Alright – so today we’ve got the honor of introducing you to Susie Kirch. We think you’ll enjoy our conversation, we’ve shared it below.

Susie, thanks for taking the time to share your stories with us today How did you come up with the idea for your business?

A year or so before retiring from my ‘real job’ as a legal secretary, I started to worry that retirement would bore me to tears, or that being together 24/7 with my spouse of 40+ years would send us into counseling!

I’ve always done crafts and years ago I did craft fairs selling Cabbage Patch clothes (I still have 9 CPK living with me and they have extensive wardrobes, lol!). Something involving sewing or crafts seemed doable . . . then I saw an apron made from a Cindy Taylor Oates pattern and thought, ‘That’s it!” I love aprons. Aprons were making a comeback. Aprons are fun to make. Retro was the word of the day. It all seemed to fit.

After a few years of selling through word of mouth, Facebook and local craft fairs, someone suggested ETSY as a venue for me. That was totally intimidating because technology is not my strong suit. But, with the help of my daughter-in-law and daughter, I was able to get a shop set up. When I made my first sale within 24 hours, I was hooked!

My goal has been to make ‘real aprons for real people’ and I’ve tried not to get side tracked with other products, although the mountain of scraps I’ve generated has resulted in a few by products like mug rugs, baby quilts and adult bibs. I’ve also been able to offer big/tall men and larger women aprons that really fit them. (At one of those early craft fairs, a plus size lady said to me “I need something that covers the girls!” LOL – so I made it my mission to made cute aprons in larger sizes.)

Susie, 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?

As my Instagram bio says, I’m ‘just a Granny in the basement, sewing aprons one at a time.’ I have an ETSY shop and sell a variety of aprons for men, women and children. Each apron is OOAK – with the exception of one style in denim, every one of the 5515 aprons I’ve made (I got carried away) has been different in some way from all of the others. I simply made what I think is cute and then list it to see if anyone else thinks so, too.

I don’t buy my fabric by the bolt. I’m a bit of a ‘fabric junkie’ and end up buying just 1-2 yards of any particular print when I shop, trying to cover everyone’s taste from bold and colorful, to trendy, to subtle. A lot of shops have just one style available, but I enjoy offering a variety. Aprons should be both fun and functional and should always look good and make you feel good.

Normally, custom orders are too time consuming for me to tackle – as a one-person operation, I simply don’t have time for the negotiation part of the process. I have done a few, however. For 6 or 7 years, I provided aprons to the Duke Energy Convention Center in Cincinnati for their annual customer appreciation dinner. Each year had a theme and each year’s order was for 50-75 aprons. That’s a story in itself!

Can you share one of your favorite marketing or sales stories?

So here’s the DECC Customer Appreciation story: There I was, sitting in my basement when the phone rings and a lady says, “I’m _______ from the Duke Energy Convention Center”. I found you on ETSY and we’d love to have you make 50 aprons for our annual customer appreciation dinner. Would you be interested?” I stuttered and stammered and had tiny heart palpitations. “Ummm. May I think about it and see if I can help you?”

My daughter happened to be there at the time, so I scribbled a note to her telling her what they wanted and she said, “MOM! You can totally do that! Say YES.”

I’m not much of a negotiator or salesperson, but I managed to ask a few questions and promised to call back with pricing.

Their theme for the event was “It’s a Wonderful Life”, so my retro style half aprons were exactly what they wanted. We agreed on a price, deadline, colors and styles and they sent me $$ up front. WOW.

The next year the same lady called and told me the theme was ‘Razzle Dazzle’. After that, there was ‘Spirit of America’, ‘Flip Flops and Flamingos’ and several more themes over the years until that lady retired and her replacement went in a new direction with the event.

While it lasted, it was great fun and funded my personal Christmas shopping!

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

We all had to learn resilience during the Pandemic! I had no idea what would happen with my little business but, oddly, it did very well through those less-than-fun times. I guess because people were trapped at home and had to cook their own meals when the restaurants closed, aprons became very popular and my business thrived, much to my surprise.

I had to switch to buying all of my fabric on line, which is not my preferred method, but I had no choice. Trims and things like elastic were difficult to purchase, because some of that is manufactured overseas.

Using some of that mountain of scraps I mentioned, I made over 400 face masks and sent complimentary masks with each order. When the pandemic was over, the leftover children’s masks were turned into baby quilts.

Contact Info:

• Website: https://www.etsy.com/shop/SusiesTieOneOnAprons
• Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/tieoneon.susie/
• Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/SusiesTieOneOnAprons