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This month, we’re spotlighting Amber Bowie, the creator behind Mackenzie Madison of Philadelphia (MMOF Philly), a mommy-and-me clothing brand born out of love, resilience, and a whole lot of sewing.
Amber’s story starts with her two daughters, Mackenzie and Madison, who inspired both the name and the mission behind her business. Mackenzie was born with a congenital heart defect and spent time recovering from open-heart surgery around three months old. During this time, Amber found comfort in a small creative outlet: sewing matching headbands for her girls. It was a way to hold onto the little moments that hospital stays had taken away.
Word spread quickly. A nurse in the cardiac unit noticed Amber’s headbands and encouraged her to start selling them to other families. That nudge became the spark for what would grow into a full mommy-and-me apparel brand built around a simple idea: celebrating motherhood, even when life gets hard.
Amber launched her Etsy shop in 2015, just months after Madison came home from the hospital, and has been running her own business ever since, which is now over a decade strong. With a background in fashion and marketing, Amber always knew she wanted to be her own boss; she just needed to find the right outlet, and MMOF Philly became it.
For years, Etsy was the backbone of MMOF Philly’s sales, at times reaching six figures on the platform. But as fees climbed and trend-chasing started to pull her away from why she started the business in the first place, Amber made a deliberate shift. Over the past five years, she’s scaled back on Etsy in favor of selling directly through her own website, building relationships with local boutiques, and growing wholesale partnerships.
Today, MMOF Philly products can be found in shops around the city, including Minor Details in Fishtown and Manayunk, along with several boutiques downtown. Amber has also worked with the Philadelphia Visitors Center on commemorative pieces tied to America’s 250th celebration.
Beyond apparel, Amber has built a genuine community around motherhood in Philadelphia. Through blogging, social media, and a “Philly Mom Edition” presence on TikTok, she shares things to do with kids around the city, weaving together her roles as mom, entrepreneur, and Philadelphia local. Her daughters, now 13 and 11, have grown alongside the brand, and her oldest has even stepped in as a graphic designer, contributing artwork to some of MMOF Philly’s most popular graphic tees.
Speaking of popular products: while the brand is best known for coordinating mommy-and-me pieces, its Philly-themed graphic tees, including sports and city-pride designs, have become fast favorites for their ease and versatility.
Amber’s connection to NextFab started with the Artisan Accelerator Program, which she discovered through the Free Library of Philadelphia’s Business Resource Center. It was her first introduction to a program built specifically with makers in mind, and she’s been a member since.
Since then, she’s leaned into NextFab’s sewing and textiles resources, taking one-on-one classes with instructor Gemma to sharpen her skills, including an illustration class that taught her how to design her own fabric patterns from scratch. She’s also eyeing NextFab’s laser cutting equipment for future projects.
Amber’s accelerator experience didn’t stop there. She went on to complete Black Girl Ventures’ fellowship program and the Goldman Sachs 10,000 Small Businesses program, building on the foundation she started at NextFab to sharpen her business planning and growth strategy.
Amber’s goal for the year is to grow revenue by 20% while deepening her local presence, which means more markets, more boutique partnerships, and more community events, including a planned local trunk-or-treat for Philly families this fall. As the seasons shift, look out for new fall and holiday memory-making products from MMOF Philly.
At the heart of it all, Amber’s message to her customers stays the same: the little moments matter. Motherhood is full of milestones, but it’s the everyday moments, matching outfits included, that are worth celebrating too.
Interested in growing your own maker business like Amber? Learn more about NextFab’s Accelerator Program and membership options to find the resources, classes, and community to bring your ideas to life.
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Written in Partnership with FORMATION. Media