Moms Turn Craft Project Into A Thriving 'Bowtique' Business
What started out as a craft project between two best friends is now Ooh La La Bowtique, a rapidly expanding home-based business with national and international clients.
Stephanie Miller was pregnant with daughter Reese, and Nicole Nowak had just given birth to Chloe when the two – pals since kindergarten – decided to try and make hair bows.
Each already had a son and were excited about outfitting baby girls.
“I was buying bows and spending a fortune on them,” Nowak, 30, said. “We were crafty and thought, ‘We can do this.’ ”
They got to work – armed with instructions they found on the Internet, yards of ribbons, alligator clips, wire and glue. But they quickly learned you can’t just pick up a ribbon and turn it into something fabulous.
“If you saw our old hair bows, you would say ‘Oh Lord,’ “Miller, also 30, said, laughing over their early attempts. “But we thought they were beautiful.”
That was in 2004. In 2005, they had enough inventory to host a “bowtique” in Nowak’s garage. The duo made $1,000 that year. Three years later, they have honed their craft and are selling bows to stores from New York to Mexico. They earned $47,000 for 2007, pretty impressive for two moms who’ve learned to juggle the tools of their trade with kids running around.
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