Today we’d like to introduce you to Simona and Alessandra La Posta.
Thanks for sharing your story with us Simona & Alessandra. So, let’s start at the beginning and we can move on from there.
You could say that our entrepreneurial spirit is hereditary. Growing up in Medford as the children of Italian immigrants, we witnessed all our immigrant relatives—parents, aunts and uncles, family friends…etc.—each start and grow their own businesses. Despite the vast differences in what they did, the common thread was self-employment, and it had a fundamental impact in guiding the direction for our futures. Of course, back then we didn’t have an understanding of the responsibilities that running your own shop entails. As adults, we’ve learned a new appreciation for the daily hustle and grind it takes to make success happen.
Our roots in the lawn & garden world run deep. Our father, Daniel, immigrated to the US from Italy in 1971 and was one of the original importers of Italian terracotta pottery into the country. After a few decades, he sought to create a lightweight and weatherproof alternative that was more practical and cost effective for both the business owner and end user. He’d always had a talent for art and sketching, and began designing and rotomolding planters out of polyethylene in the likeness of terracotta clay. Rotomolding is a type of plastics manufacturing that has seen a surge in recent years. It’s the same technology used to make premium coolers and ultra-durable items like liquid storage tanks. In the early 2000s, the factory was based in Haverhill, MA and counted Costco, Lowes, and more as clients.
As teenagers, we spent high school summers working as part of the packing team in the warehouse. We started from the bottom with long days of manual labor, gradually working our way up into office jobs over the years. In the process, we developed a genuine awareness of and gratitude for the staff and gained invaluable insight into every facet of the business. That knowledge was the foundation for a future chapter: starting our own business.
By 2005, the factory had just been moved offshore to the Dominican Republic in partnership with local business owners. After we’d graduated from Northeastern University (Simona in 2008 with a BS in Business Admin, and Alessandra in 2010 with a BA in Communications), we spent a few more years working out of the US sales office, which catered to brick and mortar stores. Over time, we saw the potential of selling planters on the dotcom market space, whose booming growth had expanded to include lawn & garden items. In 2012, we started our own company, Planters Online, and began purchasing, importing, and warehousing planters made at our dad’s plant in the DR. We quickly learned that we couldn’t keep up with demand, but importing came with its own set of challenges which were frustrating to more than just us.
In 2014, our dad decided it was time to bring his factory back to the US, in our home state of Massachusetts. As proud Americans, we were all thrilled to be able to claim, once again, that our product was completely sourced and manufactured in the US. To celebrate our return, and a new partnership with another experienced plastics molder, Ed Mazzaferro, we named the new venture Allied Resin Technologies, dba Artech. The name was born from the collaboration and experience at its helm, and the abbreviation signifies our pursuit of the synergy of art & technology in every product we make. In this spirit, Artech bought Planters Online, which now represents the e-commerce division of its Garden by Artech brand. As a domestic company under one leadership, we’ve removed the impediments which previously hindered us, and have continued to expand both our dotcom presence and our range of products.
Great, so let’s dig a little deeper into the story – has it been an easy path overall and if not, what were the challenges you’ve had to overcome?
What’s a smooth road? If a freshly paved road is the metaphor, ours was full of potholes. A nearly decade long stint offshore which began when we were in college was marred with unforeseen challenges. In our case, where family and business were so connected, we felt the effects on multiple levels. From the unrelenting travel schedule required of our dad, to a language barrier and the logistical headaches of importing your revenue source, our time overseas was full of hard lessons learned. But we’d say the hardest bridge to gap was a fundamentally dissimilar business culture. When we brought the factory back, starting up a manufacturing plant in Massachusetts was no easy feat. Despite the hiccups we faced in starting Artech, we can say with genuine sincerity that there’s no place we’d rather be.
Please tell us about Allied Resin Technologies.
Artech is more than just a business to us; it’s a fruition years in the making. The feeling of contributing to the creation of something tangible, something that provides people with jobs, is pretty great. We made a few tweaks to conventional rotomolding technology which have resulted in unique and exceptional results. Our goal is to create products with function, performance, and style, and eliminate as many obstacles that those products would normally have. For our garden line, we strive to create an end result that appears to be authentic stone, metal, and clay—without any of the fragility, heavy weight, and cumbersome handling. Most of our planters average 5 pounds yet at first glance you’d think they were 30 lbs. You’d be hard-pressed to find containers made of weatherproof resin with a handcrafted look that are as detailed as ours are. You can see more at www.gardenbyartech.com.
We’ve got an A+ team developing truly innovative products and we’re really excited about our modular paddle board, which is in the final stages of development. Paddle boarding is extremely popular these days, but conventional paddle boards are cumbersome, difficult to transport and difficult to store due to their size, which often exceeds ten feet in length! Simply getting your new SUP home from the store requires sticking it out the back of an SUV, or the added expense of a roof rack for your car. Our board breaks down into sections that are easy to carry (individually or with a carry bag), easily fits inside most cars, and as importantly, is easy to store in your home, condo or apartment. It is extremely easy to assemble at your paddling location, performs like a single piece SUP, and then just as quickly is disassembled when you are done for the day. Additionally, our polyresin construction is similar to what is used for most kayaks, which means it’s durable and will withstand handling that can otherwise damage fiberglass SUPs. Stay tuned for updates on www.artechllc.com, the projected product launch is spring 2018.
Do you look back particularly fondly on any memories from childhood?
We were born just 14 months apart, and our earliest and fondest memories are of playing with each other, and our childhood summers spent in Italy visiting our grandparents.
Contact Info:
- Website: www.gardenbyartechllc.com
- Phone: 9784012267
- Email: slaposta@artechllc.com
Image Credit:
Simona La Posta and Dean Pariseau
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