Turning rags to riches

Nation's Business, Jan, 1998 by Harriet Websters

Crispina ffrench loves the fact that her business is housed in a former textile mill that fell on hard times. Breathing life into the Housatonic, Mass., mill is consistent with the philosophy of Crispina Designs, which recycles "post-consumer" clothing into one-of-a-kind garments and home accessories.

Last year the company recycled 25,000 pounds of wool sweaters, hundreds of tweed sports jackets, and bales of blue jeans and overcoats, all purchased from rag dealers across the country. The company produces vests, jackets, sweaters, jumpers, mittens, and hats as well as blankets, pillows, rugs, and stuffed animals.

The items are stitched together by a corps of about 30 sewers who work at home. Each piece bears a message from ffrench (the "ff" is an Irish linguistic quirk) that's printed on recycled cardboard: "We thank you for supporting our company and encourage you to continue to choose sustainability in your purchasing decisions. Conserve, reuse, recycle, and be kind to yourself every day."

The recycling theme runs through just about every aspect of ffrench's business. Some of her clothes incorporate fasteners made from old bottle tops and keys, and her catalog, printed on recycled paper, is mailed in a folder made from a collapsed cereal box.

Ffrench, 32, started her business in 1987 when she was an art student at Massachusetts College of Art in Boston. She sold her "ragamuffins" -- whimsical, dinosaurlike stuffed animals made from recycled, multicolored sweaters -- through a crafts cooperative and out of her backpack at music events.

In 1989, she was accepted as an exhibitor at the American Craft Council Show, a prestigious juried event held annually in West Springfield, Mass. It was her first show, and she wrote up more than $30,000 in orders. "I went home," she recalls, "quit my job waiting tables, and tried to figure out how I was going to make all the stuff."

She enlisted a couple of friends and set up shop in an old railroad granary in Millerton, N.Y, where she remained for six years. The company did $500,000 worth of business in 1995. But the following year, ffrench's young son was diagnosed with a serious heart condition. Unable to run her factory, she laid off her work force and ceased production. To make matters worse, her bank called in her loans. The company lost $100,000 that year, but ffrench was determined to bounce back.

In 1995, she had attended a conference of the Social Venture Network, an organization of 400 companies committed to socially responsible business practices. "I hung out with all these high-rolling, socially responsible business people who were really my icons," she recalls, "and they said things like, `We understand your business. If you ever need help, just call.' "So she did.

With the assistance of a contact she met through the network, she secured a $100,000 deal with The Nature Company, a national retailer and catalog company based in Berkeley, Calif. The deal included a $23,000 advance to get production off the ground. Crispina Designs reopened in a new location in Housatonic, close to her parents and to Stockbridge, Mass., where ffrench was raised.

Today, her 4-year-old son goes off to day care happily most days despite the fact that he is still dealing with a serious illness. And her company is thriving. By late 1997, ffrench was anticipating annual revenues that would once again approach the $500,000 mark, and Crispina Designs has 450 wholesale accounts in the United States, Canada, Europe, and Japan.

Paula Cochran, proprietor of Paula's, a Rockford, Ill., boutique and one of ffrench's oldest customers, says: "I think of her pieces as wearable art. Her clothes are almost an invitation for people to be friendly. They start a conversation."