We recently connected with Laura Woolridge and have shared our conversation below.

Laura, thanks for joining us, excited to have you contributing your stories and insights. Alright, so you had your idea and then what happened? Can you walk us through the story of how you went from just an idea to executing on the idea

When you’re staring middle age in the face and have done all the things *except* your childhood dream, that is a sign to go back to the School of Hard Knocks and get it made. (All my 20-somethings out there; do the thing. Folks like me who have been putting it off until the “right time”; do it now.)
I already had 5 kids when I birthed my business. The concept was simple: made-in-the-USA hemp fashion. For nearly a century, hemp was the misunderstood rebel of the plant world—banned, blacklisted, and lumped in with its psychoactive cousin thanks to the 1937 Marijuana Tax Act. Even after the 2018 Farm Bill finally gave it a second chance, it’s taken years for the fashion world to catch up. But now? The tides are turning, and I’ve staked my claim in this newly re-legalized wild west with Threads of Eden—a niche hemp fashion brand that’s as exclusive as it is sustainable. Because let’s be honest: when everyone else was still sleeping on hemp, I was already stitching up the future in zero-waste seams and plant-powered threads.
I’m not re-inventing the wheel: If hemp was good enough for Betsy Ross and thousands of years of humans, it’s good enough for me. That’s what I love about simple business… Take a regular idea and get married to it, find a hole in the industry, put in the work, and keep doing it through sickness and health. Overnight success isn’t sustainable. Put in the work. Be consistent, be patient.
How I built my audience: My first customers were friends, family, friends of friends and family, etc. Before I even had a product, I took the Jane Hammil course to learn how to build an email list, in advance. I blogged about life, love, liberty, justice, vitamins, trends, and laundry. The key was engagement. Get people opening my emails, so that when my product launched last year, I had customers waiting.
The best success I had for engaging New People was posting an “ask” for product testers. People love to help; they applied to be testers, shared with their friends, and got excited about a product that didn’t exist yet. Not everyone got chosen, but everyone got added to my email list. I advertised (organically) that I needed XYZ in exchange for free stuff, and people signed up. I still run a product test for quality control and New People engagement whenever I have a lull. As a fashion brand, I’m always needing to present and test the new color, new style, new thing. I get super excited when an order comes in and I don’t actually know the person. (Organic traffic from a New Person 2000 miles away? I have arrived!)
Let’s not forget repeat customers. At the risk of repeating myself, let us not re-invent the wheel here, either. New people are key, but repeat customers are the magic and backbone of any business. Reaching out now and then, just for a friendly email or phone call is what turns one-time buyers into life-long customers. No more advertising needed. To be clear, sending an email blast at least weekly keeps the business breathing, but that individual connection is what makes people want to be loyal forever.
Product Logistics: At first I made my own patterns and sewed every last stitch. In my bedroom. 6 machines and. a 5’x8′ cutting table. Sexy, right? I literally asked my husband if we could move our bed into the oversized closet, and, bless his heart. That’s all.
Sewing, redesigning, fixing, making dozens of samples, collecting customer feedback, trying again. Early mornings and late nights. So. Tired. Finally I had a couple products, including underwear, that can be evergreen re-ordering options.
So I did a thing and hired a contractor. Yesterday. For the first time, I can pay a delightful professional sewist (Thai lady, lived here for decades and has 39 adorable grandchildren! Love her so much.) Having another set of hands at the machines is the first step in scaling my business, and I couldn’t be more thankful. This will enable me to increase my inventory to explore wholesale opportunities. Because, everyone in the fashion biz knows, “if you’re sewing, you’re not selling.” People connections are the only way.
Did I mention tariffs? Yeah, that. Probably by the time you read this, it will be different yet again. My fabric is doubling in price. So, I will have to adjust somehow. That’s business. Sometimes you pay rent at Boardwalk, sometimes you land on Free Parking, but mostly you build up slow and steady at humble little properties like St. James Place or Waterworks, like a regular Joe/Jill. There will always be hiccups. Keep grinding and ride it out.
So here I am: middle-aged, five kids deep, running a zero-waste hemp fashion biz out of Minnesota with a cutting table in my bedroom and dreams bigger than my laundry pile. I don’t have investors or a fancy showroom. I have grit, good fabric, and people who believe in what I’m building. And that’s enough. If you’re waiting for permission to start your “someday” thing—this is it. You don’t need perfect timing or a perfect plan. You just need to show up, stay weird, and keep doing the next right thing. The market rewards consistency and heart. And if you can pull that off in hemp underwear and a messy bun? Even better.

Laura, 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 provide made-in-the-USA natural fiber fashion. This start-up currently has as many products as you can count on one hand, with dreams to provide essential layers for the whole family.
Most clothing is synthetic, highly toxic, poor quality, and made with near-slave labor. I would rather if we Buy Less, Buy Better.
My first love is, honestly… dirt. Hemp is good for soil. Farmers are the backbone of our community. I dream that one day our own neighbors will grow hemp to be spun and woven right here in the USA. Until then, I buy the best quality hemp fabric wherever I can source it.
So far I have hemp tops, PJs, and underwear, all sold on my website. I hope to keep learning, growing, and adapting until you can buy my product in a brick-and-mortar store near you.

How did you put together the initial capital you needed to start your business?

I started from the ground up. Every time I earn $100, I put it toward fabric. I have a dream to actually give myself a paycheck in the next few months! This method means it has to be a side hustle, and that I actually have to hustle.

Let’s talk about resilience next – do you have a story you can share with us?

I’m tall, and I grew up in Spain, where everyone is a tiny bit shorter. I couldn’t find pants in my length to save my life, in addition to which we were poor. So I learned to sew out of necessity, and fell in love with the creative power of the needle. Decades later, I still figure if something doesn’t fit, it can be altered, remade, and all on a shoestring.

Contact Info:

• Website: https://www.threadsofeden.com
• Instagram: threadsofeden
• Facebook: Threads of Eden
• Linkedin: Laura (Towner) Woolridge
• Youtube: Threads of Eden

Image Credits

Aaron & Emily Ehalt @ea.photoandfilm EA Photo & Film