Not many new, small businesses willingly part with 40% of their revenue, but Melissa Loerke Hagan built giving into her business model when she started selling her handmade goods last year.
Sun Prairie-based Mental Threads, which began as an Etsy business before becoming an official LLC, offers knit products like hats, pet toys and other soft items, and every year, a portion of sales are earmarked for donation. Loerke Hagan said she was driven to found the business by her own experience with mental health struggles.
“I’ve actually been looming for probably about 10 years. It started off as just a hobby,” she said.
“I have anxiety and depression, and I wanted to give back to a community that has given me so much. I’ve gone to therapy for about the last four years, and it’s just really helped me overcome a lot.”
While Mental Threads has encountered its fair share of obstacles as a fledgling business, it has also seen substantial growth and yielded other, more personal rewards.
Mental Threads’ early sales, predictably, came mostly from family and friends, Loerke Hagan said, noting that one of the biggest challenges for her as a small business owner has been “getting the word out — just that this company exists.”
“I’ve had such great support from my parents and my husband and my in-laws, and people that know me,” she added, “but it’s been a struggle to get the public aware.”
Establishing a consistent presence at local and regional markets has been a critical step in boosting the business’ brand visibility and creating connections in the community. Loerke Hagan has taken advantage of events like Garver Feed Mill’s winter Femmestival, the spring Crafty Fair at the Goodman Community Center and the Fort Atkinson Farmers Market just last month, which have provided opportunities to cement Mental Threads’ place as a familiar fixture.
Loerke Hagan said she typically participates in craft shows roughly every-other month, “so that’s helped people hear more about us.” While she joked that she’s “still hoping for that viral TikTok (promotion) eventually,” she also celebrated recent momentum.
“Now that I’m going to craft shows and getting more branding awareness out, it’s definitely been, I’d say, booming. It’s getting there!” she said.
As Loerke Hagan sets goals for Mental Threads’ continued growth, she’s also remaining focused on what she considers the real prize.
“It’s just been such a fun journey. I feel so accomplished being a business owner,” she said. “It’s been so fun seeing people’s faces looking at what I create, what I spend hours on. Even if it just brings someone a smile, that’s as awesome to me as a sale is. I had someone at the last show tell me, ‘Thank you so much for bringing us joy.’ Stuff like that means so much to me.”
Spreading that joy through Mental Threads will remain a habitual practice as Loerke Hagan plans to donate a portion of its sales to a mental health organization at the end of each year.
“That way, it can (have) a bigger impact,” she said. Her decision was inspired by similar practices at much larger companies.
“There’s certain brands like Kate Spade and Rare Beauty by Selena Gomez that, I know they donate a portion to mental health organizations,” said Loerke Hagan.
Mental Threads’ first annual donation went to Active Minds, a national nonprofit with a Madison chapter that works to change the mental health conversation and provide supportive resources for young people.
“We’re deeply grateful for the support from organizations like Mental Threads. Contributions like these directly support our mission to mobilize youth and young adults to champion a new era of mental health, changing how it is valued and prioritized in our society,” the nonprofit said in an emailed statement. “Donations help power programs like the Active Minds Chapter Network, A.S.K., and Send Silence Packing — all of which equip young people to be lifelong mental health advocates.”
Mental Threads was also nominated for Best New Business of Sun Prairie. Voting begins July 7th.
“I’m really excited to see how the rest of the year goes and just try to bring awareness that mental health is just as important as physical health, and that it needs to be talked about,” said Loerke Hagan. “I hope people want to support and make a difference.”
Mental Threads LLC
etsy.com/shop/MentalThreadsWI
