We’re excited to introduce you to the always interesting and insightful Cheryl McConnell. We hope you’ll enjoy our conversation with Cheryl below.

Cheryl, looking forward to hearing all of your stories today. We’d love to go back in time and hear the story of how you came up with the name of your brand?

The inspiration for the name Ushood, comes from an adventure in Peru. I was on an expedition, and I was contemplating the idea of starting this business. I heard an inner voice that said “You Should”. It spoke to both the business and the mountain climbs ahead of me. Just as I stepped into this climb with the unknown of how it would unfold, my inner voice was telling me that I should apply that same guidance to moving forward with this company. “You Should.” At that moment, I became bigger than my fear and decided to go for it.

When I returned home from Peru, our 8th grade son at the time said he needed to come up with a Capstone project and said we needed to bring to market the 22-year old idea. He said with conviction, “You should.” This product comes from a design created 22 years ago, and over the years we made several prototypes for our family for skiing. Each iteration of the Ushood grew more and more refined, so by the time serious discussions about launching the business were being held, we had a solid product that was ready for manufacture and testing by a broader scope of outdoor enthusiasts.

Synergistically the spelling of Ushood includes “US HOOD”, and we are 100% made in the US with a unique adjustable hood as our defining feature. vOur tag line follows our company name and reads: Ushood Protect Your Skin.

Cheryl, before we move on to more of these sorts of questions, can you take some time to bring our readers up to speed on you and what you do?

Twenty-two years ago my husband, Sean, came down off the mountain from snowboarding with a sore neck and shoulders from an all-day chill he had. Cold and snow had gotten in between the gaps between his neck buff and shirt, and the ensuing chill lasted all day long. Sean immediately sat at a table and drew the design for his ideal base layer that had NO gaps for the cold to get in.

My mother is a seamstress by hobby, so she sewed his design and brought to life the first “shoodie”. Over the years, she made shoodies for everyone in our family, and we stayed warm and comfortable on cold, windy days, as well as while skiing & snowboarding.

I’ve been a stay-at-home mom who has supported her husband in his business, as well as being philanthropic within her community.

The problem we solve with Ushood is providing skin protection in a garment with adjustable coverage for those who work and play outdoors.

Companies can resource their materials from other countries and claim “Made in USA” if they simply assemble them within the Unites States. Ushood materials, on the other hand, are 100% made in the US, from spinning the thread to the final sewn garments. We are committed to supporting local communities, as well as our planet, and we work sustainably to minimize our carbon footprint as much as possible. Much to our manufacturer’s dismay, we decline to use any poly plastic bags, eliminating tens of thousands of plastic bags from our landfills and oceans. We have tagless labeling and use natural, recycled products for the minimal packaging that we do provide. We believe every little bit helps in this critical effort to save our planet, so we are very intentional with such decisions.

I am proud that I made it through the pandemic. We were able to navigate uncharted waters and persevere with teamwork, a positive attitude, and tenacity. We did not have to lay off any staff or compromise our standards. It’s hard enough on a good day, but especially during the pandemic, it is extremely challenging to be the little guy and hold my ground and place in line. The US is not set up for manufacturing, so whatever opportunities there are, you really have to stand your ground to keep your place, especially in a competitive field with many large corporations vying for your spot. We were even able to continue our philanthropic program, Cher On, where we donate a portion of proceeds to local and national nonprofits that our customers get to choose from a list we refresh every year.

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

Yes, we manufacture our custom designs here in the USA. Once I decided to move forward with bringing and branding a product to market without any knowledge of the industry, I knew I had a huge learning curve ahead of me. A good friend of mine suggested that I attend the Outdoor Retailer trade show in Denver. I went to the event as an attendee and spoke with various textile manufacturers around the world and learned that I could actually produce a premium piece of apparel right here in the United States, where I could oversee production and establish face-to-face relationships with the colleagues working our account.

I’ve learned never to believe in or depend upon the timeline initially given. When I get push-back, I push forward. I’ve learned to stand my ground as a valuable customer, even if I’m a smaller customer. When I made an early trip to the NY garment district alone and had to walk through city streets and many alleys alone, I grew acutely aware that I was in territory that is significantly male-dominated. I opened those doors, introduced myself and engaged, without intimidation but instead with strength and an enhanced understanding of the landscape I was entering.

Can you share a story from your journey that illustrates your resilience?

As we build our brand, one of our primary sales channels has been at snow/ski shows and boat shows. We have great success when we can meet people face-to-face, demonstrate our product, let them feel our superior fabrics and learn about us and our story. In 2020, we were scheduled to attend 18 such events, however they were all canceled due to COVID. The opportunity to engage with the public was wiped out in an instant, one cancelation after another. As a result, we doubled-down on our digital efforts, got creative and pursued every possible lead we could think of to get our products in front of people.

As a result of brainstorming and determination, we piqued the interest of ABC. At their request after learning about our products, we sent samples of our base layers and sun shirts, and before we knew it, we were a featured product on their Emmy Winning show, View Your Deal. We had an incredibly successful sales event, reached a national audience we wouldn’t have tapped otherwise, and were able to sustain the business. Since then, we have aired on 2 additional ABC segments and are actively preparing for a 4th televised event right now.

As I said, when I get push-back, I push forward, and the essential component to our riding the COVID wave successfully was never giving up and being creative and unafraid to explore all possibilities, no matter how grand they may seem.

Contact Info:

• Website: ushood.com
• Instagram: @u.shood
• Facebook: @U.shood – “you should”
• Linkedin: Ushood, LLC
• Twitter: @ushoodllc
• Other: Pinterest: @ushoodllc

Image Credits
SUP Yoga and Biking photo credit: Shannon Kiss