We were lucky to catch up with Kelly Vitt recently and have shared our conversation below.

Hi Kelly, thanks for joining us today. Let’s start with the story of your mission. What should we know?

My company tagline is: “Embrace Your Self,” because this was my personal journey after losing my breast to breast cancer, something 1 in every 8 women will experience in her lifetime. Through accepting the way I looked after surgery and living with side effects of chemo, I found that self-love was the greatest challenge in my recovery. That’s why I founded Bosom Boutique, because the word “bosom” also means to embrace. By providing warmth through cozy throws/wraps that are handmade, my products are giving a warm embrace to those who need a little extra love. This product idea was created from my experience feeling cold and chilly in the air-conditioned hospital room while undergoing treatment, with nothing but a thin sheet to cover me. My products now can give anyone a multipurpose and travel-friendly way to warm up regardless of where they are.

When I founded my company, I discovered that there was nothing like this in the market for breast cancer patients. Most online stores had special blouses or head scarfs, but many were from small businesses that also support breast cancer patients, so it didn’t make sense to purchase from any of them and resell the products.

As I continued my search, I came across a very pretty Turkish towel in a vibrant color and pattern. I was vaguely familiar with this type of towel, but didn’t realize that they were available in anything other than a basic flat-woven cloth in white with a few blue stripes. It occurred to me that these soft, oversized towels were very similar to the sofa throws that I have, but they were lighter in weight and looked less like a blanket. While some of the towels I offer in my store do have a traditional Turkish towel pattern, you would never guess that other styles are in fact towels.

What makes Bosom Boutique unique is that we have beautiful products and a strong mission: Pestemals with Purpose. Pestemal is the Persian name for the Turkish towel, with a long history dating back to the Ottoman Empire. For each one of these beautiful textiles sold, we donate one to a breast cancer patient. Going beyond the one-for-one model, my mission is to provide a caring “embrace” as people journey through treatment. The hope is that they will never feel alone and will know that they are cared about. Most importantly, our throws/towels are an encouragement for them to embrace their new physical appearance and accept all of the changes that are going to occur during and after treatment, because they can never go back to the way they were.

Awesome – so before we get into the rest of our questions, can you briefly introduce yourself to our readers.

Following successful treatment for breast cancer, I developed chemotherapy-induced peripheral neuropathy (CIPN). This resulted in a set of symptoms caused by damage to the nerves that are outside the brain and spinal cord. The primary symptom is a lack of sensation in my hands. I consider myself lucky in one aspect because I do not have any pain associated with the CPIN. However, this side effect did upend my professional career. For over 35 years I was a staff accountant or full-charge bookkeeper. My last position was at a rather large public agency as the payroll accountant. Unfortunately, I was unable to meet critical deadlines required in an accounting position, especially when processing payroll. The reason was excruciating: I cannot type and enter data by touch; I must now look at the keyboard and number pad when typing.

I founded Bosom Boutique because of my self-imposed retirement. I was awarded permanent disability benefits, but that came with a huge decrease in income and loss of insurance benefits that had been provided by the employer and I needed to supplement my disability income. After much internal debate about whether to continue with bookkeeping or start a new venture, I decided it was time to start something new that allowed me to align my personal experiences with purpose.

Our products are 100% organic Turkish cotton towels woven in the homes of Turkish artisans. They are called Pestemals, the Persian word meaning “back towel” from the days of the Ottoman Empire. All products are ethically sourced, as it provides a means for our artisans to work in their homes instead of having to do a long, arduous commute to a factory. That’s why I am proud of our supply chain and manufacturing, as everything is organic, sustainable, and eco-friendly.. In today’s wasteful society with fast fashion, I am grateful to provide a meaningful product with a strong mission to customers, who feel good knowing that their purchases directly support breast cancer patients.

How’d you think through whether to sell directly on your own site or through a platform like Amazon, Etsy, Cratejoy, etc.

Bosom Boutique is an ecommerce store with 5 collections of eco-friendly products, all of which can be found at www.bosomboutique.com. We ship to the U.S. and Canada, and first-time customers can get 10% off their purchase, with special pricing for bundle products as well as wholesale pricing. Offering wholesale pricing was key to getting higher volume of sales, as well as partnering with brick and mortar retailers selling wellness related products. We are also a retail seller on Jane, which is similar to Zulily. For wholesale customers we are listed on Faire and sell directly to retailers. Our products are priced well for the market and one of the things that sets Bosom Boutique apart from other Turkish towel retailers is our mission. Although many retailers sell on Amazon, we intentionally chose not to, as we want to maintain a high standard for our customer service and believe that selling through other avenues will attract customers who favor quality, not quantity. Most importantly, we want to attract customers who truly care about the mission and giving back.

Can you open up about how you funded your business?

I started Bosom Boutique on a shoe-string budget in July 2022. Because I am receiving disability benefits that are less than one half of my former salary, I had very little capital to invest in a start-up business and had to get scrappy. I first formed a Limited Liability Company (LLC) and paid the requisite license fees to register the dba (doing business as) Bosom Boutique. Then I allocated my remaining budget to setting up my website and online storefront on Shopify, and purchased our inventory from our manufacturer while simultaneously taking an ecommerce training online course. I had enough cash on hand to cover these initial costs because I was in the habit of keeping money set aside for unexpected expenses. I am happy to share more about business cash flow, how to set up an online store, how to align your mission with purpose, and connect with other founders through my instagram at www.instagram.com/bosomboutiqueusa or LinkedIn.     

Contact Info:

• Website: https://bosomboutique.com/
• Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/bosomboutiqueusa/
• Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/bosomboutiqueusa
• Linkedin: www.linkedin.com/in/bosomboutiqueusa