SNORF INDUSTRIES

In 2013, I started Snorf Industries as a passion project. Something that wouldn’t eat up all my time and would allow me to be creative in new ways. I figured it would just be a little Etsy Shop that got a few sales every year, and it would give me a chance to work on my sewing skills.

That’s when I had to make the hardest decision of my professional life.

In December 2014, I left a job and team I really liked to give Snorf Industries a fighting chance. To truly become a dog apparel manufacturer, I needed to give it 200% for a few months - filing patents and trademarks, fulfilling orders, and ultimately launching a Kickstarter campaign to get my first factory run in production.

The campaign had incredible support - attracting attention from press, TV producers, a major department store, and even Kickstarter itself. The campaign was awarded “Kickstarter Staff Pick” status, which Inc. Magazine once referred to as the “holy grail of crowdfunding.” The campaign was also profiled by Boston.com.

After raising over $20,000, I was able to stop sewing everything by hand, hired some factories, and began manufacturing my unique dog products right here in the US.

At its height, Snorf Industries shipped products to thousands of customers across every continent (minus Antarctica). I was able to raise and donate thousands of dollars for rescue organizations. It was a really good run.

Today, I’m done with manufacturing. While I actually loved producing soft goods and learning a new discipline, promoting my own business, and meeting so many wonderful dog owners, it was too difficult to balance with my full-time career as an ad writer.

Being my own client taught me a lot about advertising. You think a lot harder about what you put out into the world when it’s your own time and money.

I reflect on all these lessons in my article, Everything On the Line: How Running My Own Business Made Me a Better Creative

Screen Shot 2022-01-15 at 10.28.29 AM.png

Screen Shot 2022-01-15 at 10.33.39 AM.png

Screen Shot 2022-01-15 at 10.21.55 AM.png

Screen Shot 2022-01-15 at 10.29.55 AM.png

Screen Shot 2022-01-15 at 10.34.35 AM.png

Screen Shot 2022-01-15 at 10.31.31 AM.png

Screen Shot 2022-01-15 at 10.30.24 AM.png

Screen Shot 2022-01-15 at 10.34.05 AM.png

Screen Shot 2022-01-15 at 10.27.17 AM.png

Screen Shot 2022-01-15 at 10.22.29 AM.png

Screen Shot 2022-01-15 at 10.22.14 AM.png

Screen Shot 2022-01-15 at 10.25.23 AM.png

Screen Shot 2022-01-15 at 10.22.46 AM.png

Screen Shot 2022-01-15 at 10.33.08 AM.png

Screen Shot 2022-01-15 at 10.35.24 AM.png

Screen Shot 2022-01-15 at 10.34.22 AM.png

Screen Shot 2022-01-15 at 10.32.46 AM.png

Screen Shot 2022-01-15 at 10.32.22 AM.png

Screen Shot 2022-01-15 at 10.27.53 AM.png

Screen Shot 2022-01-15 at 10.28.19 AM.png

Screen Shot 2022-01-15 at 10.29.00 AM.png

Screen Shot 2022-01-15 at 10.26.41 AM.png

Screen Shot 2022-01-15 at 10.27.03 AM.png

Screen Shot 2022-01-15 at 10.26.21 AM.png

Screen Shot 2022-01-15 at 10.25.52 AM.png

Screen Shot 2022-01-15 at 10.25.03 AM.png

Screen Shot 2022-01-15 at 10.24.26 AM.png

Screen Shot 2022-01-15 at 10.24.03 AM.png

Screen Shot 2022-01-15 at 10.23.46 AM.png

Screen Shot 2022-01-15 at 10.23.30 AM.png

Screen Shot 2022-01-15 at 10.23.01 AM.png

After 7 years of manufacturing hiccups, new tariffs, postal strikes abroad, DeJoy’s crippling of the USPS, and countless copycats across the globe… I was done.

Today, I’ve pivoted. With the majority of my demographic being women, I was constantly asked if I was ever going to publish my sewing patterns. And in 2021, I published the first of many. The way I see it… if crooks were going to rip off my designs, then my loyal, paying customers should be able to as well.

For an overview of this project, and how it's positively influenced me as an advertising creative, check out my article: Everything On the Line: How Running My Own Business Made Me a Better Creative.

MOVING FORWARD

My plan is to return to advertising full-time, while managing production and fulfillment on the side. Snorf Industries no longer requires the same kind of attention it did in 2014/2015, so it will be quite manageable as a side-project moving forward.

My experience running Snorf Industries has taught me an incredible amount. I look forward to applying what I've learned to new challenges.

SNORF INDUSTRIES

Then my sales jumped 700%.

Massachusetts

Curves