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mom 2.0 - gimmie comfort

A mother of two sells luxury blankets—and proves to her daughter that business isn’t just for the boys.

By Jessica Kitchin

Ridgewood resident Laurie Suzuki has worked a lot of retail jobs in her life. “I’m very good at making everyone else money,” she says. But now she’s out to make her own, aiming to own a million-dollar company by the time she hits the age of 50. She’s already 49, but a seven-digit bank balance just might

“JUST DON'T CALL IT A THROW”: Suzuki's 100 percent organic blanQuettes look like luxurious oversized beach towels—and are super soft

outpace that AARP registration form. Yumi & Laurie, the textile company Suzuki started in late 2006, is taking off—getting its inspiration from a favorite blanket, and this mother-of-two’s desire to do something more with her life. ”I had always been dependent on my husband,” she says. ”I wanted my daughter to know that she could do anything in her life. She’ll be my legacy.”

With that in mind, Suzuki used the name of her 12-year-old daughter, Yumi in the brand she created (her 16-year-old son had no interest) for a new kind of blanket, one inspired by a souvenir from her husband’s native Japan. There, towelkettes—a cross between a blanket and a towel—are popular household items. Suzuki brought one home. ”It turned out to be a staple in the house, with everybody grabbing for it at the same time,” she says. She tried to get her hands on similar oversized blankets in the United States, but was out of luck.
Always fascinated by business and longing to venture out as an entrepreneur, Suzuki thought she might have a product on her hands. ”I’m so impulsive,” she says, ”I tend to leap into things.” She approached Jerry Mann, a Pompton Lakes resident and family friend who had a long history in the business world, and he gladly helped her navigate the ins and outs of starting a company. ”He has been such a mentor to me from the start,” she says.

Mom and Tot Shop: Suzuki was inspired by her daughter, Yumi, to start a business.

Once she decided to move forward with her now-trademarked blanQuettes, Suzuki entered a whirlwind year that included a trip to Turkey to visit textile mills and meetings with expediters, advertisers, website designers, and the like. She also searched long and hard for a textile designer that could produce both the soft, neutral tones of a home as well as the bright, vibrant colors that would make it a good accent blanket or a nice addition to a teen’s bedroom. ”There have been so many ups and downs and highs and lows on this journey,” she says. ”I just really wanted to make this happen.”

Finally, the first shipment of blanQuettes arrived earlier this year. Now yumiandlaurie.com is going strong, and customers can choose from a variety of styles and colors of the six-foot-six-inch by four-foot-nine-inch blanQuettes. They’re made with 100 percent organic cotton and sustainable bamboo—a breathable fiber that is naturally antimicrobial.

In addition to website sales, the soft and luxurious blankets can be purchased at Mango Jam in Ridgewood. Suzuki plans to expand the business to include bedding, a spa line, and smaller towelQuettes that can be used as washcloths or to swaddle babies
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Starting Yumi & Laurie required a large financial investment, which was an added motivation for Suzuki not to give up. ”You get to a point where you can’t turn back, you can only go forward,” she says.
Mann, 69, says Suzuki’s drive has been a big part of her success. ”She’s moved along by sheer stubbornness to keep it going,” he says. Naturally, there were fears and stresses along the way, but Mann kept her focused on the big picture. ”Laurie needs to be told that she’s doing the right thing,” he says, ”but that’s not hard because she usually is.”

Suzuki gets emotional when talking about Mann’s guidance. ”He keeps me on the straight and narrow,” she says. ”Everyone should have someone older, a mentor, who’s been through the tough times. His wisdom helped me every step of the way, through every emotional breakdown.”

Despite the stress it’s caused her over the course of nearly two years, Suzuki glows when talking about the business.

BlanQuettes, which sell for $195–$235, are available at Mango Jam or yumiandlaurie.com. They're oversized, machine washable, 100 percent organic, and antimicrobial.

And she knows she’s not alone. ”This is a big movement,” she says. ”Women of a new age are hitting their forties and fifties, and they’re thinking ’I need to do something more with my life.’ And I don’t want to leave this planet without doing something that’s a success, that I can show to my daughter.”

Suzuki is grateful for the emotional and financial support of her husband. But she says the business is very much an effort that she’s tried to make on her own. ”It’s my own time, my own lost sleep, my own journey,” she says. ”There’s been help along the way, but no one can take the journey for me.”

And it feels good to be back in the business world again, especially as her own boss. More than anything, she is thrilled with the lesson her experience has taught Yumi. ”There’s nothing wrong with raising children, but I want her to know that she can do anything, that she can have it all.