We recently connected with Amy Gabriel and have shared our conversation below.

Amy, thanks for joining us, excited to have you contributing your stories and insights. How has Covid changed your business model?

Covid forced us to do a number of pivots in our business. First, we realized that all of our customers were spending more time on mobile devices, so we worked with more influencers than ever before. Through sharing about our product on Instagram stories, we gained thousands more customers.

Secondly, we began releasing new products on a regular basis to increase repeat purchases. Every Friday, we released five new LippyClips — we called “The Friday Five”, and it’s a rhythm we still embrace today.

Finally, due to the increase of mobile shoppers, we got serious about making our website mobile friendly. It made all the difference for those shopping on phones!

Amy, love having you share your insights with us. Before we ask you more questions, maybe you can take a moment to introduce yourself to our readers who might have missed our earlier conversations?

LippyClip was invented in 2012 by founder and CEO, Amy Gabriel.

The dream of a handmade business began decades ago as Amy sat with her mom and grandmothers learning to sew. She imagined the day when she would create products that people wanted to purchase. As she spent many of her younger years in the sewing rooms of these women, she began to develop a love for fabrics and creating products. Little did she know that her aspirations would one day provide for her family, support other women working from home, and grow into a thriving business.

After college, marriage, and two kids, Amy worked as a pediatric nurse for ten years. Through a series of horrific events and deep grief, she needed to leave nursing. However, she had promised her husband that she would work to support him through graduate school, and he had approximately 18 months left to finish his master’s degree.

As a way to take her mind off of the sadness and loss, she began sewing again. The dream of creating products people would purchase was long buried underneath the busy-ness of family, work, and life. However, she added some items to her Etsy shop and watched and waited.

Amy started small and slow but was quickly met with a high demand for products.

Now ten years later, Amy leads a team of nine women who help to market, prep, sew, package, and ship LippyClips all over the country.

Any stories or insights that might help us understand how you’ve built such a strong reputation?

In the early days, I used a pink marker to sign my name with a heart on every packing slip. It took a bit of extra time, but the number of customers who saw that thoughtful touch was remarkable. As we grew, I wasn’t able to sustain that practice, but it remains at the heart of what I do to make sure the customer knows that our small business is thankful for their support. We do this through highly personalized emails, mailing inserts, and a boutique unboxing experience.

Okay – so how did you figure out the manufacturing part? Did you have prior experience?

I learned to sew from my mother and grandmothers, so when I started my shop on Etsy, sewing was the natural craft for me to pursue. As we grew and I wanted to outsource sewing, I asked a few friends if they knew seamstresses looking for work. One by one, I added local women to my team — women who work from their own home, usually while kids are at school or napping. Most of the women on our team I’ve found through word of mouth — current seamstresses telling me about other women looking for work.

Over the years, I learned that clear training is crucial, and for the first several hundred products sewn, I offer lots of feedback and support. Once the seamstress is fully trained, it’s usually pretty smooth.

Contact Info:

• Website: lippyclip.com
• Instagram: @lippyclip
• Facebook: facebook.com/lippyclip