In October 2023, Kiralyn Mulloy launched Sumner Lane, a stationery and gift brand, out of her new home in Dallas. The aesthetic was part New York girl, part cool Scandinavian influencer, and part English countryside. It’s quite the mix, but Sumner Lane found almost immediate virality. The visual that clinched it, however, was a simple, coquettish bow.
“It really took off because of my bow designs,” says Mulloy, who also notes the tradwife trend that recently overtook TikTok, the same platform that has fueled Sumner Lane’s biggest successes.
“The first two weeks of launching I probably made a few hundred bucks or something, and then as soon as the TikToks went viral, it was something I never expected in my life, but I made like $40,000,” she says. “It was insane. It just took off.”
And yet, in September 2024, Mulloy posted an Instagram with a long caption sharing that she planned to close Sumner Lane.
“To grow a six-figure business in less than a year has been both so exciting and so draining,” the founder shared on Sumner Lane’s Instagram. “To continue scaling it would require a whole team of people, which is not the lifestyle I ultimately wanted to have.”
“I felt at peace with moving on because I feel my greater calling in life is to be a mom,” Mulloy says.
The response to the closure was swift and overwhelming. Mulloy’s Instagram announcement, which is currently nearing 1 million views, received an outpouring of comments applauding the entrepreneur for following her gut. But the virality didn’t stop there.
Connecticut-based influencer and noted tennis WAG Paige Lorenze just happened to organically share Sumner Lane with her 746,000 Instagram followers, creating a record-breaking sales month followed by a “life-changing” wholesale order from a big-name retailer. No fewer than nine people offered to buy Sumner Lane. One month after announcing the closing sale, she rescinded.
“The universe was telling me, ‘No, it’s not over now. Now this, this, and this, are here to help you for the next stage,” Mulloy says. She added on Instagram, “Most of all, I’ve put a plan into place to keep developing myself outside of just the business and that’s what I needed most.”
The Rapid Rise of Sumner Lane
Sumner Lane is one of thousands of stationery brands targeting women between the ages of 20 and 35. But its success isn’t happenstance. In January 2023, Mulloy began meticulously drafting each detail of Sumner Lane’s development. She invested in marketing consulting and prioritized Instagram and TikTok.
“I’ve always heard people say, ‘Oh, I started this as a hobby and it turned into a business,’” Mulloy says. “I’ve never related to that, because I started this fully with a business plan in place.”
Mulloy’s first viral item was a self-care journal with a cover that read “cool girls have wellness journals.” The cursive words are surrounded by a simple illustrated bow. Other collections dabble in dinner party chic, breezy coastal girl, European cool, and trendy western cowgirl. It’s messy, frilly, and in tune with Mulloy’s trend-hopping target audience.
As for how she feels about decision whiplash, she still trusts her intuition.
“I’ve come to terms with [the idea that] the video was supposed to be made for whatever reason,” Mulloy says. “It had to happen in that way and it led to me getting connected with the people I needed.”
