We recently connected with Kristy Barton and have shared our conversation below.
Kristy, appreciate you joining us today. What do you think Corporate America gets wrong in your industry? Any stories or anecdotes that illustrate why this matters?
So much of Corporate America has turned into one of two extremes. Either you build and promote your business around a specific ideology, and in turn target/attract a demographic that looks and thinks like you. Or, you become as neutral as possible so as not to offend anyone; i.e., either you pick a camp OR say nothing at all.
As a result we have an economy packed full of businesses (both large and small) that have no real heartbeat, and people who are more prone to die on a hill they don’t necessarily believe in over the possibility of being misunderstood. Fear and/or self-righteous views start to steer the ship, so to speak, and we end up building a society that’s forgotten how to honor those that are different than them. That results in authenticity and artistic expression being stifled for fear of offense, and in turn our businesses all start to look and sound alike to one degree or another.
When we opened our storefront in mid 2020 I can promise you that was all on full display, and we had to fight to find and protect our heartbeat. Emotions and opinions were extremely heightened, and I would often find myself making decisions based on appearance instead of admitting I myself had more questions than answers. But as the days marched on we found that as people came in they really didn’t want to talk about the chaos of the world, and despite the media hype, most weren’t looking for a fight. People are people, and most just want to feel safe, loved, and welcome. So THAT is what we set our eyes on. Serving others with love and compassion while continuing to produce high quality products. We don’t shy away from tough conversations, but we also don’t push them. That’s not what we’re in business for. We work to develop an atmosphere of humility where people from all walks of life feel welcome, no matter how different our beleif systems are. And I’m not talking about some fluffed up version of “tolerance”, because our goal isn’t to “tolerate” people….it’s to truly love them.
I am actually super thankful that we took the big step of opening our storefront during that time as it absolutely solidified in me the importance of knowing who I am and authentically expressing that through my business. It taught me how to trust my own gut instincts, be willing to take risks, and to not only honor, but celebrate those that do things different/in their own authentic way.
I think as people we like to complicate the simple and simplify the complicated. Well, it’s really simple: man we’re all complicated!
Kristy, 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?
The Muddy Merch actually started in the corner of our one car garage in late 2018. I had previously spent about 10 years in the banking industry, but found myself feeling completely unfulfilled and with a body that was breaking down from years of sitting at a desk. In 2015 my husband and I took the scary leap of quitting our jobs, selling our home, and moving hundreds of miles away into the guest house on my parents ranch. It was wild to spend so many years building “careers” only to find that wasn’t what was important to either of us. In the following years my husband landed with brewing company that he still works at today, while I tried my hand at starting my own business…something I had always wanted to do.
We have a friend that often says, “take what you have and do what you can”. While living on my folks ranch they offered me my grandpas old wood shop along with space in one of the barns to do what I wanted. So I taught myself wood-working and started building furniture and home decor from reclaimed materials. While my body and soul healed in more ways than I can explain, the family ranch sold and I failed to build a business that could afford a new space. Switching gears again, I tried my hand at real estate, only to find it was too much like banking. But during that frustrating time in real estate I still had people asking for the promotional hats that I used to have made with our woodworking business name on them. So I again “took what I had, and did what I could” renovating a small corner of our garage into a “hat building” workspace where I could produce our own hats and start building a new business. After deciding I liked the high quality look of leather over the traditional embroidery, I set out to learn what I could.
At the time there weren’t many offering Leather Patch Hats, and those that were sure weren’t offering up the “how to’s” to somebody wanting to break into the industry. So after months of trial and error, a hole kicked in the wall, and a lot of tears, I developed our own approach to Leather Patch Hats. High quality with competative pricing, especially for small businesses, were huge sticking points for me. I also built a relationship with a local leather supply company so we could offer super high quality leather in a wide variety of colors. That relationship has proven key for us as we now offer anywhere from 10-20 different leathers at any given time. Most companies offer 2-5. We also allow our customers to mix and match hat colors and styles while still getting bulk discounts. It took time to build up capital and inventory while also developing efficient systems that allowed for that high level of variety, but it is one of those areas that continues to differentiate our company from many others in the industry.
Over the years our business has continued to grow and transform. Two years ago we decided to purchase our own larger shop and close our retail storefront. With that move we were able to upgrade equipment, offer even more products (including laser engraved drinkware), and shorten our production time. Through a “failed” career, a “failed” business, and many other daily mistakes I’ve learned that failing isn’t even really a thing. My time in the corporate world taught me things I wouldn’t have learned otherwise, and gave me a fire to develop a business with core beleifs that truly reflect who I am. And that first “failed” business….well it’s just kindling to keep that fire burning.
We’d really appreciate if you could talk to us about how you figured out the manufacturing process.
We currently primarily manufacture custom laser engraved leather patches that we then finish and stitch onto hats for a wide variety of businesses, organizations, and individuals. But when I first started I knew absolutely nothing about leather, hats, graphic design, laser engraving, sewing, where to obtain materials and blank products, or even how to sell/market final goods. I look back and wonder why I thought I was capable of building a business based around a product and service that I knew nothing about. But I firmly beleive with ingenuity and determination we are all far more capable than we give ourselves credit for.
In the beginning I had so much to learn that I had to prioritize what parts of the process I wanted to outsource, and what I wanted to do with my own hands. I decided to outsource the laser engraving and stitching as they both required equipment and knowledge that I didn’t have. I went into every laser engraving business in Central Oregon, introducing myself to the business owners/staff, and tried to get a feel for their pricing models, willingness to work with a new startup, and general compatability. I knew relationship was going to be key, so if we didn’t jive I just made sure to mark them off the list and move on….ensuring I let go of any offense along the way. Meanwhile, I was also going through the same process for anyone that could sew the patches on.
One thing I learned very early on is, most things take much longer than you expect. Even with clearly set goals and timelines I had to consistently extend myself some grace to push those timelines out so I could make decisions that I was comfortable with. But in that same vein, analysis paralysis is a real thing, and in business you have to be willing to take a risk based on your best educated guess.
The company that we landed on for outsourcing our laser engraving continued to work with us through all the ups and downs, growing pains, and even the chaos of the pandemic. They proved to be one of our most valuable relationships, and to this day are still people that we refer clients to, and vice versa. I worked out of my garage for about 2 years, and then opened a storefront in the middle of 2020. By the beginning of 2022 we decided to purchase our own laser engraver, and brought that portion of production in-house. We started with a small desktop laser, eventually expanded to two small lasers, and then about 2 years ago we expanded our operations into a new larger shop and upgraded to a much larger commercial laser. Each step of the way we have had to learn brand new processes, and remember it wasn’t about speed, but rather doing things well with longevity in mind.
The sewing portion of our business story looks a bit different. In the beginning I outsourced it to another local company, but was really disappointed in the quality of work. That company was the only company in the area willing to take on the work, so I quickly decided to purchase my own industrial sewing machine and learn how to sew. It was another “setback” that I had to make a decision to either throw in the towel, or be willing to invest more time and money to build a business and product I was proud of. I eventually tracked down a 1970’s industrial sewing machine that fit our budget. I hauled it back to our garage, hired a guy to come service it and teach me the basics, and spent the next few months honing in my skills/ruining more hats than I care to admit! We now have two sewing machines, one new and our original 70’s machine. The original is by far our workhorse that we do about 90% of our sewing on.
One of the biggest lessons I’ve learned through manufacturing is: don’t be afraid to try something new. Learn your equipment and how to safely use it, but don’t limit yourself to someone else’s “proper” way of using it. Like any artist, you will have a unique way of seeing things. So make your equipment work for YOU. I love seeing other people hone in their skills and excel at what they’re doing. Like a painter whose brush seems like an extension of their hand, or an ice skater whose skates seem to be a part of their body….your equipment is at the heart of your business, and you get to set the beat.
Can you tell us about what’s worked well for you in terms of growing your clientele?
When I was in college working on my business degree the professors pounded into our heads time and time again that your best advertising will be word of mouth. I can tell you for us, that is absolutely solid gold truth!
There is no doubt that having a storefront for in person, face-to-face exposure was key for our growth in the beginning. Social media has also served it’s purpose to get pictures of our product and process in front of a wider audience. But when we pour our hearts into putting out a consistent, high quality product, and we ensure that people are treated well through the entire process, we have found that our clientele base organically grows.
Our goal has never been to grow big, fast. We have always aimed for sustainable growth that also helps us keep a healthy work life balance. By truly aiming our focus on quality products and service we have found that our organic growth has been at a rate that we can reevaluate processes and make adjustments as we go. Sure, there have been some moments when the growth seemed to move faster than expected, but for the most part it has been a consisent, maintainable rate.
Treat people right and they WILL come back….and chances are they will tell someone else!
Contact Info:
- Website: https://www.themuddymerch.com/
- Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/themuddymerch/
- Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/TheMuddyMerch
- Other: Below is a link to an article that the company we get our adhesive from did on us:
https://www.drytac.com/hats-off-to-the-muddy-merch-co-for-innovative-use-of-drytac-multitac-adhesive/?fbclid=IwY2xjawHuijdleHRuA2FlbQIxMQABHYizKUA7cvC5ZxfV-rvjZcDVmylO9FY0PNLPnv-7bcM2XgHi8tvBZnrYZA_aem_PyIrceED8HUmupWL8F2rpg
Image Credits
All previously attached images credit to Timothy Park Photography
https://www.timothypark.com/