Today we’d like to introduce you to Sabrina Gardner.
Hi Sabrina, please kick things off for us with an introduction to yourself and your story.
I spent 16 years as a working mom. I worked in photography, trying to balance being a mother and having a career while working to gain a solid place in the industry. I had incredible opportunities working with various companies, wonderful non-profits and traveling to remote parts of the world. There were years I worked almost full-time and some years that I barely worked at all so I could be at home with my four children. In early 2020 I wrote down a single goal – to start a business. Then the pandemic happened and everything changed.
We were right in the middle of moving to our new home when the world came to a standstill. I remember vividly standing in our new kitchen with boxes piled everywhere and looking into the faces of my children. There was fear and uncertainty and I felt it too. At that point, no one really understood what was happening or the chaos that would unfold. Over the next six days, I worked tirelessly to unpack, organize and transform our home into a place that felt safe. I slept only a few hours each night and because we had nowhere to be, I was able to get it done in less than a week. As each space came together, our home began to feel differently. It became a refuge from the storm. I saw tangible differences in my family. It was at that moment that I understood the power of organization.
Tidy spaces have a positive effect on our emotional well-being. There is so much that is outside of our control and this is something proactive that we can change.
As I went through the process of organizing our home, I ran into a great deal of frustration with the organizational products on the market. I could not find a drawer organizer that actually fit my drawer! I have purchased hundreds over the years and nothing worked. In the end, the organizers slid around, had empty space and my drawer always ended up messy. I started researching options for custom organizers and couldn’t find anything. I couldn’t believe this wasn’t an option! And that is how Salt by Sabrina started!
I spent 18 months developing an innovative approach to organization. For the first time, you can order a completely custom organizer in any configuration you want and have it delivered to your doorstep in just 8 weeks! In a time when companies sell in bulk with a one-size-fits-all approach, you can have something personal that allows you to use every square inch of space in your drawer and it looks beautiful!
I built Salt on four pillars that we have followed since the day we started. 1. Every product we design should simplify and beautify your spaces. 2. The details matter. Salt organizers and storage solutions are hand-crafted, sustainably sourced and chemical-free. 3. The customer experience should be exceptional. We aren’t perfect but we make every effort to make sure the process is smooth and enjoyable. 4. Life is most impactful when helping others. $1 from every organizer sold goes directly to America’s Kids Belong, an organization dedicated to finding permanent homes for children in foster care.
Salt by Sabrina is just starting its second year in business and we have had so many incredible milestones as well as a lot of exciting things coming in 2023! In our first month we had 5 sales and by the last month of our first year, we had over 500! You will be able to buy our products in major retail stores in January and we have additional partnerships that we will be announcing throughout the year. There will be three big product releases starting in the spring. Stay tuned!
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?
About a year into starting this business when we were shipping our first batch of product from our manufacturer when I realized we had made a huge mistake. Every dollar was budgeted and accounted for in producing our first batch of products. There was nothing left over. That is when I realized that we had not accounted for the Trump Tariffs. This amounted to almost $100,000. I sobbed in the corner of my closet. I didn’t have the money. I had no way to save this business that hadn’t even had the chance to begin.
One of my favorite podcasts is “How I Built This” with Guy Raz. I love hearing the stories of how these businesses got started and all the challenges they had to overcome. It seems every one of them was almost bankrupt before they made it. I imagine someday telling our story and all that we overcame to make it.
There have been two other times that I thought we were out of business. Each time I have worked to figure out a solution. I have learned that being an entrepreneur is really about grit and problem-solving. You have to wake up each day ready to get after it and ready to figure out whatever is coming your way.
Alright, so let’s switch gears a bit and talk business. What should we know?
Salt by Sabrina is known for our beautiful custom and expandable acrylic drawer organizers as well as our entire line of organizational products. The first question I always ask anyone interested in Salt is “have you ever bought a drawer organizer that actually fit your drawer?”. The realization comes and the answer is universally “no”. The concept of a perfectly-fitting drawer organizer is brand new, disruptive and revolutionary! In five minutes and three measurements, customers can order our premium organizers and have them delivered to their front porch.
Our line of handwoven and sustainably sourced baskets comes with its own unique feature set. Every single one can be used together seamlessly. Each basket has a timeless design to fit any style of home and work with anything in our line. I wanted to take the guesswork out of organizing. You no longer have to worry about making sure everything matches or that it will fit well. Salt baskets and boxes are designed to fit standard-sized shelving and maximize your storage space.
I believe in providing a home for everything and everyone. I know the power of an organized home and the effect that can have on a family for the better. I also believe that everyone needs a place to belong and call home. $1 from every organizer we sell goes directly to fund foster care placement. Growing the business becomes more meaningful because of the social impact that we can have.
Where we are in life is often partly because of others. Who/what else deserves credit for how your story turned out?
I have met people who have changed my life with their kindness, people who have inspired me to be better and stronger, people who have encouraged me to follow my dreams. I couldn’t have built this business without all of these people sharing their talents and support with me every single day. My family has sacrificed, supported me and believed in me. My friends and co-workers have offered counsel and expertise. All those efforts have allowed Salt to become the organizational solution that I hope will change others’ lives as much as it has mine.
My father is an entrepreneur and I grew up in a home watching him build businesses. The excitement, hard work and ultimate success had a huge impact on me and cultivated a desire to build something of my own. I actually didn’t tell him I started the business until it was fully developed. I wanted to make him proud and ever since I shared it with him, he has been my biggest supporter, cheerleader and mentor.
Betsy Mikesell, the co-founder of Beddy’s and Randy Hales, CEO of Next Level Apparel have been instrumental in guiding me throughout this process. The very first time I met Betsy (I was a total stranger), she sat down with me for three hours and let me ask endless questions, gave me critical advice and introduced me to the ins and outs of manufacturing, marketing, social media and even the tedious things like accounting. She is the best kind of person, completely genuine and a true proponent of helping others succeed. Randy has been a North Star that has guided me in the right direction throughout this journey. He is selfless with his time and never fails to bring a beautiful perspective of wisdom to our meetings.
My husband Rob has been my unpaid CFO and unwavering partner through every up and down – and there have been a lot! He is quietly brilliant and almost every key person in my organization is someone he introduced me to. From dinner time pep talks to the algorithm calculations on the website, Rob never fails to see me through. I would not be here without him.
The Salt team is full of talent, expertise, hard work, kind hearts and joy. Often we comment that it doesn’t feel like work because we truly love what we do. Daylen, our COO has been with me almost from the start and Salt wouldn’t run without him. He is always working behind the scenes to make things better and continues to bring new efficiencies to the business that in the end help a business make it. Tyler is our marketing operations manager but truly he wears all hats. I have never met anyone more dedicated to learning and figuring things out. If I ask him about something he doesn’t know, he will return an expert the next day. Tyler is truly my right hand at Salt.
Contact Info:
- Website: www.saltbysabrina.com
- Instagram: @saltbysabrina
- Facebook: @saltbysabrina
- Twitter: @saltbysabrina
Image Credits
Allison Niccum
