We recently connected with JoAnn Emale and have shared our conversation below.

JoAnn, thanks for joining us, excited to have you contributing your stories and insights. How did you come up with the idea for your business?

As a former pageant queen, I struggled with getting makeup on my sponsored gowns. When I would see what my pageant sisters were doing to prevent the issue of makeup transfer, I would see the strangest things. They would use towels, plastic bags, you name it, just to prevent makeup from getting on their wardrobe. When I went to look for a solution, I could not find one. That is when I began my journey of crafting a breathable, see through, and ecofriendly device that is user and travel friendly called

Great, appreciate you sharing that with us. Before we ask you to share more of your insights, can you take a moment to introduce yourself and how you got to where you are today to our readers.

Any fun sales or marketing stories?

In March of 2023, we decided to take Maskee® to the CheerSource Experience in Nashville, Tennessee. As a solopreneur, I was tasked with manning a booth by myself with roughly 8,000 potential attendees daily. I was SHOOK! But as a company that is growing, paying for contractors was not an option. I have a strong background in experiential marketing, so I was able to craft a booth that allowed me to check out guest, exhibit the product, and gather tons of BTS marketing for the brands website and social media. To have sold out of product in two days was shocking and truly a blessing. This was a big risk because I had to travel across country with little to no sleep, but we did it and made a huge impact on the cheer market!

Can you talk to us about manufacturing? How’d you figure it all out? We’d love to hear the story.

When I first came up with the idea for Maskee®, I was not sure how we would manufacture it. I took my sketch to my local tailor who made a very rough prototype. She told me that she wouldn’t be able to make more than five at a time and that was not going to work. I noticed that with tailors, the designs would not have consistent quality. I then visited the fashion district in LA and found a boutique that specialized in making patterns. I secured a pattern and was on my next mission of finding a manufacturer to mass produce my product. After hitting 3 dead ends, I became quite discouraged. One day, I went on Facebook and a former pageant gown designer of mine was posting different looks with material that resembled the type I used for Maskee®. I reached out and asked what the possibility was that I could get this product mass produced overseas. They agreed and I was able to secure my manufacturer within my budget and to the luxury quality I desired. This was a full circle moment for me because this same manufacture crafted a gown for me three years prior for a pageant, I competed in. My journey as a pageant queen is what provoked the idea for Maskee® because I was ruining my sponsored gowns with makeup when changing between competition sets. I was so elated that someone who understood my attention to detail and had the resources to create my product was available. You never know how life and relationships will change the trajectory of your future.

Contact Info:

• Website: www.themaskeeshop.com
• Instagram: instagram.com/themaskeeshop
• Other: TikTok: The Maskee Shop

Image Credits
JCI Creatives