Today we’d like to introduce you to Nora Hershberger.
Nora, let’s start with your story. We’d love to hear how you got started and how the journey has been so far.
I’ve been an athlete of some sort my entire life. I played tennis my first three years at Agnes Scott College, gave roller derby a whirl, and have been a yoga practitioner for a few years now. Transitioning from being an active teenager to a somewhat active 20s something to working a desk job in my later 20s and now early 30s meant the pounds started sticking when they didn’t before. I still try to stay active, but crossing from “normal” sizing to plus sizing means I have very little athletic clothing options and most of them are baggy and not attractive.
A few years back, I went to a yoga and surf retreat in Costa Rica to see if I could pick up surfing and before I left the US, I tried to get my hands on some plus size surf leggings and rash guards, only to discover they didn’t exist. My yoga leggings options at this point (at a size 14/16, the most common size women are in the US) were pretty much black, gray, navy, and occasionally a pattern or two, but nowhere near the same range of options “traditional sized” women had.
I had a great time surfing and decided if the fashion industry was going to ignore plus-sized women, I would try to fill that market space. One of 124 West’s core beliefs is that women should feel attractive and have clothing options no matter what size they are so we currently offer sizing XXS-4X.
Has it been a smooth road?
It’s been a bit of a trial. I have no experience in the fashion industry and quickly discovered there’s no such thing as a one-stop-shop. It was up to me to source fabric, to find a fabric printer, to find a technical designer, to fly around the US to find a manufacturer. It was important to me that my brand be as ethically made as possible and to help control the supply chain, I only looked for manufacturers in the US to make sure 124 West was never made by child labor or in sweatshops. Our fabric is sourced from Italy and printed in Virginia.
I think most small business owners will tell you financing is one of the biggest struggles. My suggestion is to have a solid financial and funding plan going into starting your business. Don’t be afraid to ask for help or admit that you’re in over your head.
This is not something that happens overnight. It took a year and a half to find a fabric provider, to create designs that were functional, to save enough money to create everything. Don’t give up, even if it’s another week of 40 hours at your paying job and 60+ hours on your personal project. Keep moving forward.
So let’s switch gears a bit and go into 124 West story. Tell us more about the business.
124 West currently offers multi-use activewear in 10 sizes that can be used in and out of water. Our swim top also functions as a sports bra or a cropped workout top. Our leggings can be worn for any exercise (marathon running or marathoning NetFlix as I like to say, haha) and then right out into the water. All of our items are also UPF 50, so if you need sun protection, we’ve got you covered.
Our fabric is made out of recycled plastic, something I’m really proud of. We have a huge ocean pollution problem, and most of that is plastic. The plastic in our fabric is made out of ghost netting, which is fishing gear that gets lost or tossed into the ocean often times ends up trapping fish, sharks, turtles, etc and they end up dying tangled in it. The netting can be recycled and spun into yarn for fabric and all of 124 West’s clothing can be indefinitely recycled. We’ve also set aside 10% of our profits to donate back to organizations helping protect the ocean like the Surf Rider Foundation and Oceana.
I’m also insanely proud of our range of sizes. Many companies only offer S-XL or 14 and up- 124 West wants everyone, no matter their size, to have access to ethically made clothing they feel attractive in.
Do you have a lesson or advice you’d like to share with young women just starting out?
Learn to define your boundaries. The sooner you learn to do this, the stronger and happier you will be.
Contact Info:
- Website: https://124west.com/
- Email: info@124west.com
- Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/124_west/
- Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/124west/
Image Credit:
124 West
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