Two years ago, St. Cloud Area School District 742 featured Farrah and Orly Reese, sisters at Oak Hill Community School who were in the Distance Learning Academy. They shared their newfound passion of creating loom animals while filming a video about distance learning. Like students across the world, COVID kept them from venturing out and being involved in activities, so they began the hobby outside of school during their downtime.
Fast-forward and the girls now have a thriving business called Sisters Loom.
“We started with loom band bracelets and raising money for Guillain-Barre syndrome,” explains Farrah, now a sixth grader at South Junior High School.
Third grader Orly chimes in, “Then, we started animals for when our cousins came to our birthdays. We could sell them to our family. Then, when you guys [district film crew] came and we showed you the stuff we made … you really liked it.”
Farrah adds, “We liked what you said, so we posted them [to Facebook].”
Though they enjoyed creating their animals with a rubber band loom, they discovered crocheting animals was much more fun, and they could complete animals at a faster rate.
One of the most important animals they crochet is a turtle. It’s the mascot for Guillain-Barre syndrome, a rare disorder in which the immune system attacks the nerves in the body. Farrah was diagnosed at the age of four. The turtle has special meaning for her but also for patients across the world who are diagnosed with the disorder. A portion of their turtle sales at a Guillain-Barre syndrome event was donated back to the foundation that supports Guillain-Barre.
The sisters began selling their animals at garage sales, then moved on to craft sales. Customers were shocked to learn that it was Farrah and Orly who made the animals, not their mother, Betsy Reese.
They’ve estimated that they have made approximately 1,000 animals since they started selling them and have 175 orders to date with many of those orders requesting up to 10 animals.
“We’ve done 13 craft sales where we’ve sold 30-50 items,” says Orly. “We’ve also done two business expos, and we’ve sold 30-50 items there, too.”
“When we started, we didn’t have any orders,” shares Farrah. “As time went on, we got more orders, and we got busier!”
The girls started doing walk-ins in shops in the area as well. The most popular item was bees, but over time, their turtles have become their number one seller.
Sisters Loom has shipped to 26 states and Canada so far. They don’t plan to stop there. They take orders from their Facebook page and are brainstorming their expansion ideas which include Instagram, partnering with local shops and boutiques or other walk-ins.
“They’ve done White Peony Market. That was really fun,” says Betsy. “And they did Juneteenth [Celebration] last year and will again this year. They did PRIDE and the Black Business Expo and go around to local towns, too.”
Farrah and Orly take their business seriously. They attend the CEO Program at the Boys and Girls Club of Central Minnesota where they’ve learned about targeting audience and how to start a business: product, price, production cost and expenses. They’ve been in talks with local businesses and would love to connect with any business interested in partnering with them.
In addition to selling their goods, they’ve expanded their audience to students as well. The pair teach students how to make animals with the loom after school at South Junior High School.
These two young entrepreneurs are headed for success. A simple hobby and passion have turned into a thriving business that creates meaning for so many people across the world. And they are having a lot of fun along the way!
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