Two months into postpartum and let me tell you, my initial thoughts are as follows:
Men could never!
We, as a society, are entirely too nonchalant about this experience for women.
How did women do this without the modern conveniences of Amazon Prime and UberEats?
With another month under my belt, my heart has never been fuller, and it will be the most meaningful work I will ever do BY FAR. We have become much more adjusted as we have gone through many more reps and settled into the routine of eat, change, play, sleep.
However, the MAMA role has, by no means, become easier. The repetition of the routine has made it feel less like drinking from a fire hose, but like any meaningful work, you can never get too comfortable because there will always be something new to learn right around the corner. This has required me to stay on my toes and has kept me off my phone for the most part. It is a level of presence that allows me to stay in the moment because I want to soak up every bit of this chapter and I don’t want to be caught slipping. It does not miss me that I am in the dark during some monumental moments in the world (i.e. Taylor Swift’s wedding), but I’m starting to consume more bits and bobs from afar.
The Summer America Turned 250
American hype is at an all-time high this summer giving brands a once in a lifetime opportunity to make the summer America turned 250 a moment with merch. With people traveling far and wide to support their countries in the 2026 World Cup, we knew the summer would be filled with soccer, but we didn’t expect the world to become fanatics of classic Americana staples such as free refills, ranch, and Walmart. The content has reinforced what makes our country so great. Between America 250 and the FIFA World Cup, brands have had a totally unique opportunity to create merch that people will bring people back to a summer where we collectively put our differences aside and appreciated our country in support of its 250th birthday, supporting the Men’s National team, and through the eyes of those that traveled here and experienced our American glory.
Summer typically is a slower season in the corporate world, but the brands that win this summer won't be the ones that simply observe America’s 250th birthday, they’ll monumentalize it for their stakeholders in and out of the stadiums. They'll create moments that commemorate where people were, all the fun they had, and how they felt to have the world cheering for us after the final whistle blows. Twenty-five years from now, people may not remember who the US National Team lost to, but they'll remember how excited everyone was to participate in the American experience when they pull out America 250 merch from their closet.
Mantra of the Month: Repetition Creates Confidence
It totally sucks being a beginner at anything! There is nothing fun about being humbled time and time again as you learn something new, but unfortunately it is the cost of entry into developing any specialized skill. It takes 10,000 hours of practice to hone a skill to a level of expertise. The tricky part is that progress rarely announces its arrival. It shows up quietly in the 10,000 hours. It trickles into little things you no longer have to think about, the moments that once felt overwhelming but now feel incrementally more familiar. Whether you're building a brand, on a leadership journey, or figuring out motherhood one diaper change at a time, repetition has a funny way of making you confident in what once felt totally chaotic.
So if you're feeling like a beginner today, congrats… SAME!! We are exactly where we are supposed to be. Let’s keep showing up, keep putting in the reps, and trust that one day we will look back and realize that what created our confidence was the daunting repetition.
XX,
MERCH GIRLY
Savannah Dmytriw — better known as MERCH GIRLY — didn’t exactly plan on joining the promotional products industry. (Thank you, pandemic layoffs.) Thrown into unprecedented times with even more unprecedented circumstances, Savannah built a thriving book of business while marketing budgets everywhere were frozen solid. Armed with creativity and sheer determination, she landed a $3.5M client in her first calendar year and continues to hunt whales as the VP of Marketing at TEAM SCG. Her approach isn’t to just “sell swag”, rather she sees herself as a brand connoisseur — someone who dives deep into a brand’s essence before suggesting a single product. When she’s not crafting fabulous campaigns, you’ll find her chronicling merch moments on her Instagram @MERCHGIRLY, pulling inspiration from the wellness, live event, hospitality, and luxury retail worlds. Her fresh perspective has earned her a spot as a Top 10 Influencer on PPAI’s Online 18 and a feature in The Marketing Millennials newsletter and podcast, cementing her status as the girly twirly authority in the merch game.