October Business Spotlight: Saving Grace Co.

Meet O’Neil and Ava Grace! They are the owners of Saving Grace, a mother-daughter duo! They provide trendy and affordable accessories as well as personalized handmade bracelets. They have a passion for helping single moms, as O’neil was a single mom in her late teen years. 10% of their profits go to help single mothers afford basic essentials for their babies.

Q: Tell us a little bit about yourself. Your background, your family, etc.

“My name is O’Neil and I’m married to Jonathan Portillo, and we have two daughters, Ava Grace and Amelia. Jonathan and I have been married for almost six years. I graduated from Lee University and work part time in the medical field. We’ve lived in Jefferson for seven years and are very involved in The Jefferson Church. My husband is the drummer for our church and is also an Alfa Insurance Agent in Jefferson. We recently moved closer to downtown Jefferson and love being close to our church, our businesses, and our community.”

Q: What inspired you to start Saving Grace?

“It’s kind of funny, but my daughter Ava kept asking me for money. I wanted to find a way to teach her to tithe, how to manage money and help others. I decided to buy some clay beads and made a few bracelets. I taught Ava how to make them and then asked her if this was something she could make and sell. She said yes, and Saving Grace Co was born!”

Q: What is your mission behind Saving Grace?

“I was 19 when I had Ava and was a single mom for several years, so I’ve always had a heart for single moms. While I had a great support system, many single moms do not have that. Ava is also getting to the age where she’s learning about my background, and I wanted to take the opportunity to turn my past into a positive thing. So, our mission is not only to bring fun items to add to your collection, but to share awareness and help single moms afford essentials such as diapers, wipes, and formula. We decided that 10% of our sales would go to helping single moms.

So far, we were able to help a single mom for Mother’s Day this year. Single moms very often can’t pamper themselves, so we were able to gift her a spa gift card and shopping gift cards from local businesses in Jefferson. We had the opportunity to purchase diapers to donate to Choices Pregnancy and I was able to have my daughters be a part of it which was so special. The most recent opportunity we had was to make goody bags for moms and kids for a battered home shelter.”

Q: Tell us more about Saving Grace! What do you offer/sale? Where can one shop?

“Saving Grace is our bracelet business. We make trendy and affordable accessories. We offer pre-made stacks along with personalized custom orders. We recently expanded and have added our Altered Brim Collection! The Altered Brim is an experience where you customize a western fedora hat with a variety of accessories. The goal is to have our pop-up shop where you can come and create your hat, but we can also come to you. The Altered Brim Collection would also be great for events like a bachelorette party, birthday party, bridal showers.

We also added our permanent jewelry line which will launch in November. To order a Saving Grace stack or book an experience with Altered Brim you can go to our website. '

Q: What is something on your bucket list? This can be business related or personal or both!

“We want to take the girls on a cross country trip. “

O’Neil included Ava in on these questions and here is what Ava said:

“To be able to buy my mom out of the business and have Saving Grace Co. be all mine!”

Q: What do you like to do for fun?

“Ava is a cheerleader, and I am the cheerleading coach for her squad so that’s been fun because we get to do it together.”

Q: What is your favorite thing about Jefferson?

“The community. I didn’t grow up in a town like this, so it’s been so nice to be a part of this community that is so close, and everyone knows each other.”

Q: What is the greatest piece of advice you’ve ever been given?

“I have always struggled with self-confidence. Someone shared this with me and it has always stuck with me:

“Always carry yourself with confidence but make sure that it’s not self-made confidence. Make sure it’s confidence that is outlined and given to you by God

Worldly self-confidence is made from pride which will fail but if you walk in God confidence, it allows you, in whatever you face, that God is going to give you the confidence and strength to face it and get through it.”

Q: What is something good happening in your life, big or small, that we can celebrate with you?

“I’m really excited and looking forward to creating this pop-up shop and to be able to do something that I really love and enjoy.”

You can follow Saving Grace Co. on Instagram and like them on Facebook. To learn more about them and to shop, visit their website.