bonnet
The trademark “Beaufort Bonnet” is handmade in the United States with nine buttons, hand-covered roping and other fine details.
When Markey Hart Hutchinson purchased a boutique children’s clothing business in July she was met with a unique set of challenges — American-made products, sold to a very high-end niche. The 32-year-old Lexington native has risen to the challenge and is proving with The Beaufort Bonnet Company that people still want handmade, quality goods for their little ones.
“As far as being a business owner, the steepest learning curve has been the production aspect of the business,” Hutchinson said. “I purchased an existing company, and in the middle of negotiations, the original production team went in a different direction. My husband and I decided to proceed with the sale anyway. This was the scariest part. Boxes and boxes arrived in the mail with fabric and supplies, and I had to figure out how I was going to keep up with demand while trying to stay American made.”
The Beaufort Bonnet Company was founded in 2007 in Beaufort, S.C., under the name Susu & John, with the star product being the “Beaufort Bonnet” for babies and children. The line included a boy’s bucket hat, diaper covers, bloomers, jumpers and pants. Hutchinson purchased the wholesale business this year, changed the name, expanded the line to include boys’ ties, swaddle blankets, monogrammed cashmere sweaters and more, and hired Kimberly Branham Chapman as her director of sales and operations.
The Beaufort Bonnet Company products are sold at L.V. Harkness and Hopscotch. The line also can be found in South Carolina, Alabama, Georgia and Louisiana. It has shipped as far away as the Cayman Islands, and Hutchinson said it still has a lot of growing to do.
“The original business had bonnets in over 70 locations,” she said. “Since July, we have added 15 stores to our list of retailers.”
With so many locations comes the biggest challenge for Hutchinson’s business — production.
“The products are proudly handmade in the U.S.A.,” she said. “We are working with seamstresses in North Carolina, Winchester [Ky.], Stanton [Ky.], and Lexington, and we get lots of help from some wonderful folks at a manufacturing company in Tennessee — but even there, they are handmade.
“We have quickly learned the challenges associated with being American made,” she continued. “We have to hope that customers will understand our pricepoint is because we are paying for materials right here in the states and having them made by people who can’t make a handmade bonnet with nine buttons, hand-covered roping, and a few other secret ingredients for pennies like they do in China. Our seamstresses have families to support, and their groceries cost the same as yours and mine do. When people purchase a Beaufort Bonnet, they are helping support at least six American families.”
Hutchinson noted that being American made is a bragging right, but extra support is required.
“Hopefully, good business will lead us to big business,” she said, because the overhead costs are so high.
The journey leading to purchasing The Beaufort Bonnet Company has been a long one for Hutchinson. She started her career in college admissions and then became the assistant manager of The Peppermint Palm, but when the economy went sour in 2008, children’s boutiques suffered, and she had to transition to other work. Her career then included working under Benchmark senior loan officer Angie Nunnelley, who was slammed because of record-low interest rates.
“I left The Peppermint Palm on a Friday and was thrown into the fire on Monday,” she said of her work with Nunnelley. “I loved it. It was busy; it was stressful; it was great — but then I had my son and decided to return to work part time. Three years and two children later, I wrote a letter of resignation. My pay covered childcare expenses, but there wasn’t much leftover — staying home with my children made more sense.”
Though she loved her life as a stay-at-home mom, Hutchinson said she was restless and knew she wanted to do something that reflected her interests while contributing to her family.
It’s her love for “all things feminine, sweet and traditional” that drew her to The Beaufort Bonnet Company.
“And at the same time, I want to offer items for boys to make shopping just as fun as it is for girls,” she said. “My son is 2 and a half, and finding boys’ bow ties isn’t easy — especially ones that are pre-tied but don’t look manufactured and have the ability to adjust size. The Beaufort Bonnet Company now offers the Baylor bow tie set ... My children inspire me to design products that are as functional as they are cute. And I want all the products to be timeless, because classic style doesn’t go out of style.”
Her ingenuity is paying off. While at first no one wanted to join Hutchinson and her husband in the business venture, they now have had five requests from people wanting to buy in, three offers to invest and at least 10 people who have asked to work with The Beaufort Bonnet Company.
“The support I have received is overwhelming,” she said. “I actually get really choked up thinking about all of the people who have shown support, whether it be suggesting a retail store, making an online purchase or just sending a message congratulating us on this venture.”
Hutchinson is still working on volume. She is selling online now and has made a few other changes from the original business plan that have proven to be beneficial, including pulling out of a permanent showroom in Atlanta that ate up 15 percent of the company’s sales. Instead, Chapman said, she “lets the adorable products sell themselves.”