By Quinn Kelly
Wicked Local South/Mariner, Marshfield, Mass.
WWR Article Summary (tl;dr) Meet the three 12 year old girls who have joined forces to create the “Bandanary Shop.” Bandanry offers homemade bandanas for dogs. You pick your choice of fabric and then you get to add your dog’s name, or any other phrase you’d like.
Cohasset
Three local girls are proving once again that often in the darkest times shine the brightest lights.
A town familiar with the entrepreneurial spirit, Cohasset has recently seen the launch of its newest small business, Bandanary Shop.
The proprietors: three 12 year old girls; twins Sydni and Jaedyn Kaufman Savenor and Amelia Palmer.
The girls started Bandanary Shop last month, breaking out their sewing machines to make customizable dog bandanas.
The bandana can be made with your choice of fabric and adorned with your dog’s name, or any other phrase you’d like.
Each one is unique, perfect for outfitting pups of all shapes and sizes.
As Sydni and Jaedyn’s mother, Cheryl, will tell you, there aren’t any design needs that they can’t meet.
“Just send us a picture of your dog and we can figure it out,” she said.
“We’ve done big dogs, small dogs, even some cats and a bunny!”
Each bandana sells for $15, plus $4 for shipping if you order from out of area.
But, what’s truly special about the girls’ business is where their growing profits are going.
“They are donating all the money to two charities,” Cheryl said. “It goes to St. Jude’s Hospital for Children’s Research and the Scituate Animal Shelter.”
The story behind Bandanary’s inception is intimately tied to the COVID-19 pandemic.
On April 23, Sydni and Jaedyn’s grandmother, Cheryl’s mother, died after falling ill with the coronavirus.
“My daughters and my mom were extremely close,” said Cheryl, recalling a difficult time for her family.
Instantly, the girls knew they wanted to do something to honor their grandmother. When their friend Amelia came over with a small gift and her condolences, they found the perfect way to do so.
Sydni said, “Amelia brought over a bandana for our dog as a gift, and it gave us the idea.”
“That’s where the idea was born,” explained Cheryl. “We thought, ‘hey, we can embellish these, make them, and sell them to raise some money.”
The passion for charity is something the girls took from their grandmother.
“My mom was all about giving to charities,” said Cheryl, “and one of her favorite charities was St. Jude’s.”
Cheryl added that her mother’s generous nature came from her faith, and the Jewish ritual of performing ‘mitzvot,’ or loosely translated: good deeds.
“If something good happens, you give back; that was my mom,” Cheryl said.
“She would literally give her last dollar to someone who helped her. She was always about giving, and children and animals were her soft spot.”
That care for animals was one shared by Amelia’s grandmother, who died last year. Having been taught by her grandmother how to sew, Amelia was more than happy to join in the business.
The girls started by rounding up all the fabric they had in the house, most of which was left over from pillows that Sydni and Jaedyn had been making for their grandmothers.
Then, they got to work.
Now, just over a month later, this passion project has taken off.
What started as a grassroots effort in Cohasset has now extended far beyond the town’s borders.
“It started locally as word of mouth,” said Cheryl. “The girls printed out flyers and put them in mailboxes, they reached out to every person in my contacts, and people started getting interested.”
From there, it was on to social media, where the Kaufman Savenor’s are part of a Facebook group that connects them with fellow owners of soft-coated Wheaten terriers.
“It’s a breed that’s all over the world,” Cheryl explained, “and we’ve had people from across the country and even internationally in Canada and England order bandanas.”
The girls have continued to expand online, starting their own Facebook and Instagram pages (@bandanary_shop) where they model their wares.
At the same time, they’ve continued to stake their spot locally, partnering with Cohasset’s Phia Boutique and Maggie’s Doghouse in Hingham. Their bandanas are available for sale online at both stores, and will be available in stores soon as well.
The girls have made roughly 250 bandanas and counting, and have had to order and reorder materials to keep up with demand.
“Now we’re regulars at JoAnn’s Fabric,” said Cheryl. “They know us by name!”
Each bandana is handmade, one by one, and follows the mantra that has become Bandanary’s social media slogan.
“We say ‘#imperfect but made with love'”
Love has been a big theme in the girls’ success, Cheryl added, saying that the community of dog owners has bred the connection.
“Everybody loves their dog,” Cheryl said. “You bond over a dog and you end up making some real friends.”
“In a time where everything’s chaotic in the world, it’s really cool to do something happy and good and see that people can set aside their differences and bond over their dog.”
With interest in Bandanary growing, the girls are working on a website for their business. It’s something that Cheryl says is part of an incredible learning experience.
“I want them to see, this is how business works and this is how you can become an entrepreneur,” said Cheryl. “It’s good to give, so give to charity. It’s been a whole bunch of different lessons for the girls.”
One of those lessons has been in customer service, where the girls appear to be excelling.
“The girls have been communicating with everyone who orders a bandana,” Cheryl added. “We’ve made so many friends. People have been so supportive.”
The girls love to add a personal touch, and will hand deliver any local orders they can around Cohasset and neighboring towns.
Until a website is launched, Bandanary will be accepting orders through direct messages on their Facebook and Instagram pages. Payments can be made through PayPal or Venmo, or in cash in the case of local orders.
As Sydni, Jaedyn, and Amelia continue to do their grandmothers’ memories proud, Cheryl says that the knowledge that their work is bringing people smiles has been truly fulfilling for the girls.
After starting as a simple “labor of love,” Bandanary has accomplished its mission: “They really just wanted to spread some goodness.”
___
Distributed by Tribune Content Agency, LLC.
