Some people cook to relax, some read, some nap, but Margaret Howard sews; and she has taken the hobby from her basement to a new 3,000-square-foot manufacturing facility and storefront in Warwick with TLCare Wear.
Having spent 34 years as a registered nurse at Kent Hospital, Howard has learned a thing or two about the need for quality nursing scrubs that can stand up to the wear and tear and long hours.
A Rhode Island native, Howard, 54, began sewing her own scrubs about 10 years ago. Co-workers quickly took notice and began putting in requests for their own tailor-made scrubs. Eventually, she was sewing for about 30 friends and co-workers and saw the venture as an opportunity to make a little extra income. She began taking swatches to doctor’s offices and enrolled in basic business courses at the Community College of Rhode Island.
The North Kingstown resident remembers the words of a professor, who said, “You don’t have to know how to do everything, just be able to find someone who knows how to do what you can’t.” So when Howard met Terrence Killea, who has a background in sales, she gained more than just a friend; she also gained a business partner.
While Killea handles the sales and marketing end, Howard controls the manufacturing. She checks the quality of the garments to ensure they are up to her standards and that “things get done the way I want them to,” she said.
“I’ve been buying from her for about 10 years, even before she opened up the shop,” said Lynne Hanrahan, an R.N. at Kent Hospital and friend of Howard.
“Almost everyone at the hospital has bought from her, everyone knows her name.”
In the store, customers can browse through the pre-made garments that are available on the racks and observe the seamstresses at work. Or, they can have a garment custom made one of the 800 fabrics typically in stock.
Their prices, according to Killea, are $7 to $10 less than their competitors. “We’re the new guy. We want people to come to our door” Howard said.
Howard redesigned the traditional scrubs found in other retail stores to better suit the needs of the people who wear them. She designed the shirt with double-stitching on the side slits so if one stitch tears, there was a back-up stitch to prevent it from unraveling. She also widened and lowered the neck to make the garment easier to put on, and reinforced the pockets for durability and double-lined the yolk (a strip of cloth) across the shoulders.
She also designed her own surgeon’s hat, for which she reinforced the forehead, added adjustable elastic to comfortably fit different size heads and made a larger “poof” to allow space for more hair.
The biggest challenge Howard said, is getting her name out there. “It’s hard for the new guy to break in,” she said.
Both maintain other careers, Killea in sales and Howard as an RN. She works three days a week at the hospital, and the other four at the shop.
“We’re building a brand,” said Killea. “We don’t sell anyone else’s stuff and we don’t sell to other stores. Our goal down the road is to open up more stores.”
When asked about the transition from a nurse to entrepreneur, Howard said “Every time I’ve jumped off one of these cliffs so far, I’ve landed on my feet.” •
