Woman with growing business looks to fuel other moms' ventures

Laurie Derickson’s quest for a stylish hat for her little girl has spawned a growing business for the Colorado Springs woman.

And her daughter, Marili Jean, age 1 1/2, has pretty much all the hats she could ever want.
Derickson, who is also the mom of two young boys, started Marili Jean Accessories last year as an online business selling hats, barrettes and headbands “for the little diva.”

“I’ve always had an entrepreneurial spirit,” said Derickson, 32, who has left her job as a school counselor at Harrison School District 2 to focus on her kids and her business. As she grows her business, she’s also hoping to help other moms with that same spirit through a new local venture.

The idea for Marili Jean Accessories came to Derickson when she had trouble finding a hat she liked for her daughter. She eventually ordered one online, but the experience convinced her of the need for a fashionable yet functional line for young children  — and fanned her desire to have her own business.

She read books on starting businesses and worked with Springs-based 720Media to create her website. Derickson designs the hats, which are made by overseas companies.

The first time she contacted manufacturers, “They were like, ‘Can you send me your x account or something,’ and I was like, ‘I don’t know what that is.’ I just took it one day at a time. I feel pretty confident about our process now.”

In addition to online sales, Derickson has worked to get her products in retail locations, including The Broadmoor and Terra Verde in the Springs, the Giggling Green Bean in Denver and the Joy of Sox and Excessories in Breckenridge. Most locations she went after; in the case of Terra Verde, she was approached while shopping there by staff enchanted by the hat Marili Jean was wearing.

“She’s my own personal model, and she has any hat she wants,” Derickson said.

With not quite a full year in business under her belt, Derickson said she’s done an estimated $30,000 in sales — and it’s all pumped back into the business, she said. But she has big dreams.

“Five years from now, I want to be in 200-plus stores across the country," she said — including high-end stores such as Nordstrom. 
For now, she’s also providing an outlet for other moms to pursue their business dreams.

During last year’s holiday season, Derickson operated a kiosk at Chapel Hills Mall. When the kiosk reopens this month, it will be a venue for other women with kid-oriented businesses, too.

The kiosk will still be titled Marili Jean Accessories, “but we’ll also promote and have different sections for other vendors,” Derickson said

Derickson is offering those vendors different levels of involvement. Some women, for example, may choose a straight consignment model, where they offer their goods for sale through the kiosk and share revenue with Marili Jean Accessories (a 60-40 split in favor of the seller); others pay $125 a month to sell their wares at the kiosk and also help man the kiosk, but take home nearly all their revenues.

“I have a couple of moms willing to do that,” Derickson said. “It’s a nice way for them to get out of the house and work on their business a few hours a week.”

One of those women is Jennifer Neric, owner of Rosie Toesies, an online “little shoe boutique.” The mall kiosk will be her first retail outlet. With space limited, she’ll have just her top-sellers on display there and will also have postcards informing shoppers of her website.

“I just thought it’d be a good opportunity to have that exposure at the mall and just let people know that I’m here,” said Neric, who started the business in 2007.
If the kiosk is a hit, Derickson hopes to expand to a storefront and ideally broaden the business.

“I just found these moms who do children’s things, but there are tons of moms who do purses and other things. I’d love to expand and have a woman owned and run moms shop. That’d be great.”
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Contact the writer at 636-0272

DETAILS

The Marili Jean Accessories kiosk opens Sept. 17 at the Chapel Hills Mall, lower level by the children’s play area outside of Borders. It’ll be open Fridays, Saturdays, Sundays and Mondays. People interested in being vendors at the kiosk should contact Laurie Derickson, 332-6376.

For more on Marili Jean Accessories, go to marilijean.com. For more on Rosie Toesies, go to www.rosietoesies.com.