Where did we find you?

Nikki: Well we call ourselves Geiger rejects. Geiger was a textile company down the road that decided one day it was going to move its manufacturing jobs overseas. So one by one, many of us made our way over here.

Susan: Well my family has lived in Middlebury, Vermont for over 200 years. So you found me right here! But I've been at Beau Ties since 1998, just a few years after the company was founded. Hard to believe I was a teenager when I started!

Nikki: Many of us have been here for a long time. I'm one of the newest workers - I started *only* 8 years ago. Almost everyone else has been here for 20 years or more. Except Sandy - she just joined us last year and she thinks we're nuts!

 What it's like working here?

 What is a typical day like?

Susan: Hectic. We come in and start with oldest order first. Then we move quickly to our FedEx orders. We sort all the orders. We never make pieces in bunches - we make them one at a time. It's the easiest way to avoid any mistakes.  

Nikki: All day, we are in contact with our shipping team to let them know when an order is done and ready to go. It's amazing how efficient we've become through the years. 

Susan: And during the day, we all catch up with each other's lives while cutting and sewing orders. It makes the day fly by much faster.

 What Makes Made in the USA different?

Susan: We don't mass produce our bow ties. Everything is made to order. In other words, we take 22 minutes to handcraft each bow tie. In China, it takes them about 5 minutes and they use mostly machines.

Nikki: There is just so much more attention to detail. We do all the little things that make our bow ties stand out. For example, we line up the grain line lines in the fabric which helps ensure that the fabric doesn't shift later on. We make sure the stitching color matches up.

Susan: And we use far more hand-stitching than they do, especially on pre-tied bow ties which they sometimes use glue and other adhesives. And when we're done, we give a co-worker a chance to look over our work to see if she can find any errors.

 What's your favorite product to make and why?

Nikki: I despise making them as much as I love them - Beau Fleurs and Cummerbunds. That's mostly because they are both works of art.

Susan: And she's our best artist.

Nikki: For the beau fleurs, you have to sit still carefully like a surgeon to make sure each petal is made right.  And then there's cummerbunds! Every single pleat has to match perfectly with the one before to keep the pattern consistent. To be blunt, they're a pain in the ass to make. But when the final product is completed, I have so much pride. It's truly the best product we make and the best cummerbund made anywhere, hands down.

Susan: I love converting a necktie to a bow tie. So much attention to detail is needed to make sure that something was originally designed as a necktie now looks like it was always meant to be a bow tie. It's not easy.

What's your favorite new product you came up with?

Susan: I love the freedom we have to come up with new ideas for products, especially during COVID when we weren't selling or making many bow ties. Our aprons and potholders are by far my favorite. The colors, the designs, the pattern we came up with - it was by far our most creative idea yet. And we love seeing them sell out so fast!

Nikki: Just last month, I came up with our new eyeglass cases which make great use out of fabric that was otherwise going to waste. And since we can offer them in all our designs, there's definitely something for everybody.