We had the good fortune of connecting with Laura Welty and we’ve shared our conversation below.

Hi Laura, how did you come up with the idea for your business?
Mister Tangle was born in the daily chaos of untamed toddler tresses and morning rushes. Between the two of us, we had daughters with the most beautiful — and impossibly tangly — hair. Detangling became a ritual of patience, problem-solving, and a lot of gentle negotiation. It was as if the knots had a personality of their own… and that’s when the idea sparked. What if we turned that frustration into something fun?

Mister Tangle started as a character — a mischievous little guy who loved causing knots — but soon evolved into something bigger: a brand designed to bring humor, empathy, and clever solutions to everyday tangles, It’s a reminder that even the messiest problems can be smoothed out with a little creativity (and a great detangling brush).

Can you open up a bit about your work and career? We’re big fans and we’d love for our community to learn more about your work.
Our work is always inspired by the real-life mess and magic of family — especially the kind that shows up in small, everyday moments. What sets us apart is our commitment to creating products that are both useful and meaningful — things that make life smoother, lighter, even a little more joyful. Mister Tangle was born to solve a daily problem with empathy and imagination.

One of the things we’re most proud of is that our ideas are rooted in personal experience. Mister Tangle, for example, came from the daily challenge of detangling our daughters’ wild, beautiful hair — and the playful way we turned that struggle into a story, then into a product.

The journey hasn’t always been smooth. One of our biggest early challenges was hiring the right creative partners — from finding an artist who could bring Mister Tangle to life the way we imagined, to navigating the world of independent publishing for our first product. We learned quickly that clarity in vision, communication, and timeline is everything. We’ve also learned the importance of patience — that the right creative process can’t always be rushed, but it does require structure, trust, and persistence.

What we want people to know is that our brand is built on care — care for the experience of the user, care for the story behind the product, and care for doing things with integrity. We believe in practical magic: products that solve real problems while bringing a little joy into your hands.

If you had a friend visiting you, what are some of the local spots you’d want to take them around to?
The best San Diego weekends always include a visit to the beach and a burrito. We love to meet for long walks at Torrey Pines followed by a coffee at Bird Rock.

The Shoutout series is all about recognizing that our success and where we are in life is at least somewhat thanks to the efforts, support, mentorship, love and encouragement of others. So is there someone that you want to dedicate your shoutout to?
We dedicate this Shoutout to kids for challenging us to think differently everyday.

Website: https://www.mistertangle.com

Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/mistertangle/

Nominate Someone: ShoutoutSoCal is built on recommendations and shoutouts from the community; it’s how we uncover hidden gems, so if you or someone you know deserves recognition please let us know here.