Today we’d like to introduce you to Vanessa Hanson.
Hi Vanessa, please kick things off for us with an introduction to yourself and your story.
Like many new and small businesses, mine was born during Covid. I have always loved stationery, which evolved from loving school supplies as a kid. I loved getting new notebooks, pencils, Lisa Frank erasers, it all brought so much joy. As an adult, that evolved to having all those things neatly on my desk and showing up to meetings with a great pen and notebook. While I was working at a boutique PR firm, I loved decorating my office. Every month or so, I would rearrange my desk, put up different frames and change out the pad I kept by my phone. I remember saying, “wouldn’t it be great if every month, a box of goodies just showed up to freshen up my office?’ That idea kind of stayed with me in the back of my mind.
I later told this idea to a friend and he looked at me and said, “Well why don’t you just do it?” I chuckled and said, well I have a full-time job and a baby at home so there’s simply non time. Then covid hit and we were all at home pondering our life choices. With the time at home, I was able to start the process of launching a business. My vision was to create a surprise seasonal subscription box that allowed for people to freshen up their home offices and really create a space that made them excited to do their work. At the time so many of us were forced to create dedicated work spaces at home to allow for a visual separation of home and work life. This would be a way to make it fun and make it your own.
On June of 2021, Officely became official. I launched with a Summer box and learned about wholesale orders and timing. It was so exciting to pack those boxes and ship them out to first-time recipients, many of whom were friends and family. That initial box showed me what I had really gotten myself into.
Five years later, I’ve expanded outside of the subscription box and have a larger online shop. The mission remains the same, elevating women-owned brands. I have also launched a podcast that furthers that mission.
We all face challenges, but looking back would you describe it as a relatively smooth road?
I would love to say that it has been a smooth ride for five years. The process of launching felt daunting in the beginning, but as I look back at that, it was quite simple. It was just paperwork. Once you’re launched and reaching out to brands in the hopes they’ll allow you to carry their products. I learned that it takes time to get wholesale-ready. It’s not an immediate switch that turns on and gives you access to all the products you want. I’ve definitely hit some shipping delays, emails getting lost and all the other small things that feel so big at the time.
We’ve been impressed with Officely, but for folks who might not be as familiar, what can you share with them about what you do and what sets you apart from others?
Officely is an online stationery store and seasonal subscription box that only carries products from women-owned brands. While my business is primarily online, I’ve done pop ups all over the DMV at markets, community events and workout studios. I love being able to say that my brand is Latina-owned and purely focuses on lifting up other women-owned brands. Each product has a story and I get to be the curator that brings it all together either in one of our seasonal boxes or at an event.
We’d love to hear about any fond memories you have from when you were growing up?
Some of my favorite childhood memories are making up games to play with my siblings and cousins. Every time we got together, we found a new way to entertain ourselves and build our own little world.
Contact Info:
- Website: https://www.shopofficely.com
- Instagram: @Shop_Officely
