Elwyn Crawford
O'Lover Hats

“I went into business to follow a passion- my art”. When Elwyn Crawford graduated from college, she worked for 10 years out of her garage developing her artistic voice, experimenting with sculpture and mixed media collage. She combined these mediums into wearable art, and began attracting attention in a unique niche market- millinery, or felt-hat making.

After graduating from the 10-week Simple Steps program, Elwyn launched O’Lover Hats, turning her passion into a profit. Elwyn cites the valuable role of the hard and soft skills taught during her Women’s Initiative’s course as critical to her professional and personal development. “They taught me what it meant to run a business. My trainer advised my group on a wide range of skills, from professional skill building and financial management, to offering life-skills lessons such as time-management and how to make running your own business personally relevant. Women’s Initiative courses helped me prioritize and formalize my skills, as well as to get over personal hang-ups that stood in the way of my success”.

It’s this uniquely personalized and relevant attention that kept Elwyn engaged in our Success Link program, even after trying other business services. A year and a half into business, Elwyn hired a well-known, male Business Consultant to help her boost her marketing strategy. During their first consulting session, it became clear that his impersonal business advising was irrelevant and uncomfortable to her strategy. “His advice didn’t work for my business, largely because it was a singular approach- sales only”. Elwyn cites her artisan-community as a major influence in her high sales, and values building her community through supportive arts efforts over aggressive sales-pitches. “I’m not dogmatically selling my product, and my Women’s Initiative coach helped me realize this. When I returned to Women’s Initiative coaching, it took a single session to develop a marketing strategy that suited my clientele and business style. More importantly, it has helped me develop my own marketing voice”. Elwyn continues to use the individualized Women’s Initiative coaching sessions, available to all Women’s Initiative graduates through the Success Link.

Despite the state of the economy, O’Lover Hats continues to profit. Elwyn shows her hats in trunk shows and art galleries, and has seen her sales increase over the years. A major milestone for Elwyn occurred when she moved out of the garage and opened a her atelier in Downtown Oakland. The move out of her garage boosted sales, which she attributes to increased visibility for clients and a new professional point of focus. “As my partner used to say, I wasn’t going to catch any fish when I was looking in the woods!” Elwyn’s love of material and community has allowed her to expand O’Lover products to suit a wide range of clients.

Check out her styles for every season at OLoverHats.com, or visit her for a personal fitting! “Hats are an agent of transformation” she writes. “Everyone looks good in hats, it’s only the matter of finding the right hat to suit your face and personality.”

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