Evolution of an Apron for Sale

I was asked (and felt quite honored) to submit something for a gift bag to be distributed to the attendees of the Bowdoin Women in Business Convention. Because giving away free aprons to all 50 people is not a viable option, I chose to write a brief history of how I got into this apron making business and attached a postcard offering a 10% discount towards a purchased apron.

The person who contacted me, Rori Cremer, is a self-possessed and energetic young woman who, I am sure, will be successful in whatever she chooses to undertake after graduation. She appears to thrive on the challenge of organizing such an event, one which would paralyze my brain at the get-go.

My thanks go out to Rori and her fellow Bowdoin Women in Business partners for asking for my contribution.

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Chocolate cake was the beginning of it all, which is as good a place to start as any, I think. It was a 2-part chocolate cake mix, to be precise, which I used as the focus of my small business course. I labored through the whole process from developing a marketing strategy to creating a business plan. In all earnestness, I finished my class and embarked upon my journey as an entrepreneur. Unfortunately, I quickly discovered that I had no taste for one of the most vital aspects of my business – that of wholesaling my product to retailers. Even though my cake mix practically sold itself once I presented it to prospective buyers (accompanied by tasty samples), I had to continually talk myself into the process and it became progressively harder to set out, cake mix in hand, to make my pitch.

In the meantime, I had sewn an apron from a 1920’s reproduction pattern. I then made another from a 1940’s pattern. I was having fun and was making more than I could use or give away so a friend took a few to sell through her booth at a farmer’s market. People bought them, I made more and I came to the realization that the process of apron making proved to be more satisfying than bagging up and pushing my cake mix.

Then came the opportunity to sell in the newly formed Brunswick Winter Market. I brought my cake mix and aprons to present to the market membership, was accepted and eagerly set up shop on Saturday mornings. I dutifully brought fresh cake samples each week and they were certainly gobbled up but I sold very little of the mix. But my aprons began to sell. Of course I had to replace those sold aprons so would go fabric shopping. Unlike the process of readying my cake mix for marketing, the whole process of apron making was fun and satisfying- beginning with shopping for the right fabric through to seeing how that fabric looked as a finished apron. It began to dawn on me that I was having much more fun with fabric than chocolate (though that doesn’t include eating it) and made the decision to drop the cake mix and keep sewing. Once I allowed myself to accept this simple fact, it was as if a weight had been lifted and my business became exciting once again.

The journey from Maine Mud Mix to Yo Momma’s Apron Strings is an experience I value greatly. I believed I couldn’t go wrong with chocolate and had I the personality for salesmanship, I do think it could have been a successful product. With my aprons I find I am quite happy selling at the local level and when and if I grow, it will be at a pace I determine is right for me. I can take things at a more leisurely pace with aprons as they have an endless shelf life. I can take on custom work and commissions, all without the necessity of pushing my product on wholesalers. I have the opportunity to know my customers personally and, most excitingly, learn their apron stories.

I don’t foresee my aprons being the source of my first million and that isn’t the impetuous that drives my business. I create my aprons for the joy of the process and in return receive satisfaction in a job well done, feedback from happy customers and, of course, monetary reward. It took me some time to get to this point and the outcome has been extremely fulfilling.

May your journey, if you decide to enter the realm of business ownership, become a learning and growing experience, as rich and fun as mine has been.