January 9, 2006
Swing shift | A chat with Nan Bogart, co-founder of Penobscot Bay Porch Swings in Brunswick.
By Whit Richardson
Founded: March 2005
Employees: Two
Startup costs: $17,000
Projected revenues, year one: $35,000
Projected revenues, year two: $50,000
Contact: 729-1616
14 Maine St., Brunswick 04011
www.penobscotbayporchswings.com
Tell me about Penobscot Bay Porch Swings.
We offer a traditional sailor's hammock with a contemporary twist. They're all custom made-to-order, so people can pick their fabric. We have two standard sizes, but we've also done custom sizes. Sarah [Bloy, the company's co-founder,] and I do everything. We outsource absolutely nothing. We do everything from building the wooden frames to the sewing, the grommeting, the cutting of the fabric and the rope work.
Where did you and Sarah get the idea for the business?
We had seen the swings on an old porch when we were on a field trip with our daughters in Isle of Springs off of Boothbay Harbor. We talked about [the idea] and kicked it around for a while. Finally, Sarah took a course down in Florida at the Marine Canvas Training Institute and then we started designing and marketing them in March at the Portland Flower Show.
What was your biggest challenge going from idea to reality?
I think our biggest challenge was actually feeling confident enough in what we had developed as a prototype to really commit to putting the money and time in ˆ just taking a huge leap of faith that this is something that we could do and that we could make work. And I think the biggest factor for both of us is that we have families who are really behind the idea. I'm not sure we could have done it without that support.
How do you market your business?
We've done a lot of [trade] shows up to this point, mostly because it was a way to get our product out there in the least expensive way. Because the type of product we sell is something people want to see, to sit on and feel ˆ and because we didn't have a showroom at that point ˆ that was the best way to accommodate them.
We also started submitting our [product information] to places like Coastal Living magazine and the New York Times. We were able to get a piece in the New York Times this summer, which really launched the swing. We started getting orders from outside of Maine and New England.
Who are your customers?
Most of the people who have bought them are people with second homes, who have camps or cottages. And what we've found is that people have fallen in love with the nostalgia of the swings. We've had a lot of people who have come by at shows and seen [the swings] and said, "Oh, my grandmother had one just like that. I remember I read Gone With the Wind on it."
Have you made any mistakes in your first six months as business owners?
Yeah, we've made a lot of mistakes. One of the things we've found is that our unbridled enthusiasm for our product has led us to some silly conclusions about what we should be doing. We've done some things that in hindsight were not the best moves. Because we want to get our product out there, one of the things we've done is be too quick to donate our product when somebody shows interest and says "I'd love to have this for my fundraiser." We haven't always been good at thinking through from a business standpoint what the best options are for us. I think we're getting better at that, but neither one of us are business people.
What are your plans for growth?
Well, we started in Sarah's garage and my basement and we've just moved to Fort Andross in Brunswick, where we'll have our workspace as well as a small showroom. We're just really hoping to get our product out there and to get into a market that's bigger than New England. One of the things we've talked about is looking at some of the trade shows in the south. I think there's a market for us on the south coast, the Carolinas and Florida.
Did you see a big increase in sales over the holidays?
No, actually we didn't. But I think Maine and porch swings in December just don't add up to the big money.
New Entrepreneurs profiles young businesses, 6-18 months old. Send your suggestions and contact information to wrichardson@mainebiz.biz.
Employees: Two
Startup costs: $17,000
Projected revenues, year one: $35,000
Projected revenues, year two: $50,000
Contact: 729-1616
14 Maine St., Brunswick 04011
www.penobscotbayporchswings.com
Tell me about Penobscot Bay Porch Swings.
We offer a traditional sailor's hammock with a contemporary twist. They're all custom made-to-order, so people can pick their fabric. We have two standard sizes, but we've also done custom sizes. Sarah [Bloy, the company's co-founder,] and I do everything. We outsource absolutely nothing. We do everything from building the wooden frames to the sewing, the grommeting, the cutting of the fabric and the rope work.
Where did you and Sarah get the idea for the business?
We had seen the swings on an old porch when we were on a field trip with our daughters in Isle of Springs off of Boothbay Harbor. We talked about [the idea] and kicked it around for a while. Finally, Sarah took a course down in Florida at the Marine Canvas Training Institute and then we started designing and marketing them in March at the Portland Flower Show.
What was your biggest challenge going from idea to reality?
I think our biggest challenge was actually feeling confident enough in what we had developed as a prototype to really commit to putting the money and time in ˆ just taking a huge leap of faith that this is something that we could do and that we could make work. And I think the biggest factor for both of us is that we have families who are really behind the idea. I'm not sure we could have done it without that support.
How do you market your business?
We've done a lot of [trade] shows up to this point, mostly because it was a way to get our product out there in the least expensive way. Because the type of product we sell is something people want to see, to sit on and feel ˆ and because we didn't have a showroom at that point ˆ that was the best way to accommodate them.
We also started submitting our [product information] to places like Coastal Living magazine and the New York Times. We were able to get a piece in the New York Times this summer, which really launched the swing. We started getting orders from outside of Maine and New England.
Who are your customers?
Most of the people who have bought them are people with second homes, who have camps or cottages. And what we've found is that people have fallen in love with the nostalgia of the swings. We've had a lot of people who have come by at shows and seen [the swings] and said, "Oh, my grandmother had one just like that. I remember I read Gone With the Wind on it."
Have you made any mistakes in your first six months as business owners?
Yeah, we've made a lot of mistakes. One of the things we've found is that our unbridled enthusiasm for our product has led us to some silly conclusions about what we should be doing. We've done some things that in hindsight were not the best moves. Because we want to get our product out there, one of the things we've done is be too quick to donate our product when somebody shows interest and says "I'd love to have this for my fundraiser." We haven't always been good at thinking through from a business standpoint what the best options are for us. I think we're getting better at that, but neither one of us are business people.
What are your plans for growth?
Well, we started in Sarah's garage and my basement and we've just moved to Fort Andross in Brunswick, where we'll have our workspace as well as a small showroom. We're just really hoping to get our product out there and to get into a market that's bigger than New England. One of the things we've talked about is looking at some of the trade shows in the south. I think there's a market for us on the south coast, the Carolinas and Florida.
Did you see a big increase in sales over the holidays?
No, actually we didn't. But I think Maine and porch swings in December just don't add up to the big money.
New Entrepreneurs profiles young businesses, 6-18 months old. Send your suggestions and contact information to wrichardson@mainebiz.biz.
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