There are many moms who are superheroes, but Allison Faunce is one who actually comes with a cape.
As Yahoo! Finance reports, Faunce’s small business, Little Hero Capes (which sells pint-sized superhero costumes), remarkably revived the Fall River Apparel cut-and-sew factory in southeastern Massachusetts.
Like many other factories in this country, Fall River Apparel had followed the same devastating narrative of America’s manufacturing decline: Jobs shifted overseas for cheaper prices, and the 30-year business that once pulled in $3 million in revenue and employed hundreds at its peak, gradually — and painfully — went bust.
“I went in one day and there weren’t anymore orders to come — and we were forced to close,” owner Jimmy Petrosso told the site. “The day we closed and I had to tell those 100 people — I was in the corner crying.”
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But in a move that truly saved the day (not to mention, an entire company) the Somerset mom decided to approach the local sewers at Fall River to help produce costumes for her growing company that was expanding faster than she could keep up with.
Now, in a case of a wonderfully symbiotic partnership, both Faunce and the factory are profiting. Yahoo! reports that Fall River has made more than 5,000 capes, which retail for $45 each. The company has also since teamed up with Wrapeaze, another thriving company that makes hooded superhero capes for kids.
“What Allison has taught me is that there are energetic younger people out there that believe in what they’re doing and believe that making it in America matters,” Petrosso said. “That gives me hope, because it was kind of tough when we lost it all…[Even if] she puts two people to work…it’s still putting people to work. So I would hope that there are more Allison’s, and they don’t give up…”
With help from super-moms like Allison Faunce, perhaps American manufacturing can make a comeback after all.
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