We caught up with the brilliant and insightful Hilary Hilario a few weeks ago and have shared our conversation below.
Hilary, thanks for taking the time to share your stories with us today We’d love to go back in time and hear the story of how you came up with the name of your brand?
As I thoughtfully wrestled with what to name my new business, I consulted many online branding resources and considered companies similar to my own. I created a long list of names that I felt represented my leather goods business. As I considered the list, I had my husband and several friends take a look. I asked them to be brutally honest and to eliminate names they did not think fit my brand. With their help, I whittled down my list to three names. Two of the names I liked, but felt they held less meaning than the final name on the list. I realized that the name Kelso Co. fit for two main reasons. First, I felt it was a clean and classy name, similar to my aesthetic. Second, Kelso is the street I live on, and it is where I began my passion for leather crafting. It was here, that I discovered a box of my grandmother’s old leather tools. This discovery is what sparked my interest in leather craft. Kelso is where I started my business and where I enjoy spending time with my family. So, Kelso Co. resonated with me the most as I named my business.
Hilary, 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?
I am a leather crafter based in Columbus, Ohio. Several years ago, I stumbled upon a box of leather working tools that were my grandmother’s. Using these tools and watching many YouTube videos on how to make a wallet, I dove into leather craft. This small project sparked a deep interest in creating items for daily carrying, that are both beautiful and functional. I began creating gifts for family and friends. Soon, I was receiving requests, asking if I could make different items. My response was, “I’ve never made that, but I bet I can figure it out!” Each project pushed me to learn and grow in my crafting. I love the challenge of figuring out how to construct and craft a new item. This led me to launch Kelso Co. in 2021. Kelso Co. is a one woman business. I am the owner, maker, social media and marketing manager, and sales woman, among many other roles.
I source leather from several Italian and American tanneries, and believe in using the best quality materials. My products included purses, totes, wallets, weekender bags and travel accessories. I am the sole maker at Kelso Co. and I hand craft each item.
We’d really appreciate if you could talk to us about how you figured out the manufacturing process.
I manufacture all of my products with one sewing machine, and some hand tools. When I started Kelso Co. I did not have a sewing machine, and made all items by hand sewing. I was hesitant to invest in a leather sewing machine, because they are big and costly. So my husband, gathered my biggest supports(my mom, in-laws and close family friend) and bought a Leather Machine Co. sewing machine for me for Christmas! I had never sewn on a leather sewing machine, but the learning curve wasn’t too bad. Again, I went to YouTube to watch how to videos and learned quickly. Looking back, without this investment, I would not have been able to grow Kelso Co. Soon after receiving that sewing machine, I landed a corporate gifts order that would have taken me 10 years to produce with hand tools only. The biggest lesson I learned in manufacturing came from that first corporate order. I learned that when designing and manufacturing new products, you should always over estimare the amount of time and material costs. I was too conservative on my estimates and ended up working a lot of hours I didn’t anticipate.
Can you share one of your favorite marketing or sales stories?
Early on in my business I was only producing on a small scale and primarily selling at small vendor markets. One of these markets opened the door to a social media platform that a local company launched to connect people with local goods and services. I received a message on this platform requesting a meeting to discuss corporate gifts. At the time, I didn’t realize how big this order would be. When I met with the CEO of the company to discuss an order, we agreed to a custom line of items for his employees. I did not see this order coming and would never have imagined an order of that magnitude at the time. I was ecstatic, and a little nervous. But I jumped into designing weekender bags, passport wallets, and luggage tags for this order. These were items I had not made previously, so I put a lot of time and energy into the design process. I learned some valuable lessons from this project, and I am really thankful for the opportunity. It was great to see how happy the clients were with their products.
Contact Info:
- Website: https://www.kelsocoleather.com
- Instagram: kelsocoleather
- Facebook: kelsocoleather
Image Credits
Stephanie Lehnert