Deb Knowlton has been promoted to Lead Designer & Production Manager for The Little Hat Company.
Just shy of her first anniversary of working with The Little Hat Company, Deb Knowlton South Berwick resident of twenty years was named Lead Designer & Production Manager. Deb began stitching for The Little Hat Company during the spring of 2007. She had first contacted Jennifer Houghton in January about sewing for the new company. The Little Hat Company was just not big enough yet to support an in house production team. Since then, demand for the made in Maine Stroller and Loope Lids has grown enough to support a team of 6 part-time stitchers. Deb is proud of her new recent designs that will launch on The Little Hat Company’s website next month: The Strawberry Patch Lid & My New Little Preemie Lid.
Deb recently left her full time position in order to pursue her life long dream of sewing for a living. The demand for Stroller Lids across the country has grown to a point that it has become her main focus outside of her family. In addition to coming up with new ideas for Lids, Deb heads up the production team in South Berwick. She works with women who have a wealth of sewing experience as well as first timers who have been welcomed to the team. The team is currently made up of all stay at home moms. It was a great opportunity for the moms to reenter the workplace while still being able to put their family’s schedules and needs first.
“It’s an eclectic group of women, but yet with the same frame of mind of wanting to do the work needed so that the company may grow and continue to become an even greater success. It doesn’t feel like getting up and going to work every morning. Everybody is doing and learning new things about business and being able to use their strengths. Also there is a tremendous amount of laughter behind the scenes,” comments Deb. “Our dream is to keep production in South Berwick for as long as the company continues. All of our children go to school in this town, our homes are here, and it’s the town where we can walk down Main Street and run into friends and neighbors.”
“There is always something new just around the corner for The Little Hat Company. We can’t wait till the May/June issue of Yankee Magazine hits newsstands this spring. They featured our hats as one of the must haves for this summer season. Country Women magazine is also putting together a feature article about the business and how it is growing through the efforts of stay at home moms in a small yet very supportive town.
Deb Knowlton, has been sewing since she turned five when her Grandmother taught her how to use a sewing machine. Designing is her favorite aspect of sewing. When a customer of LHC recently requested a strawberry hat, Deb sat down at her machine for a weekend till she got it right. Now months before South Berwick’s annual Strawberry Festival they can’t keep them on the shelves. Deb also is very proud of the My Little Preemie Lid she designed this year for The Little Hat Company. In addition to ramping up production for the upcoming season she is working on developing a line of adult lids for this year’s Pumpkinman Triathlon.
Big things do happen in small towns. In addition to raising an amazing family with her husband Frank, Deb is pursuing a lifelong career dream in South Berwick, Maine. She stitches at home by day and is able to golf and ski on weekends. She will be traveling to Switzerland for a short while looking at new fabrics and design ideas while Frank is working abroad for Timberland, Inc. They will also have a chance to visit with their son Frankie who has been studying in Montauean France for his Junior Year of High school.
Tags: Businesses, buy local, downtown, Economic Development
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on Thursday, April 3rd, 2008 at 6:45 am and is filed under Economic Development, People.
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