Heather Fortes initially was looking for a distraction when she started sewing. Forlorn and directionless after her only son left for college at the University of Rhode Island, she taught herself to sew scarves in 2015 to keep busy.
“I needed a hobby,” she said. “[My son] told me to find a hobby. He only went to URI too. Everyone laughed at me.”
Joined by Nicole Almeida, her son’s girlfriend, Fortes soon had created a series of warm and comfortable blanket scarves. At first, they gave them to friends as gifts.
The idea of making a business of a pastime came after they posted their creations on social media. The response from friends was encouraging: “You should sell those!”
Fortes bought an embroidery machine. And the two women started making more-intricate infinity scarves and embellishing them with embroidery. The business by this point had a name – based on a family joke that all of these scarves had them “up to their necks” in fabric.
They started designing and embellishing T-shirts and underwear with clever, witty phrases – including custom Mrs. and Mr. T-shirts aimed at newlyweds.
And that’s when the business really took off.
By 2017, the business – Up2OurNecksinFabric LLC – had moved from Fortes’ kitchen in East Providence to a leased shop nearby. A year later, they moved to Pawtucket, and a slightly larger space. The online business, through an Etsy page, was going strong. But people wanted to try things on. And the Pawtucket location didn’t have that space.
In November, the business moved into a more visible location with adequate room. Now at 969 Broadway in East Providence, the boutique has space for customers to try on the fashions.
From its modest roots, the business has grown exponentially.
Fortes’ son, Nathan, is now a graduate of URI and a full partner in the business, which employs 10 people. Nicole Almeida and Heather Fortes still work side by side, but the volume has exploded.
The company sells through Amazon.com, and a simple but catchy design for St. Patrick’s Day – “Lucky Charm” set on a green T-shirt fabric – sold all night. Under the terms of Amazon Prime, the business had 24 hours to get them made and sent.
“This St. Patrick’s Day, we had 1,300 orders that had to go out. We worked all night,” Fortes said. “[By] midnight, we couldn’t keep up. I said we have to stop or [taking new orders] we’re never going to get these orders [out].”
Her husband was dispatched that night to the T-shirt manufacturer’s warehouse because they couldn’t wait for the shirts to be delivered.
What would Fortes advise fellow entrepreneurs? “I would say, just never give up. Don’t give up. I had late nights, 3 in the morning, 4 in the morning. It was a lot.”
She ended up choosing the fabric-design business over the day care business because she couldn’t see doing both at the same time.
Through it all, she said, customer service has been a priority. “We have a lot of local people who support us. When they think ‘personalized gift,’ they come to us.”
OWNERS: Heather Fortes, Nicole Almeida and Nathan Fortes
TYPE OF BUSINESS: Custom clothing and accessories
LOCATION: 969 Broadway, East Providence
EMPLOYEES: 10
YEAR ESTABLISHED: 2017
ANNUAL SALES: WND
Mary MacDonald is a PBN staff writer. Contact her at Macdonald@PBN.com.