Owner Intro :)

Introducing myself

Hi everyone! My name is Jeslee Bray and I will be the person behind all these coming blog posts and the owner of Jeslee Anne Sleepwear. I am a proud graduate of the University of Iowa, and graduated with a degree in Health and Human Physiology with a certificate in Entrepreneurial Management. However, during my senior year, I experienced a pivotal moment of clarity: I recognized that my true passions lay outside the confines of the health field. This realization propelled me to take a bold leap into the unknown with just a few months left in my senior year of college. At this point, all I knew was that I wanted to move somewhere south and work in sales.

I landed a sales position at an elevator company just a week before wrapping up college. I embarked on a new adventure, moving to Dallas three weeks after accepting my job offer. This decision not only set the foundation for my professional life, but also enriched my personal life in ways I could have never dreamed of.

In Dallas, I found myself extremely fortunate to work under the guidance of an exceptional boss, a mentor who fostered my growth and inspired me to pursue my dreams both inside and outside of work. At this job I also formed a friendship that will last a life time with my now best friend who has become more of a sister to me.

While navigating my new role, I met my now-fiancé and could not be anymore thankful of the individuals I was blessed to meet during my first few months of living in Dallas. Looking back, I do believe that moving to Dallas was the best decision I could have made at such a pivotal stage of my life.

There has been a lot of change between then and now, including the addition of two golden retrievers (one English Cream), planning a wedding, moving across the country to Salt Lake City, LOTS of personal growth, and creating my own sleepwear business.

Initially, I was excited for a fresh start in a new city that was surrounded by beautiful mountains and wildlife. After moving here I quickly realized how hard it is to make friends in a city where you know no one, and just how quickly life can get lonely when you feel very isolated from all of your friends and family in BFE, otherwise known as Farmington, Utah.

The reason behind this loneliness that both my fiance and I both experienced was the culture shock of the LDS religion and the prominence of it in Farmington where the LDS population is somewhere in the 90th percentile. This made us feel like the odd ones out and extremely lonely as we knew we did not fit in with those around us.

When we moved here, I started at a new job selling scaffolding (out of left field) and learned rather quickly that it was not my forte! I decided to go back to the elevator company to pursue new opportunities. With that came a LOT of time on my hands due the fact that I only had one account and really no room to sell or grow the business. So, I had lots of time to brainstorm and think about what I was going to do to fill my time with healthy opportunities that challenge me.

With this extra time on my hands, I was able to do a lot of thinking, market research, and brainstorming. I eventually found my calling in the sleepwear world in April of this year. I noticed a gap in the market for collegiate sleepwear both in the cute and comfy category. I remember being in college and getting a pair of pajamas and thinking.. “this is the best that they can do?”. With the brand that I am building, I am currently working to get licensing for every college and be their sole provider for their sleepwear that they sell in anything related to their campus. My goal with the Iowa matching sleepwear is to have it sold in major stores alongside the Iowa Book Store, which is the ‘official’ place on campus to buy books and grab cute apparel. This leads right into where I am at right now and that is working to provide more value to a larger market. I decided it would be fun and very helpful to others looking to pursue something similar to have a reference guide for building dreams into reality.

As I continue this exciting chapter, I look forward to sharing my journey with you. Follow along right here on my blog and don’t forget to grab yourself a pair of comfy, cozy, Hawkeye pajamas. :) (More pajamas to be released in the next month!)

XOXO,

Jeslee