New creations are made from old and damaged wool sweaters. Inspirational messages are shared. These are two purposes of Love Woolies, a local business whose owners and employees work to create joy, despite flaws.
Marcella Hill took over the business from her parents about 10 years ago. They had begun purchasing old woolen sweaters from thrift shops, washing them, cutting pieces from them and sewing the pieces together to make mittens.
“They started it just for fun for the holiday season and they sold out,” Hill said.
What started as Hill working in her garage and going to gift shows on weekends while raising a family has turned into a new warehouse in Pleasant Grove with several employees. While they still make mittens from old or damaged wool sweaters, they have expanded to also make scrunchies, baby bows, cabin socks, baby beanies and wool hats.
Now that so many items are being created, Hill orders old and damaged sweaters by the pound from businesses that collect clothing that thrift shops don’t sell.
“We get stuff that’s really, really old and from all over,” Hill said. “We make up stories of where we think a sweater came from and whose it was. People buy those wool sweaters because they’re special. We just make the stories up, but people love that.”
Messages of hope and joy are also shared, along with the created goods.
“We started incorporating messages based on experiences I’ve had in my life,” Hill said. “Your life gets flaws and you think your life will never be good again, but we can focus on the joys even with the flaws.”
Hill said that if beautiful mittens or other handmade goods can be made from old sweaters, then anyone can create joy from the flaws in their lives.
Hill learned this lesson 10 years ago when she went through a divorce.
“It was pretty awful, and I was in a dark, dark place,” she said. “Now I have a beautiful life. But, some of my most amazing moments were during those dark times. I was able to find joy and find talents that I didn’t know I had. I got to know myself. Joy is right there in front of us.”
Another way that the company is inspiring others is through its Instagram account @lovewoolies. Women who are finding joy in the middle of difficult situations are interviewed and featured on the company’s Instagram account every Monday evening.
“We feature a variety of people. Everyone has a story,” Hill said. Some guests have become widowed, lost spouses through divorce, struggled with loss of faith or mental health issues.
When the COVID-19 pandemic hit, Hill heard from people who were looking for face masks to purchase, but they could not find them. Because of this, the business branched out from just wool products into also making cloth masks.
“We made 1,500 masks in two weeks and donated them all to frontline workers,” Hill said.
Still, customers were asking to buy them. So, the company began selling masks as a means to fund the making of masks to donate with a “buy one, give one” plan. Since then, Love Woolies has donated over 20,000 masks. At one point, 5,000 masks were being made each week.
Currently, Love Woolies is donating masks to local schools. According to Hill, if children or teachers are in need of masks for school, they can contact the company.
While many companies have struggled during the past few months during the pandemic, the opposite has been the case with Love Woolies. In March, there were five employees and now there are about 40 employees. In addition to the popularity of the handmade cloth masks, sales have increased with all products.
“Every woman who works for us has a story of hardship and is now making income,” Hill said. In fact, many are stay-at-home parents who work from home.
“It’s been an unbelievable ride,” Hill said.
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