Mums more than decoration

By Abigail Allen

Editor & Publisher

What started as a lesson in a floral design class turned into a family business for Lundyn Byrd and her mother Janette Burdette.

Since 2021, the two have been building and selling mums for multiple school districts throughout the area as the Mum Corner.

"My teacher was like, 'You're really good at this; you could sell these,’ and I was like, 'Oh, I totally could,'" Byrd said, adding that it started as a way to add to her college fund.

Growth happened pretty organically at the start, Burdette said.

"Our first year, we got a couple of orders from people who we knew and who wanted to support her," she said. "Then, the next year, it got even bigger because word of mouth got out that we were doing it."

Last year was their biggest season, and they have reached Denton, Frisco, Little Elm, Pilot Point, Tioga, Whitesboro and other area districts.

The mother-daughter pair have leaned on the help of Byrd's mentor, Shakisha Clark, who founded Mums Inc.

"When I first put it out there and said, 'Hey, my daughter is in high school and wanting to start doing this, she reached out to us and was like, 'Hey, I have some stuff,'" Burdette said. "… She has helped us so much over the years."

The Mum Corner mum makers offer anything ranging from small mums that can clip onto a backpack to Texas-sized creations.

Byrd focuses on the initial creative process of the mum design, and her fingers fly through the braided designs that grace the Mum Corner's creations.

Burdette enjoys putting the finishing touches, including the custom cutouts, onto each piece, as well as the business management and marketing efforts she puts into the endeavor.

Each mum maker has their own style, Byrd and Burdette said.

"If somebody sends us a picture that isn't our style, we like to refer them out to somebody that's going to create [that look]," Burdette said.

Lundyn added that their professional mum makers network means they can often match an inspiration photo with the person who built it to help the potential customer get what they want.

From coming up with an original design to perfecting all the details, making mums is a meticulous process that starts as early as January, said Amy Fuller of the Mum House.

"We always tend to send pictures of steps along the way because we don't want to complete something and completely staple and glue it down unless it's been approved," she said.

She and her mum-making partner, Cade Cornett, decided to go into business together in 2023 when Fuller wanted to make the switch from making mums for friends and family to selling them commercially.

"People kept asking, and there became more of a demand," Fuller said.

When Fuller brought up the idea to Cornett, she let Fuller know she was willing to help because she learned how to be crafty growing up.

"It is fun, making it come to life," Cornett said.

In addition to the traditional range of mums and garter sizes as well as backpack bows, the Mum House has added mums designed to go onto the popular Stanley drinking cups.

"Those have been the most popular," Fuller said. "I've probably made 30 Stanley mums."

Although the majority of their mums are also ordered by Aubrey ISD families, the Mum House duo is willing to make mums for any area school, including all the Denton ISD schools north to Collinsville and Whitesboro.

They got lucky this year with stocking up on a selection of bright pink ribbon when a Braswell senior requested that her entire mum be pink.

Some of the Mum House items are available at Casey & Co. in downtown Aubrey, where owner Marisa Cundiff said she's happy to support fellow small-town businesses.

"I love to bring more spirit to the community, and I love how it feels … to still get that little, small town feel with the traditions we have in Texas," she said.

Traditionally, making a mum or garter at home was the way to go.

However, a lot of the favorite items have gotten more intricate, and the supplies available at various craft stores have dwindled.

That's why the Mum Corner offers braids or cutouts for sale to add onto the home-built mum, and why the Mum House offers kits for those who prefer the DIY method.

Both sets of mum creators shared a couple of helpful tips for those who want to make their own homecoming pieces at home.

The Mum Corner suggests working only with acetate ribbon because of its ability to keep its shape and not fray and to use a pipe cleaner that matches the mum itself to keep the layers of the fabric mum together.

The Mum House suggested using a circle of felt on the back of the mum to cover any place where there’s staples or glue visible to prevent snagging and to make it more comfortable to wear.