Our History
In 2012, the birth of their first child, Bristol, turned their world upside down. Austin and Chantelle had married in 2009 and lived a fairly comfortable life. Early in life, Austin felt a call to ministry and eventually served simultaneously as a Youth Minister, Christian Educator, and School Principal. Although the call had many non-tangible rewards, it made it difficult to survive financially on his income alone. Chantelle graduated as a Registered Nurse in 2009 and began working as a floor nurse. She was eventually promoted to Charge Nurse. The pay helped bridge the gap in income.
As a new mom, Chantelle wanted to stay home with her daughter. But with the loss of her income, it was near impossible to make ends meet. Living paycheck to paycheck, Chantelle began to dream. At the time she was spending hours and hours custom crafting outfits for her then 1 year old daughter. Why would it not be possible to expand her custom crafting for others to purchase? With this dream, NUGGLES began in 2013. The fledgling company was named by Bristol, whose adorable attempt at saying “snuggle” came out sounding more like “nuggles.” It was the perfect fit for the company they had envisioned.
While dreams are envisioned in a linear manner, they rarely follow or adhere to the path we dictate. Rather, our dreams are achieved in a chaotic and roller coaster manner. Outside forces, God, and life events unfold to spin our dreams in directions we never anticipated. NUGGLES followed this wild trajectory. It started out as a dream of custom crafting girl’s clothing and morphed into what we have today, a complete line of custom manufactured items for ladies and girls.
Today, Austin and Chantelle are completely self-employed. They devote their time to running their business, raising and loving their four children (Bristol, Britton, Brinlee & CamBria), and working to establish a small home missions church. Their mantra for life is Love God and Love People, aka Christians First. They have seen so many fulfillments of their dreams over the last few years, including the ability to be a financial blessing to others.
Thank you to all the beautiful customers who support NUGGLES and make their dreams possible!