Today we’d like to introduce you to Jennifer Kahn.
Jennifer, before we jump into specific questions about the business, why don’t you give us some details about you and your story.
It all started well before I had any idea I’d be running an accessories company! I was a Stage Manager regionally and on Broadway for 17 years, and for four years ran a blog on giveback and ethical style. These were the two halves of my heart that I never thought would have anything to do with one another. Until one day, while on the road trip with a friend, I came up with the idea for Scenery Bags.
We take discarded theatrical materials and upcycle them into bags and accessories, and a portion of every purchase is donated to The Theatre Development Fund to take students to see theatre. Now we are almost three years into Scenery Bags and have collected over 25,000 pounds of theatrical waste that all would have been thrown away otherwise, and sponsored over 750 students to see a Broadway show. This company marries so many things I care about in a celebration and love letter to theatre. I’m so grateful to everyone out there who has helped us decrease waste, save art, and foster a new generation of theatergoers.
Has it been a smooth road?
OH MY WORD! When you have an idea, especially an idea that will help others, you will be TESTED! It is only by daily miracles that we are here today.
When I put out our first small batch of bags on our Instagram account (@scenerybags no website yet), they sold out in less than 24 hours. YAY! Then people started talking about what I was doing. The wonderful Krysta Rodriguez, whom I did the Deaf West Revival of Spring Awakening on Broadway with, put one on her Instagram page and we grew about 1,000 followers overnight. Then one of Krysta’s friends Rachel Bloom (star of Crazy Ex-Girlfriend) saw her post and emailed me about getting a bag. Then she posted about it as well, and we grew another 4,000 overnight. All the amazing things that I am so grateful for to this day!
After Rachel’s post, I built our website in an afternoon just to get up a landing page and waitlist. (I had also just had a baby. Did I forget to mention that! I launched Scenery Bags when my first son was three months old and built every website page and took every phone call while breastfeeding. Shout out to Moms!) The waitlist was about 200 people long when Upworthy reached out to do a feature. (total freakout happy dance) I did the interview and the article went live August 1st (less than one month after launching our website). The article went viral. Broadway World picked it up and wrote their own article about us, which also went viral, and by the time I realized what was happening, we had 800 on our waitlist. I added a preorder option to the website and we sold 4,000 preorders in 48 hours.
And now the bumps: August 1, 2017, was the single most exciting and terrifying day of my life. People cared about what I was doing! My little dream had quickly become a big reality. But now this theatre Stage Manager had to figure out how to run an online fashion retail company, and fast!
More bumps: Our manufacturer in LA quickly told me that there was no way they would be able to keep up with the demand and bowed out (which, though it was the worst news at the time, I’m very grateful they were honest with me.) So with a preorder of 4,000 bags and a waitlist of 800, I had to find a new manufacturer.
Thankfully I was able to find a new manufacturer quickly and have a new sample prototype approved within the week. BUT they were based in Florida, and at the end of August they were hit by Hurricane Irene and had to close for two weeks.
YOU WILL BE TESTED! The best advice I have is: Be honest and stay the course.
I emailed everyone about the hurricane. I explained what was going on. I hand filled orders manually, 500 orders at a time until they were all done. It took us until December to get everyone their bags from that first order (also because they got to choose which drop they wanted and that took some time as well.) Out of, by then, 5,000+ orders that took up to four months to fulfill, we only had four order cancelations from people who didn’t want to wait. And here we are. Still grateful to our loyal and caring customers who have become friends and the theatre and shows that believe in what we are doing.
So let’s switch gears a bit and go into Scenery Bags story. Tell us more about the business.
As a former Stage Manager turned Mom and Entrepreneur, I spend most of my time chasing my two boys around the house and I specialize in Mac n’ cheese.
When I launched my company we lived in New York City where both my husband and I worked in Midtown. When I was pregnant with our second son, my husband was offered the role of General Manager at The Alley Theatre here in Houston, Texas. Brandon grew up in The Woodlands and we were both excited to live near family and start this new chapter. I had Judah (now one yr) here in The Woodlands, and Hudson (almost three) is loving the space to run around that we can give him here.
I think I’m the most proud of the fact that I accidentally created my dream job and I get to do it all from home with my boys. It’s not easy, and there is no balance at all, but there are seasons, and this season is a beautiful mess that I wouldn’t trade for anything.
Who do you look up to? How have they inspired you?
Moms and Entrepreneurs everywhere! Truly, they are all heroes. I’ve been so lucky to join some amazing networking groups with powerhouse women who do it all, and the secret is… that it’s hard for everyone. And the more we get to say that to each other, the less alone we feel in all of this. Find your people. They will be your power.
Pricing:
- Use code: HOUSTON for 15% OFF
Contact Info:
- Website: www.scenerybags.com
- Email: info@scenerybags.com
- Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/scenerybags/
- Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/scenerybags
- Twitter: https://twitter.com/scenerybags
Image Credit:
Jennifer Kahn Founder & CEO of Scenery Bags. Photographer: Marques Walls
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