Today we’d like to introduce you to Cara Briscoe.
Hi Cara, thanks for joining us today. We’d love for you to start by introducing yourself.
My name is Cara Briscoe. I got my start with Minky several years ago, and I immediately fell in love. There’s nothing else that comes close to the softness of a Minky blanket, and I was very quickly hooked. I’m honestly an artist at heart, having worked with stained glass for several years (both designing and building).
However, it quickly became clear that working with Minky was nearly as rewarding as building a beautiful stained-glass window. (Not to mention that Minky is much better to snuggle with!).
So I put my design skills to work, resulting in an early version of the Starshine blanket (found in our Crown Label collection), and Winslow the Whale, my first attempt at a Minky stuffed animal.
Both were a hit! I quickly found particular joy in bringing a new design to life in Minky, especially since there were so many colors and styles for endless possibilities.
There was one thing I felt was missing from the world of Minky, though, and that was the ability to get a wholly unique custom quilt-style blanket, made exactly the way you wanted. Acquiring a Minky blanket often meant spending hours on a Facebook Live show where there was no guarantee you would be able to get a blanket at all, and even if you were lucky enough to snag one, it still might not be exactly what you wanted. It just felt like there had to be a better way.
That’s part of the reason I started my own company. One of our original founding tenets was that customers should be able to specify what they wanted in their own Minky blanket. So Prestige Minky is built around offering a custom experience, giving the customer the ability to tell us exactly what Minky types and colors to use. This ability is available across our full range of product offerings, from all versions of our blankets to pillowcases and covers to luxury capes and scarves to Christmas stockings and any other item we offer.
Now that we’re in the latter half of 2022 it’s crazy to see how far we’ve come since our beginning. I started with a small shop on Etsy and just a handful of items in early 2020, but we’ve slowly grown, and since then moved to our own website at www.prestigeminky.com with dozens of products, over 20 blanket designs alone.
It’s been quite an experience, but one of my favorite parts has been working with our many awesome customers all over the US and helping design their perfect Minky, whatever that might be.
I’m sure you wouldn’t say it’s been obstacle free, but so far would you say the journey has been a fairly smooth road?
Running a business is a lot of work. I’d say one of the biggest struggles in any online business is marketing; trying to find customers that might not know you exist but can offer what they’re looking for (or what they might not even know they’re missing out on!).
We mostly utilize social media for our marketing, but we’re by no means experts and we’re learning new things about social media every day. We do have a business Facebook page @prestigeminky and we participate in other Minky Facebook groups. We also have an IG account and are learning more about how to use Pinterest. It’s admittedly overwhelming at times, but it’s an essential part of owning a modern business.
Another challenge in owning your own business is work/life balance. I have four children ranging in ages from 8 to 15 and balancing the needs of a business with the needs of my family is a constant challenge. I’m lucky to have my husband helping me work this business together, but my kids sometimes get frustrated with how much time we have to put into it, and some weeks are definitely better than others.
So trying to meet everyone’s wants to perfect satisfaction is not always possible, which can be hard. It’s definitely something to consider for anyone with a family that might be considering starting their own business.
Great, so let’s talk business. Can you tell our readers more about what you do and what you think sets you apart from others?
We definitely take pride in our brand and we’ve tried to base ourselves on three distinct principles: customization, unique designs, and high-quality work.
As I mentioned before one of our company’s founding ideals was customization. When we first started that concept was nearly unheard of for a Minky company. Most Minky companies offered finished blankets that were already made and customers just had to pick from whatever was on offer, typically through a Facebook Live show. This meant that if you wanted a patchwork blanket with particular colors in it that matched your home decor theme, you might only be able to snag a blanket that still had one or two colors that weren’t exactly what you were looking for.
I wanted to flip that idea around and let customers come to me and tell me exactly what they were wanting, and then I’d put together a blanket that more closely matched their vision. This has been one of the major things our customers have loved about our company, that they know they can come to us and get exactly what they’re looking for, without a lot of hassle. This includes blanket size, where we offer up to 8 different size options, including being one of the few companies that offer Queen and King size options.
Another thing that sets us apart is our many unique blanket designs, most of which are found in our Crown Label collection. Having an artist’s eye, I can’t help but envision neat new ways that Minky can be arranged in different patterns, and quilt-style designs are so much fun to create. Minky itself is very soft and fun to cuddle up with, but there’s something about a large blanket with a beautiful pattern designed in different colors and styles of Minky that can be just breathtaking.
At Prestige Minky we currently offer 14 different quilt-style blanket designs under our Crown Label designation, and I’m always trying to create new ones to add to the collection. Some of our most popular are the Starshine, the Eternity, and the Kaleidoscope, and our customers love being able to customize these patterns with their favorite Minky colors. Many of them have used these patterns to create whole new bedroom sets for themselves, complete with matching Minky pillow cases and throw pillow covers.
Another principle we pride ourselves on is our high-quality work. I ensure that our sewing methods are thorough and standardized so that each seamstress that sews for us is utilizing the same techniques so that every item is solidly crafted and our customers can have the confidence that their blanket will stand the test of time.
I have strict quality control standards to ensure that seams are solid and straight and that the Minky used contains no flaws or imperfections. Our customers know that when they receive something with the Prestige Minky label on it they can expect the highest of quality, in both design and craftsmanship.
What were you like growing up?
I’ve always enjoyed arts and crafts since I was a little girl. When I had the opportunity to take a 3D art class to learn stained glass in high school it soon became a passion.
I would spend hours designing and creating stained glass projects. I didn’t discover my passion for sewing until I found out I was having my first daughter and I couldn’t wait to sew cute boutique items for her to wear.
Pricing:
- Standard Minky Blanket – $99-$599
- Patchwork or Strip Blanket – $129-$749
- Crown Label Blanket – $314-$749
- Pillowcases/Covers – $26-$144
Contact Info:
- Website: https://prestigeminky.com
- Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/prestigeminky
- Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/prestigeminky
Image Credits
Candace Bienz and Prestige Minky
