THANKS for doing that
A podcast CELEBRATING people and ideas that make this world a better place by exploring the things we do, the reasons we do them, and why IT MATTERS.
THANKS for doing that
12,000 and counting: The Mission and Story of Faircloth
In this heartfelt episode of Thanks for Doing That, Heather chats with the inspiring husband-and-wife team, Marissa and Chris, the founders of the Nashville Blanket Project. From their cozy Airbnb hosting experience to the mission-driven journey of creating beautiful blankets that give back, their story is one of compassion and community. Learn how they turned a simple idea into a thriving social enterprise that donates a blanket for every one sold (12,000 to date!), providing warmth and comfort to those in need across Nashville.
Marissa and Chris share:
- The origins of the Nashville Blanket Project and its evolution into Faircloth
- How they balance family life and running a business together
- The impact of community partnerships and the power of giving back
- Insights into their creative process for designing unique, cozy blankets
- Exciting plans for expanding their offerings and mission in the future
Join us for a conversation that celebrates the spirit of giving, creativity, and the importance of community support. Don’t miss out on the chance to keep Nashville cozy!
Faircloth (formerly Nashville Blanket Project)
Website → getfaircloth.com
AirBNB → https://www.airbnb.com/rooms/47872359?source_impression_id=p3_1762455662_P3gbM0bzQ-HgK45G
Instagram → @getfaircloth
Wholesale → fair.com (search “Faircloth”)
Custom blankets → info available at getfaircloth.com
Nonprofit partner: People Loving Nashville → peoplelovingnashville.com
The Ethos Market — collective of local social enterprises → theethosmarket.com
Strings for Hope → stringsforhope.com
Cement Six → cementsix.com
Thistle Farms → thistlefarms.org
The Well Coffeehouse → wellcoffeehouse.com
Books Mentioned:
Snake Oil by Becca Stevens
Start Something That Matters by Blake Mycoskie
Three Cups of Tea by Greg Mortenson & David Oliver Relin
Building a StoryBrand by Donald Miller
Places Mentioned:
Sky Blue Café (Nashville)
Get Along / Scout Baby Collective (Nashville)
Catch more of the story @thanks.for.doing.that.podcast!
Hey there, you are listening to Thanks for doing that - A podcast celebrating people and ideas that make this world a better place. I am Heather Winchell, your host and chief enthusiast, and I'm on a mission to bring you conversations that encourage, inspire and delight. So stay tuned for another episode where we explore the things we do, the reasons we do them, and why it matters. Hey there and welcome back. So, before I introduce my guest for today, I need to tell you a little story. I recently had an overnight in Nashville, and I stayed in the most adorable and hospitable Airbnb that I think I've ever been in. It literally had everything we could have thought of or needed. Snacks, fancy beverages, toiletries, and just all around cozy vibes. Almost immediately upon getting there, my friends and I noticed that there were a few blankets hanging on the wall. They were very attractive, and they looked like they would be the perfect size and weight for cuddling up with. And they had the words Nashville Blanket Project woven into them. I have to tell you that we immediately started Googling. Today I am joined by husband and wife duo Marissa and Chris, and they are the dynamic duo behind Nashville Blanket Project. The really fun plot twist of this story is that Chris and Marissa were actually our Airbnb hosts. So before checking out the next day, we met them in person and I was able to hear a bit about the Nashville Blanket Project story firsthand. I even bought my own blanket to bring home, and it is literally sitting on the chair right behind me right now. I. So it is my pleasure to share their story with you today. Chris and Marissa, thank you so much for joining me, and I'd love to just kick off this episode with a snapshot of what life looks like for you right now.
>> Marissa & Chris:Well, we're mostly just hanging in there. We've got a three year old and he is wild, and so that just takes up a lot of our time. Chris is in software.
>> Heather Winchell:Yeah, I work full time as a product designer at a software company in downtown Nashville. And, yeah, it's, able to provide some stability, but also give me the freedom to work on our business as well and be with our son. Yeah. Awesome.
>> Marissa & Chris:And so I'm also kind of managing some chronic illness stuff. And so being home with, our son allows me to have time for that, but also time to work on our business.
>> Heather Winchell:Yeah, man. I tell you what, when you say you're hanging in there and you say you have a son, I get that because I have four boys and they are a lot fun and they are A lot of energy.
>> Marissa & Chris:Definitely.
>> Heather Winchell:Very cool. Well, as we dive in, I'd love to just let you guys share a bit about the backstory of Nashville Blanket Project and how it came to be.
>> Marissa & Chris:So I was really inspired because there were a lot of social enterprises, AKA businesses with a social or environmental mission. a lot of those were popping up in Nashville. It's kind of like a hub for those. And I was following some different people on Instagram, and I also had been wanting to do something creative that was good for the community just because I was a school counselor. And I just wasn't getting that creative side needs met. And so I just wanted to do that on the side of being a school counselor. And then when we really started to do some events around the holidays, we were seeing month after month making more in sales on the blankets than I was making in a month as a school counselor. And we're thinking, oh, well, this could really be a thing. You know, this is an opportunity to make an impact that, you know, I might not be able to do as a school counselor. So I quit my job in June of 2019 and just focused on, the business after that.
>> Heather Winchell:So Nashville Blanket Project. We started this in 2018 as a way to provide for our community, provide for our neighbors who are in need. We were inspired by a local nonprofit called People Loving Nashville who serves the homeless population in Nashville every Monday. We have a lot of friends who are involved with that, and they had a need for blankets in the winter of 2017, 2018. And so we were like, what can we do to kind of provide, meet that need in an ongoing, sustainable way? We could just buy blankets and give to them, but that would be a one time deal because we don't have a ton of money and that would not go very far. So inspired by the toms, other one for one companies, out there, social enterprises out there, we decided to do that with the blankets. And so we, I think our initial order of blankets was 16 blankets. And so once we sold those, we were so excited to be able to donate a full box of blankets to People Loving Nashville. And, it just kind of took off from there. That's really awesome. And so the premise is buy a blanket, give a blanket. Yes, exactly. And so to date, we've been able to donate over 12,000 blankets here in Nashville. Wow, that is really cool. Thank you.
>> Marissa & Chris:We wouldn't have been able to do it on our own. And so it's just, you know, kind of proof that the National Blanket Project has actually, you know, been meaningful.
>> Heather Winchell:Yeah, it sounds like it's really something that the community has come around and helped galvanize. Yeah, yeah, very cool. Well, it was really fun because, you know, like I said, I came on a trip to Nashville, we stayed in your Airbnb, fell in love with the blankets at that time, and then, you know, bought one before continuing on with our trip. And then actually at the end of our trip, we stopped in a wonderful little cafe, had some amazing brie French toast. The. What is it called this, the Sky Blue Cafe. Yes. So if you go to Nashville, check out Sky Blue Cafe. And then we like went into this cute little shop right beside it. And I kind of geeked out because I also saw your blankets there.
>> Marissa & Chris:Yeah, that's the get along. It's a collective of women owned shops. And so, our friend Jen owns Scout Baby. It's like a children's collection of clothing and accessories, but there's also home goods and candles and all the things. It's hard to go in that store and leave without something.
>> Heather Winchell:Well, yep, I mean that was the case for myself and a couple of. Yeah, a couple of other people. It was, they have a lot of really fun stuff there. Okay, so you guys started Nashville Blanket project. You said 2018 and then 2019. Marissa, you kind of made it your full time commitment outside of being a mom or I guess little guy wasn't here yet, right?
>> Marissa & Chris:I'm, not here yet.
>> Heather Winchell:Okay, cool. So you left working in the schools, that became kind of your, your full time passion. So you guys have been in this for several years. What would you say are the values that define your brand? And, and what words would you want to come quickly to people's mind when they think about your company? Yeah, I'd say, you know, compassion, empathy, comfort, coziness. you know, we feel like we're called to love our neighbors, and especially those struggling with mental illness, addiction, fleeing domestic violence. You know, we just feel like we have an opportunity to serve those in need. And so primarily our blankets go to the unhoused. But not everyone who gets our blankets is unhoused. They just need some extra support, extra comfort in their lives. And you guys give the blankets through partnerships that you have, Correct?
>> Marissa & Chris:Right.
>> Heather Winchell:So we, we donate these really nice fleece blankets. we've so when we started the business, we sold Mexicans Mexican blankets. authentic Mexican blankets, really versatile. And that's what also we donated. So it was the same blanket sold, same blanket donated. But we Got feedback that because of the. The nature of that blanket, it's kind of a coarser weave. It wasn't super practical for someone living on the street. they don't always just, like, cover themselves with it. They also create tents out of it or, you know, whatever.
>> Marissa & Chris:Or line their tint.
>> Heather Winchell:Or line their tint with it. So we got the feedback that a fleece blanket would be a better choice to donate. So that's what we've been donating, for several years now. Okay. Yeah, that makes. That makes a lot of sense. So I know you said earlier that you looked around Nashville, you saw other people in social enterprises. Are there any specific people or organizations that have been an inspiration to you as you have sought to build this company, or are there any books that were a helpful guide?
>> Marissa & Chris:Yes, there are so many social enterprises, especially in Nashville. But some that really stood out to me are Thistle Farms right here in Nashville. The well Coffee House, Strings for Hope Cement six. But then the big ones like Tom's Shoes and Feed Projects, those are, you know, National Sackcloth and Ashes was actually started in the Pacific Northwest, and they were giving blankets to homeless shelters. That's kind of where we got the idea, except that, you know, we saw the need was not being met here for people on the street that are not in the shelters, and so we wanted to make sure that need was met here. So we kind of piggybacked off of, what they were doing at West Books. I love to read. So one of Becca Stevens from Thistle Farms first books is called Snake Oil, and it is a phenomenal read. It's not long.
>> Heather Winchell:It's.
>> Marissa & Chris:So you need to read it. It's great. Start Something that Matters by Blake Makowski, who is the creator of Toms Shoes and Three Cups of Tea by Greg Mortensen and David Oliver Wellen.
>> Heather Winchell:I feel like I've heard of that.
>> Marissa & Chris:is. It's really good. It's about mountaineer or mountain climber who is out in the Middle east, and he is seeing a need for education for kids to help prevent them from going into more dangerous occupations. And so he, starts building schools out there. And it's just a really cool story.
>> Heather Winchell:Very cool.
>> Marissa & Chris:yeah. Also another book that really helped us in our beginning is Storybrand by Donald Miller. It's a business book, but it was also really meaningful in, finding ways to communicate our values to future customers.
>> Heather Winchell:Yeah. Yeah. So, like, our. Our tagline has been Keep Nashville Cozy. It's kind of succinct. It's easy to slap on a bag or something. Also, when trying to figure out how to pitch our company to potential customers, one thing that kind of the main thing about, storybrand is creating, the hero. And so the customer is the hero. So rather than saying, you know, when you buy a blanket, we're the ones who donate something, which technically. Yes, that's true, but we want to say when you buy a blanket, one is also given. And so it's because of you a blanket is given.
>> Marissa & Chris:And that's true. We couldn't do it without the customers. You know, yes, we could have maybe afforded that one box of 16 blankets when we first started out, but we couldn't have afforded 12,000 blankets on our own. And so it really is our customers who are hero.
>> Heather Winchell:Right. You're no longer selling the Mexican blankets. You have a different style of blanket. I'm curious if you guys design those yourselves. If you work with a designer. I know the blanket I have was an idea that you, Marissa, came up with. So, yeah, I'm curious about that process. Typically, what happens is Marissa has an idea. She will sketch something out on the iPad. Some doodles or, you know, some. We have a dog blanket. She drew dogs for it. And then, I take that into Photoshop or Illustrator and put together a blanket design, and we'll send that off to our, manufacturer. Okay, cool, cool. Do you use Procreate, Marissa?
>> Marissa & Chris:I use Fresco.
>> Heather Winchell:Adobe Fresco, because I'm able to. Sure. We can Creative Cloud. And I pull it down from my computer.
>> Marissa & Chris:Yeah, yeah. I started learning on a program called Sketch, which is Basic. I was just drawing for fun at that point. Then I started using Procreate, and it was just this big problem with the colors not translating. So Adobe it is for now.
>> Heather Winchell:That's great. Yeah. And I imagine, you know, like you said, Chris, that that talks really well with Photoshop. Yeah, yeah, yeah. And then something else that I wanted to ask about because I actually see it on my blanket. Where are the blankets made? Because I think that they're us made. Correct. Yep. So we have them made in, western North Carolina. Company called Pure Country Weavers. They've been amazing to work with. They somehow are able to get blankets out. Not all the times, but sometimes within a few days once we submit the orders. And it's, really got us out of the bind several times. so we definitely couldn't do this without them. So the blankets are made out of 100% cotton, which is important to us because it's a biodegradable, renewable resource. And also because it gets softer, over time as you wash it, unlike synthetic fibers do. I'm curious, moving away from the Mexican blankets, when you guys went to this one, did you have to trial many styles or did you just kind of know, you know, with the value of going with cotton and maybe already knowing your manufacturer, was it a pretty easy switch?
>> Marissa & Chris:We looked for a really long time online, just all these different manufacturers we tried out. A similar manufacturer happened to also be out of western North Carolina. There's a lot of textile mills there. And over time, we felt like it was unpredictable with our timeline and the limitations on the colors ultimately made us move on. And I'm so glad that we did because Pure Country Weavers has been so great to work with.
>> Heather Winchell:Yeah, well, they do. They do a fantastic job.
>> Marissa & Chris:They do. Yeah.
>> Heather Winchell:Okay. I don't, I don't know if I had this in our notes or not, but I'm just really curious what your best selling blanket or like, what design people buy most and then what you think is the, like, most unrecognized underdog? We've had so many blankets over the years. Like, we, we look back at my file, my folder of, blanket designs are like, holy crap. Like, forgot about that one. That was so good. I mean, our best seller ever is actually a Mexican blanket we called Golden Hour. this is really cool. Like, gold, orange, blue.
>> Marissa & Chris:It's like terracotta orange with like an indigo blue and white. And it's just, it just looks like a sunset. Like, it's so pretty.
>> Heather Winchell:So when we made the decision to step away from Mexican blankets, we honestly were sad about that because that was a great, great seller. But it was a for the best that we did that. you know, I don't know if we have like a smiley smiley.
>> Marissa & Chris:The big one.
>> Heather Winchell:Right. Our kind of, our first, kind of, our first, lineup of these custom designs. We did a smiley blanket, smiley face blanket. So keep natural cozy on it too. Oh, that's fun.
>> Marissa & Chris:Our designs used to be more like just kind of whatever's trendy. And so now we're really trying to focus on, like, what's more true to us. But recently I would say the catch and repeat, not catch, release, catch and repeat blanket, which has different colors of trout on it and then blankets with dogs on them. Any kind of blanket we do with a dog on it, people love it. Because people love dogs. And we do too.
>> Heather Winchell:We also do, like, pretty seasonal releases. So we, we don't have anything m for longer than six months usually. And so, you know, I guess if there's something that's really, really great, we might keep it for a little bit longer if the demand is up. but we try to rotate through new designs pretty frequently. Yeah, yeah.
>> Marissa & Chris:The underdog, I would say, is the heron. It's green and blue herons. It's inspired by, like, Japanese paintings of cranes. And so I drew the heron. And, it's just a cool pattern. And I just think it's kind of like our. It's not our best seller, but I personally think it's the coolest.
>> Heather Winchell:Okay. Well, I have to say that when, you know, when we were checking out the next morning from the Airbnb, which was such a fabulous experience, I want to say again, and we got to chat with Chris and he was kind of showing us some of the blankets. I saw the heron blanket and loved it. And then my friend bought was the last one we bought and it was the last one.
>> Marissa & Chris:Well, that's great.
>> Heather Winchell:Yeah, no, it was great. And I was so, so happy for her. And once she realized how much I loved it, she was like, you take it. You take it. And I said, no, you're going to keep that. And then I got my girl, Scout blanket, which actually I really do love and is so resonant with my personality. But yes, I would, I would agree with you that that hair and blanket is just really, really beautiful. So, you know, something else I wanted to ask you guys. You have served thousands of people and worked alongside some other organizations and nonprofits in your efforts to keep Nashville cozy. Are there any particular experiences that have been really impactful to you or have stayed with you over the years?
>> Marissa & Chris:In the very beginning, before I was having some more of my health issues, we were able to go out on Monday nights and hand out some blankets. And so seeing that there were people from all walks of life, but especially children showing up to get fed and, join the community that they've made out there, that was really impactful for me because I was still a school counselor at the time. And, you know, I was in Williamson County, Tennessee, which is a very affluent area. And I wouldn't say that, like, nobody struggles there or anything, but just, going from that to seeing kids who need help getting food was just, really eye opening even more about how great the need is here. Seeing people wrapped up in our blankets. Cuz when we were giving out the Mexican blankets, it was pretty obvious that those were the ones that we gave out. So when we were driving downtown when it was cold, and seeing somebody actually using our blanket was like, you know, really amazing because it's like, okay, they're actually being put to use. This is great. Not that people need them, but that they were using them.
>> Heather Winchell:Yeah.
>> Marissa & Chris:And another one, this is probably the most special thing was we were in Centennial Park. It's a big park in downtown Nashville. There's some kind of music event, probably Musicians Corner. It's like a summer thing. And this man had come up to us and he asked if we had a card. And I was, you know, unfortunately kind of assuming that he might be one of the people in need. But he actually said, do you, do you take card? And I was like, well, yeah, of course. And so he picked this blue blanket. And he told me a story that when he was homeless for a time, that he had a blue blanket that he used all the time in his truck. He was a trucker and just living in his truck, that he used it all the time. And that was like his favorite thing. But it was also like the only thing that he had for a while. And so he wasn't buying it necessarily to just like replace it. He was, he was buying that from us to pay it forward. And that was just a really powerful moment. And then a couple years later at another event in Centennial park, he came up again and he bought a very similar blanket again. I was like, I remember you, you bought a blanket from us before. And he said, oh, well, I gave it away. M. You know, so I don't know. Just seeing the kindness of strangers is one of the most powerful things that has happened to us throughout this whole journey.
>> Heather Winchell:Yeah. Chris, is there anything you want to speak to? Some of the opportunities we've been given, with this business have been really cool. we've had some really great co branding partnerships. You know, we've worked with Google. We did a, a co branded blanket with them. The NHL draft, we did something for the Preds, Wells Fargo, Heidi B's which is a pretty well known hot chicken place here in Nashville. We did something for their, one of the locations, ten year anniversary. Cool. And several more. But it's been really cool to like see the community and like beyond our community reach out and support us in. That way that is. Yeah. So you two are partners in life and in business. What has it looked like for you to keep a healthy, ish work life balance? Like do you guys tackle it all together? Is it more of like a divide and conquer? And I guess with that, what advice would you have for Others that are trying to navigate family life but also own and operate their own business. Yeah. I mean when we first started out, it was literally non stop business stuff because we didn't have a son, we don't have a kid. And so like we could do that. We'd be laying in bed at night talking about business stuff. By the, I mean that became pretty clear that we need to have a boundary. We need to set a boundary for ourselves, especially with our son. Now there's been times we're trying to work something out and he's like needing something from us and we're like, okay, we gotta, we gotta pause this, gotta go see to him. So I think one thing we've kind of learned is if one of us feels really strongly about something and the.
>> Marissa & Chris:Other disagrees, an example would be like a font or something. So I guess, yeah, you know, something small. But if, if one of us feels.
>> Heather Winchell:Really strongly, if the person who wants something feels stronger than the person not wanting something feels. That makes sense. If you don't feel as strongly, you defer to your partner. Yeah, exactly. That makes sense. And I think that's probably a really helpful strategy to preserve business relations and home relations. Yeah. But there have been times where we both feel very strong about something and so one of us has to give in and you know, if it's the right answer, great. If it's not, we'll, we'll learn a lesson and do a different next time.
>> Marissa & Chris:We can always change it. Yeah, it's our business.
>> Heather Winchell:It's our business. We can do what we want. Last season I had a couple on that. They, they've partnered with each other and they run an indoor golf simulator in our community and they were talking about how they actually have a set time on the calendar for them to have like a business meeting. I'm curious if, if that's the way you guys roll or if it's more spontaneous. I mean we've tried. Beginning of each year we'll go, it's harder now that we have a kid, but we'll go have a dream day, what we call it, and like kind of plan our year out and write down our goals. Most of the time that stuff gets achieved. Sometimes it doesn't, but it's good to like literally have it in a calendar or on a notes on our phone so we can kind of.
>> Marissa & Chris:Yeah. Having the calendar for all of the in person events is helpful. Just so that we know way ahead of time when this event is likely to take place. Sometimes it has to move around, but it's still just good to have that instead of just hanging in the back of our head. We have it on paper.
>> Heather Winchell:Yeah. I imagine in the Nashville area, I mean, there's always something happening in Nashville. Right. Does that translate to opportunities for you guys to do events? Like, are there pretty much year round events or would you say you have seasons that are more busy?
>> Marissa & Chris:In the past, we've had lots of events. Like, Chris was working in the farmer's market last year. If he wasn't at some other event, like every single weekend.
>> Heather Winchell:This is on top of my full time job.
>> Marissa & Chris:Yes. He works nine to five, so, you know, we didn't see him a lot last year and I think we both realized that we needed to pull back from that.
>> Heather Winchell:Yeah.
>> Marissa & Chris:And that's when we started trying to make the transition into our new branding. And also our bigger season is, you know, right now, fall, winter, right before the holidays. And so if we can just kind of back off of all of the events and then just focus on that one time of year, that's going to be a lot more productive anyways. Instead of putting in a lot of time and energy and money and not really seeing the fruit of that labor, let's just save it.
>> Heather Winchell:Right.
>> Marissa & Chris:And focus on family in the beginning.
>> Heather Winchell:Right. And at one point we, you know, we had employees, we had a storefront. A few years ago, some life happened. We had to kind of reduce overhead. Unfortunately, we had a, say goodbye to our store in our warehouse. But when we had, when we were bigger, we were able to divide and conquer. So, you know, before our son, we could both do an event at the same time or we have our employees do it. But now we're talking to be a lot more choosy about what we do. Yeah. Yeah, yeah, yeah. And actually you made a comment about your new branding. And that brings me to my next question, which was actually just around the recent announcement that you guys made that the reach of Nashville Blanket project would be expanding. And with that you've adopted a new name of Faircloth. So tell me about that decision and the vision behind it.
>> Marissa & Chris:So since we started Natural Blanket Project, we kind of were pigeonholed into somewhat of a Nashville souvenir. So when we set up at like farmer's markets or at little markets all over town, it was usually tourists that were purchasing from us, but we couldn't really charge what we needed to, especially for the USA made blankets.
>> Heather Winchell:Right.
>> Marissa & Chris:and so because we didn't have our Margins. Correct. The business was making a lot of sales, but it didn't, wasn't seeing like business growth. And so aside from being pigeonholed as a tourist item, it was also having us just be in Nashville. And so that limited, you know, what retailers are going to purchase from us, what companies want to co brand with us. And so we are trying to make the transition into regional at first and then hopefully nationwide. We're really focusing on quality and wanting to show people the quality of our blankets so that they understand the price point. And then another thing is trying to be more true to who we are. So focusing on the Southern lifestyle, which is like hospitality, comfort, tradition, not so much the negative stuff that the south has been known for. We just want everybody to feel welcome and comfortable and comfort and loved when they get one of our blankets, whether they buy it or receive it.
>> Heather Winchell:Yeah, I like that. So now if people were to go look for you, they would look for Fairclothes? Yeah. Yes. Cool. So what else do we need to know about the current or future offerings of fair cloth and where, you know, like I just said, people can find you under faircloth. But where would be the best places to point people to, to see your work to purchase a blanket and things like that? Yeah, you can find us on, Instagram, @getfaircloth. That's the same, that's our URL. Getfaircloth.com. yeah, currently we're selling blankets. We have a sweatshirt, we have a hat. We, you know, we're trying to position ourselves as a southern lifestyle brand, not just someone who sells blankets. Sure. So we're looking at like, we have hats, probably do some candles. We would love to do a book someday, possibly do custom blankets as well. Okay, cool. we also do plan to set up a nonprofit with the National Blanket Project name. So we're going to sell blankets with Faircloth and then donate blankets through the National Blanket Project. And that'll help us kind of expand our donation reach as well. So other nonprofits around the country can reach out to us and request blankets from the National Blanket Project.
>> Marissa & Chris:And we'll be able to take donations, which we haven't really been able to do since we've been a business.
>> Heather Winchell:Right. Oh, that is so key. Yeah. And so you guys are in process of going the nonprofit route for that.
>> Marissa & Chris:So it'll be two separate entities and hopefully that's the right decision. We'll find out if it isn't. Yeah, you know.
>> Heather Winchell:Yeah. Well, you know what, again, back to that couple that I had on, one of the things he said that I just thought was so great was he said, just do something. You know, just. Just try it. And. And if it, you know, if you come down the road and you're like, actually, we need to pivot, then you can, you know. So I'm just glad that you guys are thinking through these things and offering these opportunities to the community and, you know, really trying to bring people into an understanding of. Of, like you said, the south, for all of the really beautiful things that can be said about it in terms of tradition and cozy and comfort and things like that. Okay, so just to clarify, guys, if people buy a blanket through faircloth, is it still buy one, give one? It is. It is. That will never change. Okay, cool, cool. But other merchandise doesn't necessarily have a blanket going out. It's just the blankets, correct?
>> Marissa & Chris:Yeah.
>> Heather Winchell:Okay, cool.
>> Marissa & Chris:It just supports the business in general, Right. Helps us pay for all the very many little things like, you know, wi fi and vendor fees for events and things like that.
>> Heather Winchell:Yeah, yeah. And I think. Wasn't there something that you had mentioned about even having customized blankets for people? Yeah. So we're able to do full custom blankets. We've done stuff for weddings. We've done, like I mentioned earlier, a corporate custom blanket for IDBs. And, you know, we offer that at the same price that we do our other blankets. So we're not making a ton of money. A lot. A lot more money off of that. Anything. Right? Yeah. It's another way that people can support us and support the community and still getting a really great blanket.
>> Marissa & Chris:We also do wholesale for retail stores on fairwithane.com and we do bulk ordering for corporate events and gifting so people can get a whole bunch of blankets, packaged and sent out to people for their holiday Christmas gifts or, you know, celebrating anniversary, something like that.
>> Heather Winchell:That's really good to know. Here's a question for you. Is there a minimum order on custom blankets? So, for example, sometimes. So, for example, let's say. Let's say I had this idea that I was like, let's say that I come from a family that has a crest, which actually, I think they do because it's an English family. let's say that I was like, oh, I want to get everybody in the family a blanket with the Winchell crest. Is that the kind of thing you're like, yeah, that would totally be a custom order kind of thing. Or is that the kind of thing you're like, well, where it's like, it's bigger scale than that. You know what I mean?
>> Marissa & Chris:Yeah. So we can do a custom blanket for that. I've actually done, like, one and two off blankets where people send in pictures of their. Their dogs. And I was able to draw their dogs, and I loved that. So we could do something like that. And when it's a gift, there's no minimum order. The only time that there's a minimum order is when somebody is getting it to resell.
>> Heather Winchell:Got it.
>> Marissa & Chris:Like a retail store when they're paying.
>> Heather Winchell:A wholesale price, there's a minimum for that. Sure, that makes sense. And then one other question related to the custom design, because I think that's really fun, and I think other people will, too. Is that something that included in that is you kind of helping design the blanket, or is that people give you the design and you just kind of make it work for what it needs to, or what does that look like? Yeah, either way, like she said, she was sent these pictures of dogs that she was able to illustrate and put on a blanket. But if someone doesn't really have anything concrete, like, our friend got married, and we did a blanket for wedding, gifts for everyone who attended the wedding. She had a couple ideas, but just kind of let me have free reign. And so we came up with something that worked really well for them. Very cool. That is such a fun gift. You know, I'm just thinking about how neat it would be to give something like that as a favor, you know, to your bridal party or something like that. Really fun, guys. And, you know what? Before we kind of move on to some more fun questions to close out the episode, Marissa, I am really curious. You said that you kind of have a creative streak, but that, you know, as a school counselor, you didn't really have a way to exercise that. What did your creative streak look like as you were growing up? Was that a lot of drawing like you do now, or, art in that way, or do you dabble in other means of creative expression?
>> Marissa & Chris:Done. a little bit of everything. I think, creatively, I will say I'm not a very good dancer. I do like to dance. Same with singing. I like to sing. I like music. I'm just not so good at it. But, yeah, drawing, painting, like, playing with clay, like everything. I just. I don't know. That's just a big part of who I am. And I loved, loved being a school counselor. And so when I was able to find those moments where I was able to combine that with helping the Kids, you know, that was great. But more often than not, I was doing things like making schedules, which is still helpful. Just not the same.
>> Heather Winchell:Yeah, I understand completely. Cool. Well, you guys, I love to end my episodes with just some kind of fun questions. So the first fun question I have for you is, you know, you said that you go to farmers markets, set up for different types of events. If you had to have, like, a hype song each time you set up for an event, what would that hype song be and why?
>> Marissa & Chris:I don't know if Chris has an answer for this.
>> Heather Winchell:You have a playlist?
>> Marissa & Chris:I have a playlist.
>> Heather Winchell:Okay.
>> Marissa & Chris:And my fate. But this is, like my number one. This would be my, like, walkout song if I was a wrestler or baseball player. And it is the theme song for the Mary Tyler Moore show, but covered by Joan Jett. It's called Love is All Around.
>> Heather Winchell:Okay.
>> Marissa & Chris:And it used to play on the radio all the time when I was in middle school. And so I. And I also used to watch, like, Nick at night. So I would always watch these old shows like Mary Tyler Moore. But it's really about an abundance mindset. If you really listen to the lyrics. It's just the opposite of hustle culture. So, you know, no hustle bros here. it's like, as long as you're coming from a good and honest place, then you're gonna receive love and success back. And so I just love it. And plus, it's just, like, fun to, you know, listen to. M. It's just a good song.
>> Heather Winchell:That's great. What, in your opinion is a must have snack food on a family road trip? Definitely.
>> Marissa & Chris:I would say pretzel chips or pretzel bark of some kind. Like a yogurt covered pretzel. That kind of thing.
>> Heather Winchell:Yeah.
>> Marissa & Chris:And they go well together.
>> Heather Winchell:They do go well. Yeah, they do. You're right. If you could be contacted today by a major brand that wanted to co brand with you and. And gift your blankets, what brand would you want that to be and why? I would say.
>> Marissa & Chris:I know it's kind of not. Not necessarily a store brand, but like Garden and Gun. M. magazine. I feel like they really embody, like, our style. And yeah, I would say garden and gun.
>> Heather Winchell:Cool.
>> Marissa & Chris:Magazine.
>> Heather Winchell:Cool. Yeah. All right. So given that you're close to Nashville, curious what the last live show you went to was? Ah, September. We were set up at Pilgrimage. It's, a really great Americana music and crafts festival in Franklin, which is just south of Nashville. so we saw John Mayer there. He was a headliner. And then who's the other headliner? Dave Matthew, Dave Matthews.
>> Marissa & Chris:They have done it before, but it wasn't that same. It was Kings of Leon.
>> Heather Winchell:Kings of Leon and John Mayer. Cool. So that was great.
>> Marissa & Chris:We.
>> Heather Winchell:We both grew up in Franklin, and so it's really cool to see this festival bring these massively huge, artists to our hometown. Yeah, that is really.
>> Marissa & Chris:It used to be so sleepy, and it was, like, so cool to see these big artists, but also, like, I love John Mayer, so it was a great perk of the job.
>> Heather Winchell:Yeah, yeah. And I remember that when we were staying in your Airbnb, you had so many great recommendations for how to explore Franklin and, you know, even some things into Nashville, but very cool. Well, guys, now I'd like to invite you to give your own shout out. Who would you want to say thanks for doing that and why?
>> Marissa & Chris:Well, I think it's so hard because we've had so much help along the way. so we really couldn't do it without our community. But I would say that number one would be Emily from Strings for Hope. She's just been a great friend, but she has a lot of advice for running a social enterprise, and she's made a lot of connections, especially with the tourism kind of industry in Nashville, where people come in for conventions and things like that. But, yeah, there's. There's a lot of friends in the social enterprise space now, and a lot of them can be found@theethosmarket.com there's just a whole list, and they're pretty much all our friends, and so it's great.
>> Heather Winchell:Very cool. Yeah, we, you know, tag on, Marissa. We have built this community around us, not only just, like, small business friends, but social enterprise friends as well. And so Emily with Strings for Hope, they make jewelry out of guitar strings, but they employ survivors of everything, everything. Abuse, addiction, all that. And so they've created a really great business there. Another one is Cement six. Jeremy and Susanna. They create bags out of recycled cement bags. They do, like, backpacks and, like, other handbags and stuff. I use recycled cement bags. And, they're made in Cambodia, and they support the local, economy community there as part of their business. So, yeah, there's. There's tons of people where we're definitely not, unique as far as giving back to our community, especially in Nashville. So we're thankful for all them. Yeah. But, you know, what's true is that there's probably no end to just the cascading impact of generosity. So Even though you're not unique, it still matters, right? It still matters that you guys are showing up and doing what you're doing. And I just love it. So one thing I want to say before I kind of move on to the haiku, I don't know if you guys know this, but I write everybody a haiku and, as just a way of saying thanks. And this is why I wanted to have you on the show. But listener, I just want to say any time of the year is a time to be generous, right? But I think a really cool thing about the holiday season, and especially with the offering that they have through fearcloth, is that maybe you need some gifts. So you buy a blanket, but not only are you gifting something really beautiful and actually like a great blanket to somebody you love, but beyond that, somebody that needs it is also receiving one. And so I would. I would urge you, as you're thinking about gifts for this coming holiday season, check them out. And you know, I said that I bought a blanket, and in earnest, I love it. It is the blanket I use every morning. It's very comfortable, very soft, very well made. And so I wouldn't be saying this if I didn't think it was worth it. So hopefully you guys can tuck that away as just an idea for when you go to buy your gifts in the next few weeks. And yeah, is there anything else you guys would want to say about that offerings for the holiday season? We have a couple more holiday blankets coming out.
>> Marissa & Chris:They should be out by, small business Saturdays.
>> Heather Winchell:Cool, cool, cool. All right, you two. So this is the haiku that I have for you. It's just a way of saying thank you. Southern Comfort vibes. Cozy up, Pay it forward. Thanks for doing that.
>> Marissa & Chris:I love it.
>> Heather Winchell:Love it.
>> Marissa & Chris:Thank you.
>> Heather Winchell:Yeah. And thank you guys so much. And listener, I'm not kidding. Get yourself over to get fair cloth and check out their offerings and get yourself some great gifts for this holiday season.
>> Marissa & Chris:Thank you.
>> Heather Winchell:Thank you so much. Thanks for Doing that. Is presented to you by the Epiary, a place for beholding and becoming. And thank you for joining us for today's episode. Before you go, I have a couple of invitations. If you found it meaningful, could I invite you to take 2 minutes to rate and review the show? I also invite you to help me create an upcoming episode of thanks for Doing that. By nominating someone or suggesting a topic. Let's link arms. To call out the good and the beautiful that we see around us. Because I really believe that finding delight in our divided and difficult world could make all the difference.