About Me

My name is Kelly Smentkowski, and I am the owner and founder of Wild Bows, a cheer bow company from Manalapan NJ.  As the mother of two beautiful girls, cheerleading has been a huge part of my life since my daughters fell in love with the sport over 18 years ago.  From a very young age, they were always a part of either their school team, or an all-star gym.   Between perfecting their jumps, tumbling, dances, cheers, chants, and smiles, our home was forever filled with the spirit of cheer.

How We Got Started

As a single mom, the expenses of cheerleading were sometimes beyond my reach, but seeing how much it meant to my girls gave me the drive to do whatever it took to ensure they were able to continue.  We were constantly fundraising, canning or tagging, and working hard to find new ways to raise the money for cheer.  My girls never had all the new apparel or optional gear that the teams offered, but appreciated the opportunity to be a part of the team either way.  In an effort to make them feel special, and show our support for all the cheerleaders, we were always making competition and practice bows, t-shirts, and other home-made personalized gifts.  They were proud to see their teammates show off their new things, wearing everything as one big happy family.   

It was not until my own cheerleaders finished their cheerleading careers that I took my bow making to a whole new level.  Starting small, and doing a couple local competitions a year, I loved being a continued part of the sport.  Seeing how much the new generation of cheerleaders loved the bows I offered, I began to expand the selections I made little by little. 

Today, we at Wild Bows still offer that small business feel and customer service, with the big company options.  With a sublimation machine, rhinestones machine, graphic designer, hundreds of fabrics, colors, and more all in house, we are able to make custom designs to fit any team’s needs.  Despite those great additions, each bow is still hand-made and hand tied with love.  We stand behind our products to ensure the quality is outstanding, while keeping our prices as reasonable as we possibly can.  Seeing the smile on each team’s face around the nation while they rock their Wild Bows is a feeling that can’t be beat.