Josee Huard is the creator of Northern Smittens, a growing business that was started from a homemade pair of mittens as a Christmas gift for a friend. Located in North Bay, Ontario Northern Smittens just celebrated its 5th year. Northern Smittens are mittens handcrafted from recycled wool and cashmere sweaters sourced from thrift stores across Canada.
The Northern Smittens are not only one of a kind beautiful mittens they are also very warm.
The wool sweaters are felted, a process that involves washing in hot water and then tossing the sweaters in the dryer to dry. As any fashionista knows this is breaking a cardinal fashion rule when it comes to the care of wool and cashmere, however for Josee’s business it is part of the process as not only does it shrink the sweaters but also renders the wool naturally water-resistant. The mittens are then lined with polar fleece.
In the first year of business Josee made and sold 200 pairs of Smittens, 800 pairs in the second year, and has made over 9,000 pairs of handcrafted one of a kind Northern Smittens in the past 5 years. Without a traditional brick and mortar location how has Northern Smittens achieved such growth?
All of the marketing for Northern Smittens is done on social media platforms.
Social media plays in integral role in the marketing of Northern Smittens. By using Facebook, the business is able to promote new product, upcoming events, and create interest and engage with current and prospective customers.
Lessons for Others
Social media marketing has enabled this business to grow to what it is today.
Organization:
Northern Smittens
Industry:
Fashion
Name of Organization Contact:
Josee Huard
Authored by: Caroline
If you have concerns as to the accuracy of anything posted on this site, please send your concerns to Peter Carr, Program Director, Social Media for Business Performance.