Bagolitas Story...
Every woman has a story to tell and I feel so fortunate to be sharing mine with you. One day in April 2005, my day started out like any other: I had decided to recover my kitchen chairs and went out to find some fabric. The only problem was when my husband came home from work, he told me he wasn't all that interested in sitting on the fabric I chose. I could handle that, I would just redo them another day during naps. but what to do with the fabric? I was on a budget and wasn't about to let it go to waste. So, I made a handbag not suspecting that this handbag would be the beginning of Bagolitas by Janice.
After getting rave reviews from friends - and strangers! - while carrying my bags, I decided to start the business with money that my Grandma Vonnie gave me shortly before "the chair" incident. The card she sent said to use the money for, "opportunities you weren't expecting." This was certainly not something I was expecting and her gift of money was the first of many acts of fate.
After having several parties, sewing bags as fast as I could during nap time and many, many, many late nights... I knew I needed helpers. After a quick prayer in need of direction, the answer came.
Around the time Hurricane Katrina hit, we received an email from our church that someone locally, Herren, had taken in a family from Louisiana who was in need of a tenor saxophone for one of the children. What were the odds that we had one in our basement? We quickly called to offer ours only to find out that the school had already found one. As my friendly husband inquired more about their situation, I overheard that the two mothers (Herren and Elsa) needed work. I chuckled and said, "Can they sew?" Not only could they sew, Herren used to work in a factory in the garment district in New York as a teen. These two angels helped me keep up with the demand and started me thinking towards a much bigger picture than just me, one Mom, sewing bags.
My mind started working overtime thinking of all the women (many of them Moms like me) that needed something more in their life.
If it was filling me up, and now Herren and Elsa, just think how many more people I could reach out to? Well that is exactly what I am trying to do and I think that God is leading me on this journey. Every time a door closes, someone opens another. I have been blessed with the opportunity to provide work and that "something more" to women across the country through selling, sewing, or working beside me.
Our mission: To redefine the lives of others through career opportunities, the products we make and the charitable actions we encourage.
