Meet Gretchen Anderson, an energetic, sociable Linguistic major and Anthropology minor from Columbus, Ohio. Though she is only 20 years old, she has been the owner of her own business since high school. You may not catch this self-proclaimed tomboy sporting many hair bows herself. But Adorabow, a bow-making business she founded in November of 2010, is her source of extra income and escape from her busy schedule.
“You’ve got to be kidding me. This is cheap. I can make something much better than this,” said Gretchen, recalling an incident in which her cousin’s hair bow ripped. “I looked at the ripped bow and basically took on the challenge of making a new one”.
And thus, Gretchen’s interest in designing bows was born. She started with a prototype and continued making one bow after another, each one being better than the last. She originally gifted her bows free of charge. But once a friend with bright red hair began wearing her creations, her bows quickly attracted the attention of peers willing to pay for her services. The final step in jumpstarting her business came through connections with a family friend who set Gretchen up with a booth at a holiday bazaar.
“Everyone loved them. I made a bunch of money in one day and thought, ‘Oh my god. I can totally do this and make a business out of it’,” said Gretchen.
After a friend referred to her bows as being “adoraboooow”, she was sold on a name for her business. She began selling in various locations including her school, church, bazaars, hair salons, and craft shops around Columbus. With promotion from a few Instagram famous friends, Adorabow even gained notoriety internationally, allowing Gretchen to gain customers with elaborate orders willing to pay for shipping.
“One of the things that makes my bows unique in a sense is that the center wrap is always a different color so not many people get the same bow. No two bows are exactly the same,” said Gretchen.
Starting Adorabow even allowed her to try her hand at sewing for the first time. She initially made all bows by hand. However, Adorabow’s growing popularity required her to find a better way to mass-produce her product. Her father whipped out her grandmother’s old sewing machine from the basement, told her ‘good luck’, and she was taught over the phone how to thread and use it. So back to the drawing board Gretchen went, experimenting with the best way to make her product.
“I don’t trust anyone else to make them. Quality wise, I don’t trust anyone to make them the way I make them.” She learned that lesson the hard way when she attempted to teach her sister to make bows.
“I love making them because it’s a stress reducer. It’s really therapeutic to work with my hands. I have a lot of fun with it and get to be creative, which I don’t necessarily get to do that often,” said Gretchen.
A break from her daily schedule is something she surely needs. When she is not designing bows she is playing Frisbee, involved in Intervarsity Christian Fellowship on campus, leading an Umoja Bible study, singing in the Inner Strength Gospel Choir, working at FitRec and BU mailrooms, and learning Arabic, her third language.
Do not ask Gretchen what she sees as her future career yet. She is still deciding. But she knows she wants to travel, work with people, and learn about various cultures. In the meantime, she plans to make bows and keep Adorabow going for as long as she can.
Check her out online at youcanbeYOUtiful.com, on Instagram at Adorabow, and on Facebook under Adorabow.
Photo Credit: Esther Ro (COM ’15)