ATLANTIC HIGHLANDS – Growing up in Bucks County, Pennsylvania, Meg O’Donnell was an industrious child who enjoyed art, and she successfully capitalized on those traits with her launch of Little Chicken, an Atlantic Highlands store that offers customized kids’ apparel and accessories as well as fun event space.
“I was always driven to create things and loved art as a kid, especially painting and sketching,” said O’Donnell, 37, an Atlantic Highlands resident. “I also loved to work and the feeling of accomplishment I got when people liked the job I did.”
After graduating from George Washington University in Washington, D.C., with a dual major in fine arts and art history, she took a job in fashion PR, a role which involved traveling to Europe with clients. “It was very interesting,” she recalled, “but I ultimately realized that it wasn’t for me because I missed creating my own work.”
O’Donnell went back to school, graduated from the Fashion Institute of Technology in New York City with a degree in accessories design, and has worked in the women’s fashion industry since 2008.
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In 2010, O’Donnell and her husband, a professional mariner, moved to Atlantic Highlands, and, shortly after welcoming kids Olivia and Jack, O’Donnell was inspired to create a business of her own.
“We used to call my daughter ‘Little Chicken’ as a nickname when she was a baby and I actually registered the name of my store in 2017, long before I owned it,” O’Donnell explained.
