After moving to its first brick-and-mortar shop last fall, Ambitious Creations has recently moved to a new location.
The local business offers customized T-shirts, hats, watch bands, home gifts, tumblers, promotional items and more.
Owners Zederic and Sara Crawford operated the business out of their 300-square-foot basement for three years before moving to their first brick-and-mortar shop at 314 Jackson St. in September 2020. On Nov. 5, the shop relocated to 310 Jefferson St., which provides much more space and better internet.
"We kind of outgrew that space, and we did have some technical issues over there," Sara said. "The internet wasn't the greatest, and we didn't have many options."
Most of their equipment runs on WiFi, including the cash register, so the poor internet connection slowed down production and sometimes created poor customer experiences, Zederic said.
"We have to factor that into making decisions like this and trying to better our business and keep growing," he said. "We don't want nothing slowing us down. We want to keep moving forward."
The Crawfords said they also expect more foot traffic at this new location, located across from Towne Grill in downtown Jefferson City.
With this new location comes another change: Instead of waiting days for shirts to be ordered, customers will be able to choose from about 250 pre-made designs and have a shirt made on the spot.
"A customer can come in, choose from the apparel that we currently have in stock and a list of designs to choose from, and then we press them within one minute or less," Sara said.
Like most businesses, recent supply shortages have affected Ambitious Creations, sometimes forcing the Crawfords to figure out different options to satisfy customers if a product isn't available.
"We're just grateful for our customers who have been along on the journey with us and who have supported us, because without them, we wouldn't even be here," Sara said.
Despite the challenges, the business has continued to grow amid the pandemic. The Crawfords have embraced the challenges and viewed them as opportunities to learn and grow in their business and marriage. By trusting each other and trusting the process, they've been able to overcome.
"Every day we meet new challenges, so we just have to go with the ebb and flow of things," Zederic said. "It takes hard work and communication, trying to stay focused and just trying not to be pessimistic, keeping a positive attitude."
Zederic started Ambitious Creations in 2017. He had always wanted to own a business and was saving up for the perfect opportunity, so when he saw a friend's customized shirt, he invested his savings in equipment to make personalized shirts.
Sara wanted nothing to do with the business at first. But when she saw the process of creating the shirts, she knew she had to get involved.
"He was just using Times New Roman to put stuff on shirts, and I'm like, 'Nope, you're not doing that,'" she said. "That's when I got involved."
From there, the Crawfords expanded their business to include more customized products. Together, they make a dynamic duo.
"He's the ambitious one, and I'm the creative one," Sara said.
The store's hours are 4-7 p.m. Monday through Friday and 9 a.m.-2 p.m. Saturday.
To view designs or order a custom product, visit ambitiouscreationsllc.com.
Know of any business happenings around Jefferson City? Let us know at [email protected] or 573-761-0243.