July 2, 2009

Open for Business
An occasional look at new shops, services and more
By Jeff Mucciarone jmucciarone@hippopress.com

Stylish glass
Candia resident Kathy Berger and her business partners aren’t necessarily suggesting people need to drink more to have fun — though they might not challenge the idea — but they are offering some extra pizzazz in their wine glasses. HuePhoria, which opened three years ago, features hand-blown, hand-painted and dishwasher-safe stemware, along with an assortment of other trinkets, such as salt-and-pepper shakers and ornaments featuring “Larry the Lobsta.”

“It’s something bright, cheerful and fun,” Berger said. “It’s drinking.”

Partners Jen Falso and Lisa Assenza work out of their homes in Syracuse, N.Y., while Berger manages her side of things from home as well. Falso and Assenza, after meeting at their daughter’s preschool, put their design interests together and began painting wine glasses. The pair sold their creations at fundraising events and through word of mouth in New York. In one year, the pair sold 5,000 glasses just in their general area.

After Falso and Assenza, who had known Berger for more than 20 years, found they couldn’t keep up with production demands, Berger, who had already started two companies previously, entered the picture. Together, they decided there was something they had that other companies didn’t ? the dishwasher-safe component, Berger said. Beyond the three partners, HuePhoria has five employees, including one in New Hampshire.

Today, Falso and Assenza handle designs — a peace sign, a golf ball and a sail boat are among the nearly 40 current designs offered. Berger, who according to www.huephoria.com does everything other than design, found an overseas manufacturing company to hand-make the glasses. The company distributes to 1,000 retailers nationwide now, and has strong sales from the Web.

There are stories behind the design names, such as Skeeter, the New Hampshire state bird, and Sea Toy, the name of Berger’s first boat, she said.

“It’s like a permanent wine charm,” Berger said. “We kind of took the wine charm concept to the next level.”

HuePhoria’s clientèle is typically women who host cocktail parties and who have the disposable income to drop $20 on a single wine glass. The idea of single wine glasses is key as well, since historically wine glasses were not a single-item purchase, but that’s changing. Simply, most women are going to have a glass of wine from time to time, which they’ll need a glass to drink, and they’re going to buy gifts. That’s HuePhoria’s niche, Berger said.

Berger and company are illustrating how to make a living without sitting in a cube every day. A conference call, typically each morning, kicks things off and then they each go off into defined roles. Intertwined with business is taking care of the kids and tending to Sam, Berger’s yellow Labrador retriever. The craziest time each day is when kids get home from school, Berger said.

Working remotely helps with decision-making too ? there’s no one else there, so they each simply have to make the call. They can’t put it off, since they won’t be seeing each other anytime soon. Still, the threesome do make it a point to meet in their Maine office for a virtual summit once a year, to fill and refill their glasses to make sure they work OK, Berger said.

Berger is constantly calling on top retailers, such as L.L. Bean, HuePhoria’s best customer and its largest retailer. Overall, the company keys in on upscale, specialty boutique-ish gift shops, of which 85 percent nationwide are independently owned, Berger said. Smaller, independent retailers are more likely to tell the HuePhoria story rather than big retailers. Not that bigger stores are bad, but Berger said there can be a tendency to rely on big ones. If a big client drops a company like HuePhoria, the small business is going to be in serious trouble. This way, HuePhoria has its hands in lots and lots of little pots, rather than one big one.

The company is looking to grow Web sales, which made up about 12 percent of sales last year. Berger said they need the physical retailers but the Internet is full of potential.

“We want to grow slowly and steadily,” Berger said.

Berger offered some advice for prospective startup entrepreneurs: “Don’t be afraid to ask for help. Listen to the stories. There’s always something to be gleaned from experiences.”

Visit www.huephoria.com. HuePhoria products are available at Elizabeth’s on Elm, Make and Take Gourmet and John’s Hallmark in Manchester, Ashton Christopher’s and Bedford Custom Baskets in Bedford, Caring Gifts and Interior Additions in Concord, and DesignWares in Nashua.— Jeff Mucciarone