Community Highlights: Meet Gracie Boyd of Good Measure

Today we’d like to introduce you to Gracie Boyd.

Hi Gracie, so excited to have you on the platform. So before we get into questions about your work-life, maybe you can bring our readers up to speed on your story and how you got to where you are today?
I was born in Newnan, GA in 2001 to my perfect parents, Robi and Stephanie Martin. My dad was diagnosed with Glioblastoma, a grade four cancerous brain tumor, before I was born, and he passed way when I was 15 months old. My mom started a foundation called the Robi Martin Foundation of GRACE, where she held 5ks and raised money to help families walking through situations like ours. I don’t have super clear memories of any of that time, as I was a toddler, but in a way hearing stories about who my dad was and how my mom responded to grief in a time period I have no memory of have completely shaped who I am as a person. My mom worked at Coca-Cola corporate when I was born, but after my dad passed away she decided to go to nursing school, a large feat when you’re a newly windowed, single mom with a toddler. She later became the most incredible nurse to cancer patients with the help of a good God and our very special village. I grew up surrounded by the most incredible family and friends that never stopped telling stories about my dad. He was a nature man who loved hiking and being on a boat and camping, but growing up with my mom looked white the opposite — filled with shopping, beach trips, and many trips to AmericasMart, the home of many gift and apparel wholesale shows. In high school, my two best friends and I started a nonprofit, raising money to meet needs for those walking through cancer journeys and connecting our peers to volunteer opportunities with organizations that they were passionate about and I worked in a man’s formalwear store and a women’s boutique. The dream was always Auburn University, where my mom went to school. And I always thought I wanted to be a nurse like my mom, but God had a different plan. Auburn always felt like a pipe dream, as out of state tuition is no joke and they didn’t have a nursing school, but my good God opened doors and, I changed my major to Apparel Merchandising and added a minor in Nonprofit Studies as a perfect combo of my love of retail and families impacted my cancer. Auburn was everything I ever dreamed of, I made my best friends, spent many gamedays in the same seats my mom cheered in, owned my own boutique, interned right back at AmericasMart where I grew up going, and even joined a sorority who’s philanthropy was breast cancer — another sign that God was in the details. I reconnected with my now husband my senior year of college, his name is Calvin and he is the best human I’ve ever known, my life had quite literally become everything I ever dreamed of. I had the college, the man, the friends, all the good things. Then it was time to look for jobs! I freaked out. Growing up they tell you that you need to get good grades and join all the clubs so you get into a good college, then you need to get good grades and a Fortune 500 internship to get a good job, you also need to meet the love of your life at the same time while exercising and getting enough sleep and the long list of other things. They never exactly tell you what to do after the college part, and somehow I knew I loved retail but I had no idea what I wanted to spend my days doing — and spoiler alert — I’m not someone who is capable of working a job that they hate.

Thanks to a good God who opens perfectly made doors, I got a job working for Carter’s Babies + Kids at their corporate office on the Omnichannel team. I wasn’t sure what they meant at the time, but I knew that Calvin was in Atlanta and I loved retail, so I couldn’t ask for much more. It was the best job in the entire world — we worked on all things stores and ecommerce, we rolled out same day delivery, we made curbside pickup better, we made payroll processes better for store teams, we did the coolest things that actually helped families with young children. I had the most amazing bosses in the world that modeled servant leadership and advocated for my career progression. I got promoted twice in 2 years. I made friends in Atlanta despite many years cried over “I’ll never make new friends there.” I got engaged to the love of my life and planned the most dreamy wedding on 30A. We bought a home that we love. I got a perfect angel golden retriever named Beau. Calvin and I really had a reset with our faith and got involved at Passion City Church and built our dream life in Atlanta. Calvin, whose story I’ll save for him to tell, had a career change and landed exactly where he was supposed to be. Everything was as it was supposed to be, and then I got laid off — lol! Unexpected and incredibly terrifying. I panicked like I have never panicked before. Obviously losing my dad was life altering, but since then I’d never really dealt with grief, but I found myself grieving a person I thought I would be and found that most of my self worth had been put in getting a Manager title by 22. In my pure panic, God was gracious and I landed on my feet pretty quickly. I took a new role at The Home Depot, learned so much about retail from one of the biggest retailers in the world, but found myself lacking a lot of fulfillment and self worth, leading to what I think wasn’t the best wife, friend, daughter, etc, I could be — and being good at those things is my highest calling in this world. After a little under a year, I was at my whit’s end, I wasn’t sleeping, I was exhausted all the time, I had burnt my candle to both ends and was kind of falling apart at the seams for lack of better word. I love retail, more specifically specialty retail, because I love having a hand in the things that people need. At carter’s I got to help them get clothes for their little bundles of joys during a stressful time in their life’s and at Home Depot I got to have a hand in how both Pros and DIYers fix their homes and run their businesses. But I think I lost that. I asked God what my next step should be, and I got shingles the next day. My doctor said I was the youngest patient she’d ever seen with shingles — lol. My husband proposed the idea of leaving the next day. As someone who prides themselves on not being a quitter, this might be the most uncharacteristic thing I could have possibly done. I saw a quote while I was thinking on it that said, ”God will not allow you to have peace in places you’re not supposed to be in” and it was a done deal. Quitting a job 1 year after I got laid off wasn’t on my bingo card! At the beginning of my unemployment, or summer break as I prefer to call it, I opened Good Measure. I am a celebrator of all things. After my dad died, my family got really into celebrating everything and always capturing photos. My Nana says if you don’t make it special it’s not. I’ll be a bridesmaid for the 10th time this year, so I had gotten really into custom decor for bachelorette trips and parties. Good Measure opened as just that, your go to destination for every celebration! Or “your go to for the good stuff,” as is plastered all over our website. Shortly after I started, I emailed Gray for Glioblastoma, a nonprofit organization started by a now friend, Kate Snedeker, whose dad had GBM, the same brain cancer that took my dad. I wanted to collaborate with her and do something with meaning while I worked on figuring out what would come next. We landed on trucker hats and dog bandanas with her slogan, “It’s Cool to Support Brain Cancer Research®” I ordered 15 of each gray, navy, and pink hat before we launched and was terrified that that would be way to many as I was a two week old small business. Since then we’ve sold 350+ hats and bandanas and my DM’s are filled with photos and stories of people like me. I even got to host a spin class to raise money for Gray for Glioblastoma and meet so many people in person. At the same time, Good Measure has gotten to have hands in SO many milestone moments for people. Weddings, bachelorettes, birthdays, baby showers, gifting — all the biggest moments, I’ve been able to help my customers celebrate! In addition to opening Good Measure, I’ve gotten to know Jesus so much better and learned how to rest, I spent 6 weeks at the beach, I spent 10 days in Italy, I got to see my newly engaged best friend in Denver, join my husband on work trips, hit 200 CycleBar rides, spend time with my family and my nieces, had time to host and feed my church family group, wake up with my golden retriever everyday and spend lots of days at the dog park, and I can confidently say that my priories have been reset. I’ve learned that hurry isn’t holy. I’ve learned that we aren’t meant to be in a constant state of exhaustion. I’ve learned that I have the most incredible husband in the world (I already knew that but I’ve learned it more deeply), who encouraged me to chase after what brings me joy and how I can serve God and people better. I’ve learned that you don’t wear stress as a badge of honor, it actually does horrific things to your body (like give you shingles and screw up your bloodwork). I’ve learned that there is so much value in donating your time to philanthropy. I’ve learned that I have a wonderful family that encourages my crazy ideas. I’ve learned that God always has one more move. Ive learned that the Lord’s steps do not slip and that He always provides. I’ve learned that you don’t have to do things just because you think the world wants you to and you don’t have to live on someone else’s timeline. I’ve learned that dogs are way better to spend time with than humans, I think I already knew that though. I’ve also learned to choose your husband like your life depends on it. I’m going back to work next week after three months of interviewing and hearing no’s from opportunities I thought I wanted, all to land in the place that God has created especially for me. Better than I could have ever put together for myself. I’ve probably used far more words than this question asked for in thoughts that aren’t the most organized, but I’ve had lots and lots of time for reflecting lately!

Alright, so let’s dig a little deeper into the story – has it been an easy path overall and if not, what were the challenges you’ve had to overcome?
Absolutely not! My dad passed away when I was 15 months old, but I believe the Lord has used that to do good beyond measure. I look forward to reuniting with him in heaven one day and I know he’s much better off there. Aside from that I’d say I’ve struggled a lot with anxiety and where my sense of stability comes from, I think a lot of the anxiety I’ve struggled with in the past has been a cause of false standards I’ve put on myself — whether it was grades, how I looked, what my title was at work, etc, but a friend of mine shared Ralph Waldo Emerson’s poem, “Success” with me this year and it changed how I thought about things and has taken away a lot of my anxiety. I want to live in a way that success is attached to loving my family well, laughing lots, filling my home with people I love, being generous, and loving the Lord, not the rest.

Thanks – so what else should our readers know about Good Measure?
Good Measure is a gifting and celebration brand built around the idea that the details are what make people feel special. I create personalized pieces for weddings, bachelorette parties, gifting, and everyday celebrations, with a big focus on embroidery and custom details.

I’ve always believed that if you don’t make it special, it’s not. That’s something my Nana used to say, and it has really become the heart behind Good Measure. I think the little details are often what people remember most. A name embroidered on something, a thoughtful gift chosen specifically for someone, or a small detail at a celebration that makes someone feel like it was made just for them.

A lot of that perspective actually comes from my faith. When I think about how intentional God is with His creation, down to the tiny details in the leaves of a tulip or the individual whiskers on my golden retriever’s face, it makes me think that details matter. If God takes that much care in the little things, I think we should too, especially when we’re celebrating the people we love.

That’s what I want Good Measure to bring to celebrations. We don’t need a huge reason to make something special, and we definitely don’t need to settle for the bare minimum. Whether it’s a bride getting ready with her girls, a personalized gift for someone you love, or something small that makes an ordinary day feel a little more fun, I want Good Measure to help people celebrate in the details.

I’m most proud that the brand feels really true to me. It’s joyful, personal, feminine, faith inspired, and centered around making people feel celebrated. And because I’m a one woman business, I’m genuinely involved in every part of the process. Every order gets that personal touch, which is exactly what I hope people feel when they receive something from Good Measure.

If we knew you growing up, how would we have described you?
I had the most incredible childhood! I loved to sing and dance and swim and dress up, one Christmas Santa brought me every single princess dress and the matching heels and I will never ever forget it, I think that gives a perfect picture of little me. I grew up spending so much time with my grandparents and I think some of my interest comes from each of them. My Nana loves shopping and fabulous holiday hosting, my Gran loves being outside and and spending time with my doggie, my Poppy is the world’s biggest helper and comes immediately when you call, and my Bapa is a woodworker who’s never met a challenge or request he doesn’t execute. I think I am me because of each of them!

Pricing:

• All of my pricing can be found on my website, any custom inquiries can be sent via DM, email, or the contact form on our website

Contact Info:

• Website: https://Www.xogoodmeasure.com
• Instagram: graciemboyd
• LinkedIn: https://linkedin.com/in/graciemartin2001