Alright – so today we’ve got the honor of introducing you to Jennifer Midori Macfarlane. We think you’ll enjoy our conversation, we’ve shared it below.

Jennifer Midori, appreciate you joining us today. Before we get into specifics, let’s talk about success more generally. What do you think it takes to be successful?

Thank you for having me! Success has happened for me when I have taken leaps of faith. My business became real on a day I acted on a whim. I had been making Finder Totes for friends and friends of friends for a few months. One day I was in the middle of filling out a ton of school forms. I took a break and looked at some online shopping including MadeHerePDX’s website. I thought their philosophy of showcasing local makers was great. I dug deeper, found a place on their site to submit products. I didn’t think I was ready or in the same league as the other products on the site, but I figured no one would ever know if nothing came of my inquiry, so why not try. About a week later I got an email from the owner of MadeHerePDX saying they loved my bags and asked to meet in person. After that meeting they started carrying my totes and suddenly I had a real business going on!

As always, we appreciate you sharing your insights and we’ve got a few more questions for you, but before we get to all of that can you take a minute to introduce yourself and give our readers some of your back background and context?

Let’s see, I’m half Japanese and half Scottish which really stuck out in rural New Hampshire where I grew up. I left there for Parsons School of Design in New York City. School led to a career that lasted 15+ years as an Art Director in Advertising. Fun job, but not so fun after I had my first kid. My husband and I left NY to find a better lifestyle for a family and settled in Portland, OR. We had a second kid and tried to get outdoors as much as possible. We took our kids to Mount Hood which required GEAR, ski gear, swim gear, hiking gear. I made some extra large totes to carry all the stuff. The stuff always got wet, gritty and gross, so I looked for a material that could breathe and withstand constant use. Other parents noticed the totes and asked me for one.

I love good design that solves problems. Just about everything I make comes out of the need for a solution. I make small travel pouches out of mesh so you can see what’s inside. I make larger travel pouches big enough to carry letter size paper flat. I’ve made keychains out of remnant webbing to use everything up.

My other passion is music. I am a voracious listener. I love supporting the artists whose music has inspired me. Often times I’ll use IG stories as a way to share the songs I’m excited about. I’ll start with a song I love and I’ll dig for some Finder Goods image that relates to it. I try my best to support local artists, many of whom have become good friends, and use my totes to haul gear to their shows. This makes me so happy.

We’d really appreciate if you could talk to us about how you figured out the manufacturing process.

There have been SO many dead ends when it comes to production and material sourcing. I found one of my contract sewers by asking for recommendations at a fabric supplier. The others came from asking friends in the industry for sources. When I go to buy fabric, I always ask if I can see the roll in the warehouse because often times I’ll see something I’m not looking for and I’ll get a new idea.

I’ve learned to keep many irons in the fire. I’m a huge optimist, an all-in type of person. So in the beginning stages of sourcing I would think I had something SOLVED and I’d sit back and feel pumped! Until I got a quote back that was unaffordable and I’d be right back at square one having lost days. Now I force myself to call one more vendor even after I think I have something solved, just in case.

What’s a lesson you had to unlearn and what’s the backstory?

I had to learn how to price correctly (high enough)

The totes look simple, but the construction is complicated and the material isn’t easy to work with.
So they are not cheap to make.

Selling in stores (wholesaling) is tough, in the early days I was barely breaking even. But I was so grateful and excited that people wanted to carry them I would look the other way when it came to book keeping.

I was so scared to raise the prices, figuring I’d lose customers or worse, the stores wouldn’t want to carry them.

But none of those fears materialized. And now I can afford to invest in new materials, prototyping, the fun stuff.

I know I really need to grow the DTC side of the business. Then I’ll really be set!

Contact Info:

• Website: www.findergoods.com
• Instagram: findergoods
• Facebook: Finder Goods

Image Credits
Product shots by DYSK Photography @dyskphotography