Today we’d like to introduce you to Becky Connelly.
Hi Becky, thanks for joining us today. We’d love for you to start by introducing yourself.
In school, I struggled. My elementary school teachers actually thought something was wrong with me. I graduated college with the lowest possible GPA.
Truth is, school didn’t interest me that much.
It wasn’t until my post-college job at a plumbing supply house that I felt some sense of direction. Oh yeah, it was plumbing parts that lit me up. I was fascinated by how it’s all connected, from pipe to p-trap, in order to build a functional, livable system. I loved to troubleshooting projects with plumbers that would come in and finding fittings that would help to achieve their ultimate goal of making ‘something’ work.
Continuing along my journey of wanting to build and assemble, my overachieving self went back to school for construction management and later launched a career in commercial and residential build-outs. I chose the ‘school route’ with the intention of further immersing myself in ‘how to put it all together’. Instead, I found myself managing people that ‘put it all together’.
I’d lost sight of the main reason I followed my heart into the field of construction: my newfound passion for troubleshooting the shit out of something to make it work.
Then along came this bra idea. I wanted to improve upon the scratchy, puffy bra I was wearing – to ultimately build a comfortable bra that was also nipple-concealing. The process of experimenting, failing and then going back to the drawing board 500 times to make-it-work was totally in my wheelhouse.
Six years and almost as many manufacturers later, I launched my dream bra: a seamless, insanely soft and comfortable, nipple concealing bralette.
To this day, with a successful business and a patent under my belt, my happy place is still at the ‘drawing board’ (read, ironing board), snipping fabrics into circles and gluing and arranging them into submission to make a functional system. Currently, I’m driven by the need to improve upon a bra that so many women, including yours truly, already love and adore. Sure it could be my overachieving self, needing to make a good thing even better. I can’t help myself.
Sure, it’s overachieving a tad but in my mind, the Elli Bralette is far from perfect so just keep on keeping on, troubleshooting the shit out of it until it is.
I’m sure you wouldn’t say it’s been obstacle free, but so far would you say the journey have been a fairly smooth road?
I’m a mother, first and foremost. My kids were small when I started working on the bra so the development thereof was paced at a start-stop cadence for years. I remember feeling stressed about it taking ‘too long’, that I wasn’t making ‘fast enough’ progress. Truth is, I was living my life. Perhaps if I was single (and younger), head down, focused on nothing but getting this bra off the ground, it would have happened sooner? Perhaps.
Thanks for sharing that. So, maybe next you can tell us a bit more about your business?
Non Disclosure Apparel is a boutique bra company creating bralettes specifically designed for nipple concealing.
What sets us apart: Our bralettes are nonpadded AND nipple concealing. Invented to fill a void in the marketplace, our lightweight bralettes are provide a barely-there feeling of comfort without the worry (about nipping through your t-shirt).
What am I most proud of: I am most proud to (finally) receive a patent for the Elli Bralette design. Less than 13% of women are named on US patents and I’m humbled to see my name printed beside the registered number thereof.
What do I want readers to know: The Elli Bralette is the perfect training bra. Preteens can be self-conscious about their developing breasts. The concealing petals inside our bralettes prevent breast buds from poking through, creating a smooth appearance under her favorite t-shirt. The bralettes are comfortable and cute so as a first bra, they’re ideal.
Women land on my website because they’re looking this particular type of bra solution. As a small company, I’m able to thoughtfully wrap each bralette like a present, complete with a personal ‘thank you’ note, to enhance the customer experience. The relationship with my customers and that they feel comfortable reaching out to me is my number one priority.
What quality or characteristic do you feel is most important to your success?
Perseverance.
I encountered several people along the way, from family members to perfect strangers, that didn’t believe in me or understand what the heck I was trying to accomplish. A lot of the time, I would too would second guess myself, thinking, “I’ve got to be kidding myself, this bra is never going to materialize.”
Still, I never threw in the towel. Months would go by when I didn’t step foot in my studio. Then, the day would come that I’d dig deep, blow the dust off my ironing board and get back to it. I always felt that this bra invention was bigger than me so I continued to press on. So yes, my drive to persevere in the face of opposition is what I consider to be the most important factor in my success.
Pricing:
- The Elli Bralette – Concealing Bra: $48
Contact Info:
- Website: https://ndapparel.com
- Other: https://www.pinterest.com/ndapparel/
Image Credits
Diana Deaver, Caroline Knopf
