A clothing store in Stevensville is changing its summer women's fashion to fashion for your face!
By Don Harrison
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A clothing store in Stevensville is changing its summer women's fashion to fashion for your face!
Sheilah Ruppert of Spunkwear says if you gotta wear them, why not look good in them?
"We already had all the fun prints that I designed and people showed some many signs of loving," she said.
Masks are a part of our culture for now, so Sheila added a little fashion to our function. She got more than just a boost in fashion from these masks.
"We see this as saving us honestly and in addition to that it’s providing something people are needing to wear to be compliant," she explained.
One of the biggest complaints about masks are they are hard to breathe through. Here they use a fabric that is easy to breathe through and to put on quite easily.
-By Don Harrison
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Popular local business Spunkwear has introduced a new line of face masks. Mandy went down to visit them at 235 N Log Canoe Circle Stevensville to get the scoop. Spunkwear is open Monday through Friday 9am - 4pm.
]]>By Doug Bishop-
Originally closed as a nonessential business by the stay-at-home directive given by Gov. Larry Hogan in mid-March, Spunkwear, a small business clothing line headquartered in Stevensville, was permitted to reopen during the third week of April to make protective face masks.
]]>Originally closed as a nonessential business by the stay-at-home directive given by Gov. Larry Hogan in mid-March, Spunkwear, a small business clothing line headquartered in Stevensville, was permitted to reopen during the third week of April to make protective face masks.
Spunkwear owner and founder Sheilah Ruppert said, “We already had the material needed to make the masks, and I received permission to reopen our factory to make the masks.”
She had designed printed fabrics for this season’s clothing line when production came to a halt after her Pennsylvania factory shut down.
“Along with every other quarantined sewer, I began making masks from my stash of quilt fabrics,” she said. “I was also stitching buttons onto Spunkwear headbands and donating them to nurses whose ears were rubbed raw from the elastic on their masks. After daily requests from our customer base, I finally designed a comfortable mask using some leftover Spunkwear prints on board short fabric. With the help of a local stitcher, we would produce about 200 a day, which would sell out on our website within an hour.”
When the factory in Pennsylvania reopened for “essential” goods only, Spunkwear’s mask production ramped up, and the sales of Ruppert’s masks and neck gaiters took off.
Spunkwear has made thousands of masks using stylish patterns and bright colors, everything from the Maryland state flag to steamed crab pattern designs on a blue background.
“Turns out, our soft, quick drying, nylon/spandex fabric, makes the most comfortable and breathable mask around,” Ruppert said.
Spunkwear’s popularity began after Ruppert designed a simple spandex dress with a sports bra top and an A-line skirt. She wore the dress to a weekend-long lacrosse tournament, where she sold her goods from a tent. Requests from players’ mothers to buy similar dresses lead to the beginning of her women’s apparel line. With teams from around the country attending the huge Maryland summer lacrosse tournaments, website sales spiked when moms returned home and showed friends their Spunkwear dresses.
Brand recognition came quickly, and Spunkwear grew to include a dozen dress styles, skorts, tops, pants, tights and accessories — all in high demand with female lacrosse, field hockey and soccer players and their moms. The line also is sold under the wholesale label Southwind Apparel.
Spunkwear is in the Chesapeake Bay Business Park at 235 Log Canoe Circle, Suite N, Stevensville.
For more information, or to make an appointment to stop by, call 443-249-3006 or email sheilah@spunkwear.com.
-By Doug Bishop
]]>Ruppert comments, “Our masks are easy on the ears and don’t tend to fog up glasses – two big complaints about most masks available on the market today.”
Ruppert’s new business focus grew out of the challenge she found herself facing. She had designed printed fabrics for this season’s clothing line when production came to a halt after her Pennsylvania factory shut down. With retail businesses forced to close, her wholesale accounts began reducing and canceling their orders.
“We had such momentum after years of growth and success, any challenges along the way were nothing compared to COVID. I have been an entrepreneur my whole life and I knew it was time to switch gears and get creative,” she reflects.
“Along with every other quarantined sewer, I began making masks from my stash of quilt fabrics. I was also stitching buttons onto Spunkwear headbands and donating them to nurses whose ears were rubbed raw from the elastic on their masks. After daily requests from our customer base, I finally designed a comfortable mask using some leftover Spunkwear prints on board short fabric. With the help of a local stitcher, we would produce about 200 a day, which would sell out on our website within an hour.”
When the factory in Pennsylvania finally re-opened for “essential” goods only, Spunkwear’s mask production ramped up and the sales of Ruppert’s masks and neck gaiters took off.
Spunkwear’s popularity began after Ruppert designed a simple spandex dress with a sports bra top and an A-line skirt. She wore the dress to the weekend-long Maryland girls’ lacrosse tournaments, where she sold her goods from a tent. Moms’ requests to buy her “original” dress was the beginning of her women’s apparel line. With teams from around the country attending the huge Maryland summer lacrosse tournaments, the website sales spiked after the weekend when moms returned home and showed friends their Spunkwear dresses. Brand recognition came quickly and Spunkwear grew to include a dozen dress styles, skorts, tops, pants, tights, and accessories. The line is also sold under the wholesale label, Southwind Apparel.
“I am so appreciative of this opportunity and the response we’re getting to the masks. The feedback has been so positive. Over and over, we’re hearing that our masks are so breathable and less intrusive, especially in warm weather,” she remarks. “Our wide range of fun and pretty prints have helped lighten the mood around masks. We’re adding more prints each week and our customers are adding to their collections!”
Fabrics for both masks and neck gaiters include solids, whimsical and tropical prints, as well as Spunkwear’s signature crab and Maryland prints. Child size and larger men’s size masks have also been added to the line.
A portion of all mask sales goes to Haven Ministries, a local non-profit that provides shelter, clothing, food, and support to those in need in Queen Anne’s County.
For more information about Spunkwear masks, contact Sheilah@spunkwear.com. You can see the available prints and solids by visiting Spunkwear.com and Southwindapparel.com.
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