We met in 2015 competing against each other in a pageant, which sounds like the beginning of a rivalry… but instead, we became instant friends.
Holly was crowned Mrs. South Carolina 2016, and the following year, she got to crown Heather Mrs. South Carolina 2017. 👑 Somewhere along the way, we discovered just how much we had in common. We’re both moms, children’s book authors, lovers of fashion, traveling, the color pink, and, eventually, Mahjong.
And that last one is where A Beautiful Line began.
Holly taught Heather how to play Mahjong, and pretty much the moment Heather learned, she said, “We need to make cuter tiles!”
That was all it took.
We grabbed a notebook and immediately started drawing what would become our iconic Girly Line. There was no business plan, no months of research, and definitely no idea where this little notebook was about to take us. We just knew we wanted Mahjong tiles that felt like us: colorful, feminine, fun, beautifully made, and pretty enough that you couldn’t wait to pull them out for Mahjong night.
The name A Beautiful Line came just as naturally. When someone wins a game, we love to clap and tell the winner, “It’s a beautiful line!” It felt like the perfect name for a company built around celebrating the game and the women sitting around the table.
As business partners, we couldn’t be more complementary.
Heather is the incredibly smart, business-savvy one. She’s a heck of a negotiator and somehow manages to keep track of all the logistics that make Holly’s head spin. She’s also usually the one saying, “We HAVE to do this!”
Holly is the creative behind the brand. She dreams up the colors, designs, products, and all the pretty little details… and she’s never met a camera she doesn’t like. She’s also usually the one looking at Heather after one of those big ideas and saying, “Okay… but are we REALLY going to actually do this?!”
Spoiler alert: we usually do. 😂
Creatively, we’re almost always on the same page. We know each other’s strengths, trust each other’s instincts, and genuinely love creating together. And when we don’t agree? We remind ourselves of one very important rule we’ve had from the beginning:
Friendship before business. Always.
We’re incredibly particular about what carries the A Beautiful Line name. To us, high quality means gorgeous artwork, beautiful materials, substantial tiles, thoughtful packaging, and attention to every tiny detail. We don’t want to make something simply because we can. We want to make things we’re genuinely excited to use ourselves.
But somewhere along the way, A Beautiful Line became about much more than making Mahjong prettier.
It’s about girlfriends around a table. Laughing way too loudly. Staying for one more game. Celebrating a beautiful line. And making the kind of memories that happen when women put everything else aside for a few hours and just have fun together.
So yes, we hope you love our tiles.
But we also hope someday we end up sitting around a Mahjong table with you.
