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“We’re really happy with how it’s
going,” says Jen. “Owning your own
business is a lot of hard work. It’s all
the time. But it’s also very rewarding.
You can directly see the results of your
efforts. Earlier in the year a store in
Aspen called to tell me that Hunter
Dixon is their number-one seller.
You start to realize that you’re doing something
legitimate.”
While her partner handles the designs, Jen takes
care of the business side. They have interns and
sales representatives to help now that they are
in so many stores,
but the first year, Jen
pounded the pavement
introducing the line
to store buyers. About
to launch their fourth
collection for fall 2008,
Jen’s days are spent
fabric forecasting,
keeping the books,
supervising sales
people, managing
credits, overseeing
quality at the
Manhattan factory that
produces the clothing,
and networking with
press contacts.
Jen’s hard work and resourcefulness have helped
the young company get noticed. “Right now, we
can’t afford to spend $50,000 a year for a press
agent, so we have to leverage our contacts and be
creative,” says Jen. “We’re excited by the amount
of press we’ve gotten.”
“Hunter is a fabulous designer and our quality is
amazing,” says Jen. “I love the clothes and really believe
in what we’re doing. To continue to succeed, we have to
stay focused on our vision, keep moving forward, and
deliver the best product and the best customer service
that we can.”
To find out more about Hunter Dixon and locate a
retailer near you, visit www.hunterdixon.com.
'
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A little more than two years ago, Jen Dixon ’95 was
living in New York, working in advertising sales, and
thinking about heading back to business school when
an opportunity arose that has given her the kind of
education you just can’t replicate in a classroom. She
and roommate Hunter Lingle, who was a designer for
Vineyard Vines, decided to start a woman’s clothing
line featuring flirty, flattering, high-quality garments
that feel as good as they look. Thus, the Hunter Dixon
label was born. The brand, which has been featured in
magazines like Lucky, Elle, In Style, and Harper’s Bazaar,
and promoted by style expert Jenn Falik, can be found
in more than 75 specialty shops in 19 states.
They have also tapped into a niche that is finding success
despite a lackluster retail market. The next step for
Hunter Dixon is to break into department stores, which
typically want to see a line several times before buying
it. They’ve had second looks from Bloomingdale’s and
Barneys and feel confident from the positive feedback
that it’s just a matter of time before Hunter Dixon is
available to a wider audience.
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Not many people can claim that a meal is what got
them where they are today. Zach Goodyear ’97
can. While on his honeymoon with wife Laura a few
years ago, they ate at the world-renowned French
Laundry restaurant in Napa Valley. The meal was
so exquisite, that when Zach returned to Charlotte
he immediately quit his job as manager at Cantina
1511 and enrolled in the newly opened Charlotte
branch of Johnson & Wales University.
“Since high school and throughout college I’ve
worked in restaurants doing everything from
waiting and busing tables to bartending and
managing,” explains Zach. “But I didn’t have food
knowledge. I wanted to know more about why food
cooks the way it does, the science of the food.”
At Johnson & Wales, Zach met chef Mark Hibbs
and together they decided to create a restaurant
dedicated to fresh, local, organic food. Ratcliffe on the
Green opened in January 2007 in what was once the
historic Ratcliffe flower shop on Tryon Street.
A “farm to fork” restaurant, Ratcliffe on the Green
features only the freshest in-season ingredients,
purchased from local growers. In fact says Zach,
they don’t even have a walk-in freezer. “Everything
that comes in the back door is out the front door in
less than 48 hours. The only thing we freeze is our
homemade ice cream and sorbet.”
Despite the fact that only about six percent of startups make it, the future for Ratcliffe on the Green looks
promising. “We’ve found a niche that the city is ready
to embrace,” says Zach. “Also we’ve had a lot of support
from the Charlotte Slow Food Group and gotten a lot of
positive publicity early on.”
For instance, Alice Waters, the godmother of cooking
with organic, sustainable ingredients, held a dinner event
at Ratcliffe on the Green during her Charlotte tour last
summer. Charlotte Magazine and the Charlotte Observer
have covered the restaurant’s slow food philosophy.
Currently, Ratcliffe on the Green is featured in the
July issue of Southern Living magazine in a story about
Charlotte’s progressive food movement.
Zach admits that he is a fairly recent convert to the
idea of sustainability. “If you asked me about organic
and local food 10 years ago, I couldn’t have cared
less,” he says. “But after going through culinary school,
developing this niche, working with the farmers, and
experiencing slow food, I’ve come to really believe in this
movement.”
Earlier this year, Zach spent
three months in New Zealand
learning about organic farming.
While he handles the day-to-day operations of Ratcliffe
on the Green, he is also involved in development. Future
endeavors for Zach and his partner Mark Hibbs include
opening a fast food organic restaurant and operating
their own farm to support the restaurants.
To learn more about Ratcliffe on the Green, visit
www.ratcliffeonthegreen.com.
4]`bVS2]Ua
For the past three years, Sally Harrell Conner ’98 has
combined her love of dogs, artistic talent, and business
savvy to successfully operate a pet tag business that
features handmade, custom tags. Now living in Durham,
North Carolina, with husband Bryan Conner ’94, Sally
started the business while living in Southern California,
home of the pampered pet.
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Throughout college, with her furry pals
Jackson and Bear in tow, Sally honed her jewelry
making and metal smith skills while simultaneously
making pet tags just for fun for friends and family.
She is passionate about animals and strongly
supports dog rescue. By the time she graduated
and joined Bryan in Southern California, Sally
decided that a career creating pet tags was an
ideal way to combine her interests.
calling and persistence. She also got a Web site up and
running, and promoted herself in magazines that cater
to dog lovers. Though the tags are all handmade, Sally
offers standard sizes, metals, and typefaces to ease
the ordering process. Her retail partners take the
orders, then Sally creates the custom tags at her
home studio in Durham. She ships the finished
product directly to her customers. She’ll also
take truly custom-design orders. For instance,
for one customer Sally etched the dog’s portrait
on the tag.
At first Sally thought she would be able to run a
jewelry making business, as well, but creating pet tags
keeps her busy full-time. “I came into the business
at a good time. For some people pets are like
children and they are willing to pay the money
to have a high-quality, custom tag. I have a lot
of repeat customers and I like working with
people who enjoy and appreciate what I do.”
“I really love making the tags, and the material is
less expensive than jewelry, so it was a good way to
start,” she explains. “My goal when I started was not to
create a huge business. My attitude was ‘I have a product
that I think people will like and I enjoy making, so let’s
see what happens.’”
Being a one-woman operation can be trying. But
Sally also has strong organizational and business skills,
which help her to keep the business operating smoothly.
“Some day I might be ready to hire others, but for now
I’m taking it one day
at a time.”
A key to Sally’s success was marketing her product to
California boutiques, which required old-fashioned cold
To find out more about Sally’s work or to purchase pet
tags, visit www.sallyharrell.net.
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“I always knew I wanted to have my own business,” says
Sally, “but I didn’t know it would be making pet tags.”
Artistic as a child, Sally tended to consider her creativity
a hobby. She earned an art history degree at UNCChapel Hill, then decided to pursue an architecture
degree at Savannah College of Art and Design.
After one semester she decided architecture
wasn’t her passion, but an introductory class
in metals and jewelry launched her in a new
direction.