Today we’d like to introduce you to Maria Reisman.
Maria, let’s start with your story. We’d love to hear how you got started and how the journey has been so far.
It all began in the 30’s when my husband’s grandmother, Bessie, opened up a women’s clothing store in Stoughton, MA. Her daughter, my husband’s mother, fell in love with and married one of the salesmen.
His name was George Reisman. About 30 years later George opened ABC Retail with about 100 stores.
Then in the 70’s and 80’s my husband, George’s son, opened his own retail stores all over the country. In the 90’s he began designing and selling his own line of clothing to small boutiques. Soon our children and I got involved. When the business grew, we saw that jackets were the pieces that we loved making and designing the most. We decided to go in this direction and Winding River Clothing evolved.
We’re always bombarded by how great it is to pursue your passion, etc – but we’ve spoken with enough people to know that it’s not always easy. Overall, would you say things have been easy for you?
The clothing industry’s needs are constantly changing and we find we have to change too. We had to improve our craft and also become deeper. We are trying to meet the needs of more customers. Also, we have to learn how to use social media. We have found that each of us has to learn different skills to bring to the table.
We’d love to hear more about your business.
We design the jackets and in many cases the textiles. We had to learn to import textiles that cannot be manufactured here in the USA. We had to learn to communicate the design of the patterns we wanted and the textures of the fabrics we wanted. Once the fabrics are chosen we import them and then manufacture our jackets and sweaters in the USA. We began mainly as an art to wear line but are adding more mainstream fabrics to appeal to more customers. I think the fact that museums, galleries and gift stores carry us as well as clothing stores, sets us apart from lines that appeal to a more general audience.
What were you like growing up?
Growing up I always loved reading fashion magazines and making my own clothes. My favorite activity was going to the fabric stores and buying patterns and fabrics. I was a shy girl and very serious and introverted. I loved reading and writing. I actually had pen pals in different countries.
Contact Info:
- Address: 137 Bay State Drive Braintree, MA 02184
- Website: windingriverclothing.com
- Phone: 781-843-1661
- Email: maria@windingriverclothing.com
- Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/WindingRiverClothing/
- Twitter: https://twitter.com/windingriverart
- Other: https://www.pinterest.com/windingriverart/
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