Alles Normales

Local artists, designers and jewelers turned entrepreneurs have begun businesses inspired by their own creative passions. Whether prompted by a lifelong hobby, a few art classes or the deliberate search for a way to begin a business, these women - who once held positions in everything from advertising to design to sound engineering in their “past lives” - have succeeded in finding just the right combination of talent, skill and savvy to conceive and build their own businesses, often while raising families.

They have found that starting their own businesses is a route that yields not only income, but significant satisfaction and happiness.

As women return to the work force after having children, many in the area are choosing new careers. “First and foremost I consider myself an artist,” said Karen Ford, of Karen Ford Ceramics in Westport. When her son was an infant, Ford decided to stay home with him. Looking for a new hobby, she enrolled in pottery classes, and there she discovered a new passion and a hidden talent. “Once you start accumulating [pottery] you think, ‘Now what am I going to do with all this?’” she laughs, only half joking. She decided, in 1990, to sell her wares through a home show. “After one show…I had enough money to buy my own kiln,” she says, still sounding a bit astonished. “I started applying to national juried shows and got into the N.Y. market….I thought, there’s something to this.”

Anita Sobelson, of Anita Designs in Weston, was not looking for a business per se, but was surprised to see her passion and interests bring success in the marketplace. “I started making [accessories] for the house. It got so crowded with my things that I thought I’d try selling at the craft shows to get rid of some of it,” said Sobelson, who creates ottomans, pillows, quilted throws and handbags, all hand made from her own designs. “I was looking for a place to move my work out of my home…then I realized people are actually buying it,” she said.

Kim Haney of Kim Haney Designs, Fairfield, has been designing hand-crafted belts, headbands, dog collars and key chains since 1999. She, too, “wasn’t looking for a business” when her design ideas began. “I started sewing because I wanted to make things that I love. I’d see something - like a belt - and say ‘Oh, I can do this.’ …I made some for my friends and then saw that they sold very quickly. Once I saw that, it gave me the courage to start a business.”

The courage Haney refers to gets a unanimous vote as a key ingredient in a start-up business. Sobelson said of her hand-made accessories, “Getting the nerve to have people actually look at [her work] and think that they might buy it, to keep up the confidence that I can create something that people have interest in” was hard at first. “There are these points in business when you grow a little… just getting to the point where I actually had the nerve to put it out there and see if people would pick it up,” she added, “was a challenge - and a success.”

Ford notes that “customers feel if your heart is in it. And you can sell it better if it is. You have to come across very confident - even if you’re not - because people notice that.”

In addition to those whose art and design ideas came first, there are those whose desire to create a business was the impetus for discovering their creativity.

“I always wanted to have my own business…with the premise that I can spend time with my kids and work out of my house,” said Ray Thompson of Southport, owner of Charlie and Grace, for which she designs gift items for “babies and ladies,” such as designer burp cloths, onesies, belts and a new tee shirt line. Begun with a longtime friend, she is now the sole owner. “Our kids were young, we wanted to have stylish, practical items that we would want to use ourselves,” she said.

Mary Brisbois and Nicky Ray of Easton, owners of Turtle Bay Company, explained how their business came to be. “We met when our children became friends in preschool. We both knew we wanted to have our own business. Mary’s sister was doing some beading in Michigan and she said why don’t we give this a try. In 1999 we had our first Easton show. We had so much fun! We said we would not do anything but bracelets. And then it just took off!,” they recounted, showing off evidence of their business’ growth, not only bracelets, but earrings and necklaces too.

Growing a business

Knowing what to do when the business takes off is also key to its success. Having the courage to start it and the passion and love to drive it is critical, but the ability to recognize the points at which growth is occurring and to move it forward in a nurturing direction is paramount.

Jennifer Butler of Jennifer Butler-Made to Measure Clothing in Fairfield is a case in point. Having sewn and designed clothing for roughly twenty-five years, custom clothing is not a new creative force in her life. But the business grew until its needed its own storefront on Post Road. “It was almost like being forced into it,” she notes, speaking of its success and the need to stay with the growth pattern taking root. “I had worked from home for long enough, which is one of the reasons I felt comfortable opening the store. It would be really hard to start up completely new and make it.” She emphasizes that “one of the reasons I had to jump to do it now was that I felt that if I didn’t do it now, I never would.”

Though perhaps desirable, a storefront is not a necessary venue for all artists and designers. Craft shows, the now-popular home parties and retail - wholesale or consignment - are routes of sale for product lines.

“I find the shows by word of mouth. The industry is fairly small,” said Haney. “I do roughly 25 to 30 shows and home parties a year.” While some find the show circuit less lucrative than home parties (where there is a captive audience) and retail, there is a consensus that the exposure can make it worthwhile. The shows are a form of marketing, an outlet for self-promotion and advertising. “Something positive comes out of the shows - a good client or an amazing rep. There is always some reason to do them. I do roughly 20 shows a year…I do not want to compete with the stores I am in either,” said Thompson, who sells wholesale to nearly twenty boutiques regionally.

While selling a product line wholesale is more lucrative and gets better attention from the store owners than consignment does - “I find that if a store does not buy the product out-right, then they do not have a vested interest in the product and it sits forever,” said Sobelson - wholesale also has its challenges. “Wholesale means that there needs to be more production, and that means having more people work for me. There’s a point where you have to release some of it to grow,” she added.

Sharing the workload

Growth may mean turning over some portion of the business to hired assistance. But artists stand united in that, unlike bookkeeping, the design and creative end of it is not something they will surrender with any ease, if at all.

There are various ways an artisan may be able to gain assistance without losing creative control. Product representatives are one solution. Charlie and Grace has four sales representatives who go to stores to sell wholesale, do the craft show circuit and sell at parties.

While at the moment Haney does not have reps, it is a goal of hers. “I’d like to grow into a business that has reps of its own…though it does make me nervous to grow too big too quickly,” she said. One risk is in hiring reps from a firm whose employees represent many different venders’ lines. “While they may have a connection with many different stores and boutiques, they may not give any one line a lot of individual attention,” explained Haney.

Turtle Bay’s owners tested the waters of repping before hiring their own reps and setting their expectations for them. Brisbois and Ray recounted, “We repped for a line of adult clothing for one year just to get a feel for what it was like to be a rep.” Because of their experiences they have insight on what it means to offer good customer service as a rep, and as a producer and owner. As a result of their testing, they now have eight reps who do not have any quotas to meet. “We understand if a rep does not want to go out and sell every night. It’s up to them,” said Ray.

Another option for business growth is to increase production through manufacturing, though this comes too close to losing creative control for most.

Butler, who tried to produce clothing for others’ boutiques for two seasons and found it “joyless,” has one seamstress with her on premises producing what she designs. But when it comes to manufacturing she gives it a thumbs down. “I thought about what makes me happy. It is making clothes and seeing them on people. There is no waste - no product sitting around unused, no wasted time. It goes right to a person and fits perfectly.” As far as manufacturing goes, “I’d rather have 60 people wearing [my clothing] around here than trying to make a bigger mark,” she said.

Producing 500 to 600 belts and headbands a year, Haney does not use a manufacturer either. And Ford, whose goal, she says, “is to stay inspired so it does not look like I’m cranking the same thing out all the time,” would rather limit the quantity and have more quality. “I don’t think my heart lies in mass marketing,” she added.

This seems to be the proverbial rock-and-a-hard-place between which designers find themselves. Most want to grow, most want representation, but they do not want to be poorly represented or misrepresented, nor do they want to hand over creative control.

Connie Cusick, owner of Notting Hill Jewelry in Fairfield produces bracelets and necklaces from antique buckles and sterling fobs. She is also the owner of The Brown Bumblebee, for which she formerly produced handbags and accessories. The Brown Bumblebee’s growth led to the need for manufacturing, which she used for a period of time. It is now for sale, in part because she found that “you lose creativity, and it wasn’t me any longer.”

Among financial challenges artists face in forging businesses is setting prices. Cusick’s experience with Brown Bumblebee and Notting Hill Jewelry made product pricing fairly simple for her. “You know after doing one show if you have marked [a piece] too high or not.” But her recent experience at a trunk show at Henri Bendel’s in N.Y. led her to consider if her prices were set too low. “Bendel’s raised the prices of all my items, which was really a good test to see just how high the prices can go,” she said.

“There is a fine line in pricing,” said Sobelson. “You want to sell. You have to make money and you have to know that you are giving people a really well-made product. You want to sell and you want them to come back.” Jennifer Butler takes a practical approach to pricing. “I’ll never get anyone to come in if they are intimidated by the price. I am accessible,” she said.

Haney summed up the challenges in running a business, raising a family and maintaining creativity: “Juggling it all - keeping up with production, physically delivering to people and keeping a home life,” she said.

But for these women, however great or small the challenges, fast or slow the successes are in coming, there is gratitude for having found work that’s nurtured by inspiration, creativity and passion for their craft.

Filed under: Success stories - online biz