products were launching and we

888

:

were out making tweaks to everything.

889

:

Literally, I think up until like

four in the morning was when we

890

:

finally went to bed and woke up the

next morning to launch everything

891

:

at like 8 AM or something like that.

892

:

Um, but it was beautiful.

893

:

The response was beautiful.

894

:

Just the whole look was beautiful.

895

:

It's the brand that we currently

have now, and I love it so much.

896

:

And I love that we took the time.

897

:

To pray through every single icon,

every meaning, every color, um, our

898

:

mission statement, our visuals, like

everything has a deeper meaning.

899

:

And if you don't know, like our mission

for West Coast Catholic is to help

900

:

you experience a foretaste of heaven.

901

:

Basically what that means is to like

bring heaven down to earth, into your

902

:

life and to have you experience that

through the products that we make for you.

903

:

And ultimately what heaven is, is

communion with God and communion

904

:

with God is found through prayer.

905

:

That's how we're able to

experience heaven here today.

906

:

On this earth is through prayer.

907

:

And so that was our mission through

West Coast Catholic and through the

908

:

products that we create is to give our

customers just that little experience.

909

:

Of heaven.

910

:

And because we're hoping that every

product is intentionally made, it's

911

:

beautiful and it'll lead them to prayer.

912

:

Yeah.

913

:

And so on the same topic of helping

you experience heaven, I want to

914

:

talk a little bit about like our

main logo and our main icon that you

915

:

see often is a baby's breath flower.

916

:

And despite that they're one of my

favorite flowers, they actually hold

917

:

a lot of meaning and the visual in

our brand holds a lot of meaning.

918

:

, so baby's breath flowers in the secular

world, , commonly, Symbolize eternal love.

919

:

Like that's what the world kind

of like has coined this flower

920

:

to represent eternal love.

921

:

And so they're commonly used at weddings.

922

:

And so I felt like one that was very

fitting for our brand, because like

923

:

Trey was saying, like the experience

of communion or the experience

924

:

of heaven is communion with God.

925

:

And essentially heaven is this eternal.

926

:

wedding banquet that we're invited to,

to feast and to be in communion with God.

927

:

And so these flowers that are commonly

used in weddings in the secular world

928

:

with the meaning of eternal love could

also simultaneously represent the wedding

929

:

banquet that we are called to, to be in

heaven, to be in communion with God and

930

:

experience his eternal love in heaven.

931

:

And that also kind of ties in the idea

of being like in the world, but not of

932

:

it, you know, taking something like from

the world, but bringing this like deeper

933

:

meaning that brings us to God that shows

us like deeper truths of our faith.

934

:

That's what the baby's

breath flower means.

935

:

And that's why you see it in

all of our branding and our

936

:

photos and stuff like that.

937

:

And the other brand element that we have

that you see a lot are these swallows.

938

:

And so that's represents Mari's

favorite Bible verse, Matthew 6 33.

939

:

Yeah.

940

:

Yeah.

941

:

My favorite Bible verse is Matthew 6 33.

942

:

And it says, seek first the kingdom

and his righteousness and all other

943

:

things shall be given to you besides.

944

:

And I.

945

:

Loved this verse for years.

946

:

I mean, maybe in high school

was the first time that I heard

947

:

it and it just stuck with me.

948

:

And, um, the true like meaning

of this verse is to first, first

949

:

priority in your life above all

things is to seek the kingdom, right?

950

:

Seek the kingdom and his righteousness.

951

:

Seek, seek heaven and seek the

Lord and dedicate your life to him

952

:

and everything else will work out.

953

:

The Lord will bless everything.

954

:

But to do that.

955

:

You have to, you have to learn

to like, let go of your worry and

956

:

let go of control and surrender.

957

:

And so the verses leading up

to that is the whole passage of

958

:

like, do not worry the whole,

do not worry passage in Matthew.

959

:

And there's a verse that I always loved.

960

:

I think like, I always saw it visually in

my head when I read this verse and it was

961

:

like, look at the birds of the air and

they don't worry about what they will eat.

962

:

Want the father who provides for

these birds also provide for you.

963

:

Exactly.

964

:

Exactly.

965

:

And so this idea of like the animals,

you know, the birds, they fly through

966

:

the air and they're never worried

about what they're going to eat or

967

:

how, how they're going to like survive.

968

:

Like the father just provides in nature.

969

:

He just provides food for them.

970

:

And they, they go on about

their merry little bird life.

971

:

And that's what I want it to be.

972

:

I just want it to be a merry little

bird that like surrendered my

973

:

life and just trusted the father.

974

:

And that would allow me to.

975

:

Seek him first and seek the

kingdom above all things.

976

:

And so that's the piece of, encouragement

that I want to offer people as well

977

:

through our brand is this reminder of

the joy and the beauty and the freedom

978

:

that comes with surrendering your life

to Christ and how that happens once you

979

:

just give him all your trust and trust

in the providence of the father and

980

:

know that he is good and he provides and

putting your trust in him is the first

981

:

step to surrendering your life , and.

982

:

And living a Christ centered life.

983

:

And so we've had this brand, this

new, like, look to our brand for

984

:

almost a year and a half now.

985

:

And since then we've been really leaning

into that more lifestyle part of the

986

:

business and I've had so much fun with it.

987

:

And I think it's been so well received by

our audience and our customers as well.

988

:

I think people are really loving it.

989

:

And we've moved into, um, home goods,

apparel, jewelry, some devotionals,

990

:

All products that ultimately we're

trying to bring to you, our customers

991

:

to serve you, to help you experience

the four days of heaven, to help

992

:

you experience community with God

and to lead you into deeper prayer.

993

:

Yeah.

994

:

And these lifestyle items, obviously

like a lot of them aren't like.

995

:

Explicitly religious items, you

know, but my goal is always to have a

996

:

message of faith or like infuse like

a faith filled design into the product

997

:

so that you can bring the faith

and bring a little piece of

998

:

heaven into your everyday life.

999

:

And it's worth noting too, at that time,

we also decided to split the Instagram

:

00:45:12,899 --> 00:45:16,319

so that the business, the shop West

Coast Catholic, could have its own.

:

00:45:16,909 --> 00:45:17,779

Instagram page.

:

00:45:18,009 --> 00:45:21,649

And then Mari would continue her own

personal blog on her own Instagram page.

:

00:45:21,649 --> 00:45:21,939

Yeah.

:

00:45:21,989 --> 00:45:23,149

So there are two Instagrams.

:

00:45:23,179 --> 00:45:26,779

So the shop has its own Instagram

and it's at West Coast Catholic.

:

00:45:26,979 --> 00:45:29,749

And then I just left my

Instagram as my own name.

:

00:45:29,749 --> 00:45:31,579

I just took on my own name for my blog.

:

00:45:31,579 --> 00:45:33,139

So it's more at mari.

:

00:45:33,199 --> 00:45:33,439

c.

:

00:45:33,629 --> 00:45:34,129

wagner.

:

00:45:34,489 --> 00:45:38,459

But you can follow the Instagram for West

Coast Catholic on Instagram and you'll

:

00:45:38,459 --> 00:45:42,349

see all the beautiful products and some

more inspiration on how to live your

:

00:45:42,349 --> 00:45:45,219

Catholic faith as well as, you know,

be notified on all the big sales and

:

00:45:45,219 --> 00:45:46,239

stuff that we have throughout the year.

:

00:45:47,074 --> 00:45:51,314

And so here we are almost six years

later from when we started the business.

:

00:45:51,324 --> 00:45:55,824

And we're just in constantly in

awe of how the Lord has blessed it.

:

00:45:55,874 --> 00:46:01,194

And not only just the business,

but also we see now and.

:

00:46:01,724 --> 00:46:06,104

We realize the mission the Lord has given

us and we realize that this is more than

:

00:46:06,104 --> 00:46:10,334

a business It's more than just getting

product into your hands but really it's

:

00:46:10,334 --> 00:46:14,504

about changing hearts changing souls

and winning the world for Christ and

:

00:46:14,504 --> 00:46:19,094

Evangelizing through this Avenue that

the Lord has placed on our hearts to do.

:

00:46:20,264 --> 00:46:21,324

It's been crazy.

:

00:46:21,334 --> 00:46:23,664

It's been a wild ride It's so much fun.

:

00:46:23,754 --> 00:46:28,034

So much of a challenge, so difficult at

times, but the Lord has been faithful

:

00:46:28,034 --> 00:46:32,134

through it all and he has blessed us

in the business so, so abundantly.

:

00:46:32,644 --> 00:46:37,144

And it's just so beautiful to see the

way it's impacting people's lives.

:

00:46:37,144 --> 00:46:41,144

I mean, from the DMs that I get in,

in my Instagram of conversions that

:

00:46:41,144 --> 00:46:43,804

are happening or ways that these

beautiful rosaries are bringing people

:

00:46:43,804 --> 00:46:45,554

to prayer, just like it did for me.

:

00:46:46,129 --> 00:46:49,959

Blessing, you know, people in times of

need or in times of sickness, the way

:

00:46:49,959 --> 00:46:53,689

that, you know, people are just turning

back to Christ through the beauty of

:

00:46:53,689 --> 00:46:57,849

the rosary and the power of the rosary,

especially is amazing, amazing to see.

:

00:46:58,069 --> 00:47:00,809

And although we have expanded to lifestyle

products, and that's a big part of our

:

00:47:00,809 --> 00:47:04,849

brand now, I think the rosaries will

always be kind of that fundamental part of

:

00:47:04,849 --> 00:47:08,779

our mission because our mission is always

to draw people to the Lord through prayer.

:

00:47:09,079 --> 00:47:12,989

And it's beautiful to see like the

number of people that have one of our

:

00:47:12,989 --> 00:47:16,289

rosaries now, I mean, over the past,,

almost six years that we've been

:

00:47:16,289 --> 00:47:20,939

in business, , over, I think close

to 30, 000 of our rosaries are out

:

00:47:20,979 --> 00:47:22,519

in the world now in people's hands.

:

00:47:22,669 --> 00:47:24,999

And I mean, you'd hope that at least.

:

00:47:25,469 --> 00:47:27,749

All those people have

prayed at least one rosary.

:

00:47:28,059 --> 00:47:31,399

Most likely they're praying rosaries

more frequently now that they have

:

00:47:31,399 --> 00:47:35,809

a beautiful, well designed and

beautiful, meaningful product that

:

00:47:35,869 --> 00:47:37,369

they are drawn to prayer through.

:

00:47:37,369 --> 00:47:40,919

So yeah, I mean, there has been so

many more rosaries, so many more

:

00:47:40,919 --> 00:47:42,619

prayers that have been prayed.

:

00:47:42,844 --> 00:47:43,504

From these products.

:

00:47:44,194 --> 00:47:44,534

Yeah.

:

00:47:44,534 --> 00:47:46,694

And, and I think that's the

part that always gets me.

:

00:47:46,694 --> 00:47:51,254

It always makes me a little bit emotional

to think about because I see the weight

:

00:47:51,254 --> 00:47:54,644

and responsibility that this mission

has, you know, especially with the rosary

:

00:47:54,654 --> 00:47:58,934

and knowing that, you know, close to 30,

000 of our rosaries are being prayed.

:

00:47:58,934 --> 00:48:01,714

Like Trey said, you hope that

at least one is being prayed,

:

00:48:01,724 --> 00:48:03,584

but you just, you just hope.

:

00:48:03,704 --> 00:48:04,704

And you'd think that.

:

00:48:04,959 --> 00:48:08,209

Somebody buying a rosary would

hopefully be praying more than one.

:

00:48:08,209 --> 00:48:14,309

And so I just think of heaven and

Mary, like rejoicing at the number of

:

00:48:14,529 --> 00:48:18,159

people coming back to the faith of the

number of people coming back to prayer.

:

00:48:18,459 --> 00:48:21,799

Um, or even just pray, even if they

already were, you know, in the faith

:

00:48:21,799 --> 00:48:25,519

and praying regularly, just praying

more fervently because of this beautiful

:

00:48:25,519 --> 00:48:27,619

product or being drawn to the rosary more.

:

00:48:27,879 --> 00:48:29,789

, I'm just sure heaven is rejoicing

:

00:48:29,839 --> 00:48:33,589

So it is just an honor to be, , an

instrument of the Lord in this mission

:

00:48:33,589 --> 00:48:36,859

and that the Lord has called us to

bring people to him in this way.

:

00:48:37,689 --> 00:48:40,799

And that's the story of how West

Coast Catholic started and how

:

00:48:40,799 --> 00:48:42,169

we got to where we are today.

:

00:48:42,874 --> 00:48:46,844

And if you haven't checked us out,

head on over to westcoastcatholic.

:

00:48:46,894 --> 00:48:51,214

co and grab yourself a beautiful

lifestyle product or prayer tool,

:

00:48:51,264 --> 00:48:55,424

especially rosary and check us out

on Instagram at westcoastcatholic.

:

00:48:55,814 --> 00:48:59,974

And we wouldn't be here if it wasn't for

you guys, our amazing customers and our

:

00:48:59,974 --> 00:49:02,134

community, our West coast Catholic family.

:

00:49:02,154 --> 00:49:04,974

So thank you for all your love

and support over the years.

:

00:49:04,994 --> 00:49:07,314

It means so much to us and our family.

:

00:49:07,314 --> 00:49:10,654

And we just hope that we can continue

to serve you in the best ways that

:

00:49:10,654 --> 00:49:13,914

we can, that the Lord calls us to

for, for so many years to come.

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About the Podcast

Ever Be
A faith and lifestyle podcast.
The Ever Be Podcast is a faith and lifestyle podcast filled with meaningful conversations and practical tips that will inspire and empower you to live a Christ centered life in today’s modern world. Through her own experience of surrendering completely to God and finding true fullness of life, your host Mari Wagner, has committed to having God’s praise “ever be” on her lips and sharing that message with the world. Listen in for insightful, real life conversations and actionable steps on how to claim the full life God created you for.

With over 100K followers and counting, Instagram content creator and founder of the popular Catholic lifestyle brand, West Coast Catholic, Mari Wagner is showing the world how to live a bold, attractive, and fulfilling Catholic life by being in the world but not of it. On the podcast you’ll get a combination of heartfelt solo episodes with Mari, interviews with exciting guests, and up-close and personal time with both the Wagner’s—Mari and Trey. What more could you ask for?!

Finally! Answers to questions you’ve been asking like:
How do I infuse prayer into my daily life? How do I live out my Catholic faith? What is the best dating and marriage advice? What does a good Catholic marriage look like? How do I grow in homemaking skills and build a domestic church? How do I create a beautiful and welcoming home? What does a healthy and balanced lifestyle look like? Is it possible to find a solid community of like minded women?

Host Mari Wagner covers topics that you actually care about from faith life, to relationships and marriage, to homemaking, to healthy living. Each episode is crafted to resonate with your challenges and aspirations as a modern Christian woman seeking purpose, balance, and joy.

Tune into the Ever Be Podcast for valuable advice, relatable stories, expert insights and just some fun girl chats with someone who really gets you. Hit play to get out of the rut you constantly feel yourself in, and subscribe to join the community and experience the fullness of life Jesus has in store for you.

About your host

Profile picture for Mari Wagner

Mari Wagner