When Erin’s Elise Woodworth found herself struggling to find a summer job, she decided to see if she could create one of her own, and with a little help from the Business Centre Guelph-Wellington, she’s going into business for herself.
With a plan to up-cycle second-hand clothes, Woodworth was successful in her application to the Business Centre’s Summer Company program, which provides funding, mentorship and coaching to help high school or post-secondary students to start their own businesses.
“My mom has been telling me about it for a couple of years now,” Woodworth said, explaining how she learned about the program.
As a third-year business student at Trent University, she had been applying for internship opportunities without much success, so she decided to take her mother’s advice and give Summer Company a go.
“I thought I could make my own internship or job experience,” she said.
And she decided to build on something she already knew something about.
“I’ve loved thrifting since before it was cool,” said Woodworth.
She decided to take second-hand clothing and make it even more original, putting her own “goofy” stamp on it.
“You can make a piece of clothing your own just by adding some fabric,” she said.
It’s something Woodworth had already done, having created an applique lobster holding a martini to adorn a hoodie for a trip to Nova Scotia.
“I have been sewing for a couple of years on my grandmother’s sewing machine,” said Woodworth. “I learned by doing.”
Her company name, FrancEl Studio is a nod to both of Woodworth’s grandmothers – her father’s mom, Francine, and her mother’s mom, Elizabeth.
“A lot of the demographic that I’m targeting likes a personal touch,” Woodworth said.
She is working on building up her inventory, finding inspiration in places like Pinterest, and playing around with different motifs.
“A lot of my designs are plants and fruits and veggies, which I feel are very summery,” she said.
Some other pieces she has already created include a pair of denim cutoffs adorned with a strawberry, and a sweatshirt with a strawberry-eating alligator whose tail runs down the sleeve.
“I really like strawberries,” Woodworth said.
But there’s more to the program than just creating the inventory.
“I had to do a business plan, which takes quite a lot of time,” said Woodworth, noting the work applied a lot of the things she is learning through her business studies.
The program also involves virtual and in-person training, and hands-on coaching to help with the process.
Woodworth has received $1,500 in start-up funding, which has allowed her to purchase, among other things, a new sewing machine. But much of her home studio set up was acquired through thrifting, in an effort to make the most of her budget.
She also recently put out a call on social media for donations of used clothing or fabric. Even damaged or stained items that consignment or thrift stores might not be able to resell could be worthwhile for Woodworth to use as fabric.
“This morning, I picked up from an elderly lady, and she was just so grateful,” said Woodworth.
She said second-hand stores like the New 2 You in Erin sometimes limit how much clothing they can take in, so she’s hoping that means there’s an opportunity to acquire some items without buying them.
Costs to acquire items will have an impact on the prices, and Woodworth has yet to decide what the price point for items will be.
“It’s kind of going to be a trial-and-error thing,” she said.
In the meantime, she’s working on applying to local markets, and setting up Instagram and depop accounts to sell online.
It might be too soon to see any inventory, but you can find them at depop.com/francelstudio and under @francelstudio on Instagram. People with clothing or fabric to donate or interested buyers can also get in touch with Woodworth through email at [email protected].
Woodworth said she expects her designs will evolve over time, but she’s hoping to appeal to her hometown crowd with one motif in particular.
“I’m thinking I could do some clover T-shirts,” she said. “People love Erin and they want to wear a shirt with a clover on it.”
She said she’s not necessarily expecting sales to be off the charts right away, but she hopes the venture is one she can extend beyond the Summer Company program.
“This is something I really enjoy doing and I’m really passionate about,” she said.
