College of Wooster student is a budding backpack entrepreneur
By Tami Lange Mosser
February 6, 2015
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Like most seniors at The College of Wooster, Bailey Connor is thinking about finishing her Independent Study.
Shes counting the days until spring break.
But Connor also is concerned about small-scale manufacturing, about how to hire workers and, of course, building her brand.
Bailey Connor is more than your average college student; she is a budding entrepreneur.
The owner of Carica Road, Connor is designing and producing backpacks made from recycled textiles, often used burlap coffee sacks or denim donated by friends.
Juggling business ownership with a full academic schedule can be difficult, though Connor insisted it is manageable. Its being efficient with your time, being smart about it, she said. You have to give up certain things There are certain trade offs. As much as I put into it is how much I am getting out.
It wasnt business that drew Connor to Wooster. The daughter of a Wooster alum, Connor had never considered leaving her home in Texas for a college up north. But her mom brought her along to a class reunion, which gave Connor, a runner, a chance to meet cross country and track coach Dennis Rice. After that, the decision practically made itself.
Like many college students, Connor struggled to commit to a major. I was someone who declared the very last day of sophomore year, she said, settling on economics and anthropology. A friend encouraged her to come to a meeting of Launch, the schools entrepreneurship club, and Connor began to think business ownership might be within her reach.
The seed was planted years ago. I always had the desire, I guess, to own a business, Connor said. Early on, she thought she might like to try her hand at running a bakery.
But she also liked to sew, though shed gotten away from it. While on break her freshman year, Connor went home to Texas and grabbed up some material, including her brothers old pillowcase, and decided to try her hand at making a backpack. She got so many compliments on the finished project that she made a few more the next year while visiting her roommates home. This time, she tried using old jeans, discarded curtains and upholstery material.
She discovered burlap when she interned for Paul Cebul and Dan Hildebrandt at Reach Trade Co. At first, Connor said, she wanted to use the burlap in backpacks not only for its texture, but also as a conversation starter and marketing tool for Reach. I thought, why not take something something of it? she said. Cebul and Hilbebrandt became just two of what has become a growing list of mentors.
Soon, Carica Road was born.
The name, Connor explained, is an homage to the street in Florida where her grandparents live and where her family often gets together. I feel like everything goes back to my family and my roots, to the people who nourished me and inspired me, she said.
Besides, everyone is on a journey, Connor said, so the idea of having a backpack for the journey seemed to fit.
While Connor is working on her brand and figuring out what she wants Carica Road to stand for, she also is immersed in the nuts and bolts of the business. She is still cutting material, which her mom sews, but now the questions get bigger: Where to source zippers? Should everything come from American companies? How will she find seamtresses in the future? Will the business expand to other kinds of bags?
The answers come from unexpected places. Connor decided each pack should have the company logo inscribed on leather, and David McConnell, one of her academic advisers, suggested she seek out an Amish craftsman in nearby Holmes County. That advice led her to Weaver Leather, which offered her a small run of the patches, as well as some advice on how to move the project forward.
But one of her customers is vegan, and objected to the use of leather on the backpack. Was making the change practical? Was it feasible? Connor asked herself. Does it go with my gut feeling and my vision for the company?
Its not that she doesnt get plenty of advice, some of it good for now, some for consideration down the road. What about making a waterproof backpack that divers could use? What about a messenger bag? I have a lot of ideas, Connor said. I havent followed through on a lot of them.
She credits Wooster entrepreneurship director Peter Abramo for supporting and encouraging her from the outset, while advisers McConnell and Amyaz Moledina have worked with her on her I.S. as she has navigated both academia and the business world.
Connor said she finds herself constantly asking, How can I not let this stress me out, even the thought. Somedays, she said, she will work on her I.S. and somedays I want to be working on my business.
She also has found mentors outside the college community, including Trident Design Chief Executive Officer Chris Hawker, who Connor met at an emotional intellegence and leadership conference in Columbus. He, in turn, has introduced her to a whole network of mentorsthose who know retail, those who know social media, including Instagram. Hesitating to start using the latter, Connor said, I thought, eh, later. (Hawker) said, no, now. Shortly after her account was set up, she sold a backpack. It fits in the time Connor said, and what I am capable of doing right now.
What she will be doing in the future remains to be seen. Right now, Connor said, Its working so I can see the light at the end of the tunnel, where I can see the end of my I.S. and graduation. As far as she can predict, Carica Road will continue because it makes sense and Im passionate about it. It may well continue as an adjunct to something else, Connor said, especially if she returns to work for Reach. Ideally, any post-graduation job would be with a start up, she said, working for someone whos a few steps ahead of me.
Connor has had plenty of exposure to other business owners as she researches her I.S., which concerns the structure and work of the Barberton Community Development Corp., which does, among other things, provide loans to small businesses. Connor is quizzing some of the business owners about their definition of success, which she admitted sounds something akin to her own: Finding something that I am passionate about and pursuing it to the best of my ability. She would add that passion would involve creating something, even a backpack. To create, she said, and somehow make a living doing that; thats success.
