One of our suppliers, Transfer Express, has recognized and written an article about Marjorie’s success with heat press applications at on-site events. Read all about it HERE!
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A Store is Born
It was meant to be a kiosk, a tightly merchandised, space-allocated and plannogrammed 10′X15′ walk-in and walk around “mini-store”, not too different from Shamrock Chic’s very familiar yet innovative festival booths. Grids, shelves and hooks, held together with ingenuity and bungee balls, the occasional table and support pole. Colonie Center Mall in Albany will again host Shamrock Chic for the upcoming months, mid-November through mid-March. I am in the process of selecting items and layout, which will both have a very different look this year. Also, a version of this retail concept was planned for a Buffalo mall, but the plan fell through a few weeks ago. One of the corporate mall execs nixed it.
I liked having two locations last year, one in Colonie Center and one in Tuttle Mall in Dublin, OH. Dublin is a fun place, but preferring to be a little closer to home, I had selected Buffalo, for several reasons. It’s my hometown. I grew up there. I lived in the city until 1975, then went to college, and did not move back. My sisters do live in and around the city and I visit often. I have a nice retail “following” in Buffalo, through my years as a craft show vendor and more recently with the Buffalo Irish Festival. I had been solicited to be in the Walden Galleria, frequently, by the specialty leasing agent, who become “scouts” in December, when he first met me in Dublin, OH. Not wanting to let go of the opportunity, he slowly and methodically convinced me to open a seasonal in-line store. That’s retail speak for a REAL STORE, not a kiosk. Pricey, yes. Economic woes, indeed. But Walden Galleria is among the top 10% of malls in the country for sales and are 6% ahead of last year, in spite of the economy. And, the “icing on the cake”, as the leasing agent puts it, is the 40% Canadian traffic.
Am I a pioneer? Yes, and even the Chinese food restaurant placemats “year of the rooster” say so, in their description of the year of my birth! That aside, I am a creative, sometimes restless, risk taker, I guess. I am self-employed because I have known for a long time that I dislike doing the same thing for very long. There is always a new idea worth pursuing or goal that I feel challenged to attain. The creativity has been there since I was very young. Color sense and doing things with my hands has led to various crafts, then a business, and now a store. Working with color has been a constant theme and so has selling things made of cloth! Those who know my background do chuckle a little when I tell them that my most recent success is connected to an Irish them clothing line. I am 50% German and 50% unknown. My mother is adopted. In spite of my background, my Irish theme apparel line is becoming known nationally. LIfe’s a Stitch Embroidery, LLC, the parent company of Shamrock Chic, now wholesales to over a dozen Irish import stores and businesses across the country. Recently, magazine articles have been published about my business, and we were hand selected, without an application, to exhibit at the world’s largest Irish festival, in Milwaukee, WI.
On or about October 27th, I will open the first Shamrock Chic store, located on the 2nd floor of the Walden Galleria Mall, in Cheektowaga, NY, next to Fredrick’s of Hollywood and near Old Navy. A 1000 square foot store, with as much professionalism to the look as I can create. My clothing line will be featured. Those of you in the area…Please stop in and say hello!! And help get the word out…tell a friend! For those of you like me, who have avoided malls for years…yes, I do avoid malls…don’t be afraid!! The nearest parking and outdoor entrance is at DSW, then turn left and come see Shamrock Chic!!
Seasons of Change
Summer is fading into fall and our festival season is coming quickly to a close. This is not to say that we now enter hibernation. The bustling holiday season for which we have great things planned is right around the corner.
Like the trees, we are changing the colors of many of our garments from the pastels and brights of summer to the warmer, richer tones of fall and winter. Among some of the changes are the addition of plum v-neck style pullover hoodies, majestic purple full-zip hoodies, burgandy 3/4 sleeve blouses and long sleeve purple scoop neck tees. Many of our standard favorites chosen to combat the cooler temperatures like our men’s and women’s Wintercept fleece jackets and rain resistant windbreakers will remain but we have also added knit scarves and fleece headbands.
The gift giving season means that our customers’ minds change from outfitting themselves to finding those garments that will please their loved ones. Though more often associated with summer, our ladies’ tanks for layering and mens’ Irish mesh shorts, like our Irish flannel pants and applique hoodies, are year round standards and fit the gift giving bill. Our preshrunk six button cardigans, mens’ windshirts, golf towels, chef hats and aprons are always popular with the Christmas shopper.
So where can you get your hands on our lovely Irish inspired apparel this holiday season? Stay Tuned!
We’re Going Pink!
October is breast cancer awareness month! While usually we deck ourselves out in Irish greens, Life’s a Stitch Embroidery is delighted to go pink and support a local organization known as the City Texans of Rensselaer who will be holding their Annual Line Dance event on September 25, 2011.
For the second year in a row, we have donated our services and used our heat press capabilities to produce t-shirts that this organization sells to participants to increase event fundraising. On the front is the organizations bright pink cowgirl hat logo and on the back is a list of other sponsors who have generously donated to this event. This year we went one step further combining heat press with embroidery to enhance survivor shirts that are given out to all those participants that have been in the fight against this deadly disease.
The City Texans have a whole day of family fun activities lined up at the Rensselaer Riverfront Park and will be giving all proceeds from this day to the Susan G. Komen Foundation of NENY. Come out and join them!
The O’Lympics
Dublin, Ohio and Milwaukee, Wisconsin. These towns represent the Irish Festival “O’Lympics”. Milwaukee boasts being the largest Irish Festival in the world, and Dublin is #2. “Like Ireland, but Smaller” is the one of the Dublin slogans, and “Irish is an Attitude” is another. Why O’Lympics? Well, the O-apostrophe is obvious. The choice of the word is worth a story.
For three years, I have known about these two events. Anywhere I travel, with fellow Irish festival vendors, they talk about these two places as the top events and the places to be. The vendors do more than just talk. There is a level of competition to be chosen to attend, to suit up and show up, to be ready. Ready is different for everyone, but the level of stamina and professionalism needed is unrivaled. These are the top events. The stakes are high and so are the returns.
There are waiting lists to overcome, committee members to please, and stock levels to maintain. There are also logistics of set up, traffic flow and access, and the ability to act pleasing to customers with consistent energy when you are sleep deprived. These are in addition to having the right mix of merchandise that will appeal to customers, and quantities to last the duration of the show. Add to that a safe, attractive display that can be set up in the space with the time allotted.
DIF Sand Art 2010
Shamrock Chic is ahead of the curve. We applied to Dublin and got in, the FIRST year. Grateful to be selected, we were pretty much operated on raw energy…it certainly was not sleep…4 days in a row with 4 hours or less. We had outstanding, record sales, and made a huge splash. Because Life’s a Stitch embroiders their own, production for this show was pretty demanding. So was packing for it. This year we are blessed with a newer van and more room. No worries about running out of anything. We did almost as well as last year, with a major storm blowing through and early cancellation of the event.
For Milwaukee, we have a similarly impressive story. Some of our clothing items were seen in an Irish store in Alexandria, VA, where we wholesale. A committee member from the Milwaukee Irish Festival was vacationing there and demanded to know WHO designed that clothing line and WHERE it came from. The store owner emailed me to relay the experience. Weeks later, I got a call from the vendor chairperson, Maureen. She was inviting me to the festival! I asked about the waiting list. I asked why us. I was told that we offer something that no one else has, and that they want it at their festival. What an incredible honor, I thought. I had never applied. I had even planned on attending another show, in the Catskills on the same weekend.
New LAS Van
Milwaukee is a game changer for LAS/Shamrock Chic. The idea that I could have another van breakdown occurred to me, more than once. The thought of investing that much money in show fees, hotels, staffing and merchandise and then not be able to go…well, that was a nightmare that I could not let happen. I set out to upgrade the 2003 with a newer model and by sheer determination, found and financed a 2006 Freightliner Sprinter with only 42K miles on it. We got it ready on the interior and up to par in record time to be loaded for the trip west. Even the rain held off, while the fixtures were staged in my driveway, awaiting the arrival of the new van.
It will be my first venture to the state of Wisconsin, selling or even setting foot. I am thrilled to be a part of the event. The very same store owner (from Alexandria, VA) and her relatives will be helping me there. It is her home town and she goes every year. My crew in Dublin drives home in a rented car tomorrow. I will be working with people I have not met yet, but all are very excited to be working at the Milwaukee Irish Festival in the Shamrock Chic booth!! We think we will make a big splash, and are ready for it!
Cat’s Away – Does the Embroidery Team Get to Play?
Marjorie headed off first thing this morning to set up her Shamrock Chic kiosk at the AOH/LAOH Pennsylvania Statewide Convention. You would think this the perfect time for the staff left behind to take full advantage of our long-awaited summer weather to pull out the inflatable pool and sip on some piña coladas. However, truth be told, there just isn’t time.
Currently in the works:
- An order of lunch bags personally ordered by one of the NYS Assembly members who has a golf tournament coming up.
- Three of our wholesale customers, including The Irish Walk and Cashel House, have placed reorders and are trying new merchandise to get them through the remainder of their summer selling season.
- One of our contract reps has sent us 62 polo shirts to embroider for one of their customers.
- The Troy Fighting Irish have placed an order with Life’s a Stitch Embroidery to have their logo digitized and stitched onto several pieces for their coaches and players.
- A dozen hats that we will be logoing for the Irish folk band Hair of the Dog.
- 100 piece towel order for Fox & Schingo Plastic Surgery.
- A quantity of T-shirts awaiting heat press and final sponsor information for a local breast cancer organization known as the City Texans annual line dance event.
Though the Life’s a Stitch Embroidery staff is good at staying on task and getting the job done, they would be hard pressed to get all of the above completed before the boss returns at week’s end. However, if they find themselves bored, Marjorie has also begun to order ahead to keep her Shamrock Chic kiosk well stocked during the aggressive festival season schedule she has lined up over the next couple of months. There are countless numbers of black and grey hoodies awaiting Irish applique work, an untold amount of hats and visors for all ages, as well as mesh shorts and flannel pants waiting to be heat pressed despite the outdoor temps.
While Marjorie and the lucky staff member she has with her will be living it up in the air-conditioned banquet halls of the Dolce Hotel with their friends from AOH Division #1, her staff will be hard at work back at the shop where the AC is still on the fritz and the phone hasn’t stopped ringing.
Embroidery Industry Entrepreneur Worth Watching
Marjorie Corrow, President of Life’s a Stitch Embroidery, LLC, is about to be honored in the embroidery industry. Stitches Magazine, a leading trade magazine with world-wide circulation, will run an issue featuring the accomplishments of women in the garment decorating industry, this August.
Earlier this year, the editor of Stitches had put out a call for gutsy entrepreneurs, movers and shakers in the embroidery industry who have grown their businesses in this difficult economy to submit their personal stories. Expecting hers to be lost amid a sea of hundreds or even thousands of other applicant submissions, Marjorie typed up her entry and sent it off.
A few months later, a congratulatory email came back…that Marjorie had been selected as one of the “Women to Watch” in the embroidery business, for innovation and success. Following a lengthy phone interview, she asked how many were chosen. Only ten!! Marjorie is among as few as ten women entrepreneurs worldwide that the leading trade magazine thinks are the future trend-setters in success. Outstanding!
Here’s a brief summary as to “why”:
1) Marjorie has never modeled her business like anyone else’s. Quality work with top-notch service. The way it should be. Her business has grown, primarily through hard work and word of mouth, the best kind.
2) Marjorie believes that the store should go where the people are, not the other way around. She has never had a bricks and mortar location. Shamrock Chic has achieved notoriety with the concept of a “Pop-up Store”, with the success of the two mall kiosks in Colonie, NY and Dublin, OH.
3) Marjorie had the guts to change venues completely, after a 10-yr run in children’s clothing, to something entirely different…Irish and Celtic theme apparel.
4) Retail and new customer markets are identified and grow out of other existing and natural markets…she has expanded her business customer base through the natural market of the vending booth/kiosk.
5) And, a few basic principles…Do the thing you do best. Marjorie knows clothing. Hire people with integrity first. An educated customer is a happy customer. Do your part for the community: Marjorie helps many non-profit group customers with deep discounts and freebies.
Life’s a Stitch/Shamrock Chic and all of the “fans” are looking forward to this upcoming article. It is a recognition for 14 years of not being like the others, having a pioneering spirit, identifying trends with good instincts and having tenacity during life’s challenging periods.
This is not the first time that Marjorie has been recognized by this industry publication. In 2009, her Irish Applique hoodie design was chosen for a specialty niche market entry. This was quite a thrill for Marjorie but apparently only the beginning. That first article has been framed for display and is often present in our Shamrock Chic kiosk/festival booth.
Embroidery is Sew Chic! – Join LASS News
So who are we?
Life’s a Stitch Embroidery, LLC is a local small business located in Niskayuna, NY which provides high quality individualized embroidery service to an ever growing list of customers, business accounts, wholesale clients and organizations.
M. Corrow, President
Marjorie G. Corrow, President, and fellow blogger here at LASS News, is so much more than just the face of Life’s a Stitch Embroidery. In the 14 years since its inception, she has built it quite literally one stitch at a time. In addition to the everyday tasks of running or overseeing all aspects of her service based business, Marjorie also designs and retails her own line of embroidered Irish and Celtic inspired apparel for the whole family. She spends much of the year on the road traveling to numerous festivals in several states and managing pop up retail store locations during the holiday season under the banner name Shamrock Chic.
The other members of the Life’s a Stitch Embroidery team, although often faceless to outsiders by choice, take great pride in their work. Each one brings a unique set of skills to the game and the attention to detail they give each task undertaken is unmatched. They see deadlines as challenges to be overcome and meet them head on. They view the end customer as the number one asset of the business and set their sites on pleasing each and every one.
Why are we here?
We love to engage with our customers! We have had a static website at this address for some time, we have reached out to subscribers through our LASS newsletter and you can even find us on Facebook. We enjoy telling you about our industry, the services we provide and our satisfied customers. We want to be able to share more about our Irish/Celtic line and the festivals we attend. What we want most, however, is to open up a dialogue with all of you. We want a place where you can share your feedback and input and we want to make new friends!