Today’s guest is Mary Lynn Schroder, the founder of In Blue Handmade, a leather and waxed canvas goods business out of Asheville, NC. In Blue Handmade has sold over 90,000 items and has a partnership with Feeding America, where they’re able to donate 50 meals for each bag sold. Mary Lynn chats with Christine about leaving her job in the music industry and finding her passion for sewing, which then evolved into working with leather. They talk about surpassing her earliest vision for In Blue Handmade, having her father as a mentor, the experience of growing her operation, and finding suppliers who share her value system.

Mary Lynn tells Christine how she came to partner with Feeding America in 2019, and decided to give back on a bigger scale once the pandemic began. She details her experience working with their philanthropic department to develop a give back model that incorporated every item sold, and how this endeavor has inspired her amazing team more than ever. They discuss the important work that Feeding America is doing to address food disparity in this country, how customers can harness their purchasing power to support small businesses who also give back, and Mary Lynn’s undeniable passion for designing and creating.

Mary Lynn encourages new entrepreneurs to build a business plan that is unique to their strengths, recognize where they need help, and delegate accordingly. You’ll also hear about relating to customers on a personal level, Mary Lynn’s work with Trauma Textiles to help Indigeneous female artisans in Central America to receive a fair wage, and what’s next for In Blue Handmade. To learn more about Mary Lynn’s inspiring story of giving back while doing what she loves, visit InBlueHandmade.com.

For more information, and other episodes on companies and entrepreneurs who give back, please visit TheGiveBackModel.com. That’s where you can also let Christine know about companies you’ve found that give back, and check out The Give Back Model merchandise, where $5 for every hoodie sold goes to charity. Thanks for listening!

Episode Highlights:

• ● In Blue Handmade is a leather and waxed canvas goods business in Asheville, NC
• ● They have sold over 90,000 items
• ● They have a partnership with Feeding America where they donate 50 meals for each bag
• sold
• ● Business was launched in 2008 after Mary Lynn moved from Chicago and left her job in
• the music industry
• ● She began sewing and making her own curtains - this evolved into working with leather
• ● She is self-taught
• ● She now has a 6500 square foot warehouse and 10 full-time employees
• ● In 2011, Mary Lynn’s goal was to sell 5,000 items on Etsy within the next 10 years - they
• have sold 90,000
• ● Her father works for the University of Illinois and is Mary Lynn’s business mentor
• ● Initially Mary Lynn only used recycled materials, but made the leap to creating
• consistent relationships with suppliers who shared the same values

• ● It’s a building process as you go, and knowing your trade inside out is hugely beneficial
• ● In Blue Handmade partnered with Feeding America in 2019
• ● COVID motivated Mary Lynn to kick up their contribution
• ● They worked with Feeding America’s philanthropic department to create a give back
• model that incorporated every item sold
• ● One in seven people face hunger, and one in six children face hunger
• ● Having a culture of giving back is very motivating for Mary Lynn’s team
• ● COVID has inspired Mary Lynn to design new items with a more utilitarian purpose
• ● They’re donating at least 50 meals for every item sold
• ● Feeding America story about Lamont, who became visually impaired after a devastating
• accident at his job and was unable to work - he went to Feeding America for support, and
• later volunteered there to reciprocate the help he had received
• ● Mary Lynn is able to do what she loves and also give back through her business
• ● Feeding America is helping address food disparity in this country
• ● Mary Lynn is helping raise awareness, and provide education and resources to help this
• cause
• ● Customers who choose to use their purchasing power to support small businesses who
• also give back make a huge difference
• ● Mary Lynn loves being on the production floor more than anything else, and has an
• undeniable passion for designing and making things
• ● Her advice for entrepreneurs who are just getting started
• ● Your business plan needs to be unique to you and what your strengths are
• ● It’s hard to let go, but it’s okay to admit you need help and delegate where necessary
• ● Remember to be patient when you’re supporting small businesses - they are not
• machines who can pump products out overnight
• ● Relating to customers on a personal level
• ● The pandemic has inspired people to have more patience and has taught the value of
• communication
• ● In Blue Handmade’s new lines and exciting events to come
• ● They have also partnered with Trauma Textiles, a Women’s Weaving Cooperative in the
• Guatemala Highlands
• Quotes:
• “In Blue Handmade is a handmade manufacturing project that I started in 2008. We specialize in leather goods and waxed canvas goods.”
• “I just started doing it! I was sewing recycled fabrics, corduroy patchwork bags, all very collegetown, hippie dippie. I was very young. That kind of morphed and transformed over time into leather.”
• “Now we have a 6500 square foot warehouse. We have 10 full-time living wage certified employees. And it's just turned into this career that I had no idea was coming.”

“I said I'd really love it to make 5000 sales on Etsy, in the next five to ten years. And it's been ten years and we've done 90,000 sales on Etsy.”

“As we built up consistent relationships with suppliers, as I was able to learn more actually about the raw materials I was using, that was a whole different ball game. We were able to sit down, take meetings with CEOs and negotiate and say, Hey, I want this made for me.”

“It's definitely a building process as you go, and it takes just knowing your trade inside and out.”

“I felt like with the employment crisis, that one of the main things that we could contribute to was food.”

“[Feeding America] has a whole philanthropic department. And so they worked with us on creating that business model, and creating the language around it, and making sure that we could enter into a contract that made sense for us.”

“It's a real motivator for my team. They're the best and kindest group of people in the world. I really just can't believe how lucky I am to be surrounded by these people. And they really want to give and I believe that it's motivating for everybody.”

“I think that we have more excitement and more drive in the room this year than we ever had before. And I think that a lot of that has to do with this philanthropic partnership.”

“My concept of just life in general has changed so much [since COVID]. I think that we've been able to create more durable and more useful items.”

“Of course, anytime we can give more, we will.”

“[Lamont] said the food pantry gave him a handup not a handout.”

“I'm not the only one on my team who has needed help in that way, too. And the fact that we're able to do this and give back feels really good. And that's just good karma.”

“Huge kudos to people who are comfortable and are able to harness that purchasing power towards buying from small businesses that support employees in the community. And were able to give back. That symbiotic relationship is really special, too.”

“To spend your hard earned money to make sure that you're also including your community, that you're supporting small businesses - you really are making a difference as you do that.”

“One of the main things I've learned is that you can't just follow what you think people expect you to do. You need to make rational smart choices, but your business plan has to be unique to you and what your strengths are.”

“You have to learn to let go and trust a little bit. And again, just hire people who are better than you at that job.”

“That's part of the reason that people want to buy from you, is that they're supporting a small business. They're supporting a human being. And they're not talking to a robot that's answering questions based on keywords that are generated on a website. You're talking to a person who's probably drinking their coffee, and there's a baby crying, and there's a lot of stuff going on. People will relate, and they will be kind and they will be patient.”

“We're also partnered with a weaving collective of 400 women in the Guatemalan Highlands called Trauma Textiles. We really love working with them.”

Links:

The Give Back Model website TheGiveBackModel.com

Follow The Give Back Model on Instagram @thegivebackmodel In Blue Handmade website InBlueHandmade.com

Feeding America website FeedingAmerica.org

Trauma Textiles website TramaTextiles.org