Aprons for Autism by Emma Penrod Tooele Transcript Bulletin Nov 30, 2010 | 455 views | 0  |  | 11  |  | Tooele Transcript Bulletin - Aprons for Autism

 

Tooele resident Amy Reidling has a passion for aprons —

, sassy aprons,

, polka-dot aprons and zebra-stripe aprons. Aprons for cooking, cleaning, yard work, holiday parties and tailgating.

Reidling also has a passion for charity. And just a few months ago, she finally launched Aprons by Amy — her dream business combining both her love of aprons and her love of others — after nearly eight years of planning.

The Reidlings have operated their own small embroidery business since 1998, which is exactly why they never expected their apron branch-off to become so popular so quickly.

“I wanted to start out at the beginning with a charity,” Reidling said. “But I really didn’t know where it was going.”

Where it was going was an online business that after just a few months of operation has generated enough hype to have sold more than 100 aprons for the Christmas season — before Black Friday. In addition to local customers, Reidling has taken orders from all over the nation, and her first international order came in from England just a few days ago. It’s a success that, according to her, can’t be expected of a business so young.

“Usually when you have a new idea, it’s like a baby,” she said. “It starts to crawl, and then to walk. But this thing has literally started at a run.”

Using the set up from their original embroidery business, Aprons by Amy offers a variety of aprons — from the little black dress apron, their most popular item, to their animal print aprons and

. Amy can also customize them with unique embroidered images and monograms.

They offer a selection of pre-made designs for customers to choose from, but because her husband, Joe, has a talent for digitizing just about any design, Amy felt confident claiming they could create any image a customer could dream up, with the exception of copyrighted designs. Over the last few months, the Reidlings have taken orders ranging from as simple as an apron with embroidered initials to embroidering full, hand-drawn images.

Amy felt she owed at least part of her new business’s success to the charity portion of Aprons by Amy. A portion of every purchase made — about a dollar per apron — is sent to either the

, or directly to the National Autism Association itself. From there, the money goes to fund programs that provide treatment for those families who otherwise could not afford therapy for their children — therapies that are often not covered by insurance.

Their youngest son, 7-year-old Cole, who has autism, inspired the

charity. It was an idea that she resisted at first, wanting to avoid making her son’s diagnosis public.

Eventually, she came to terms with the idea, and Amy’s

soon became a successful reality.

“I think people resonate with the cause,” she said. “One in six children has a learning disability, and autism is increasing [in prevalence].”

The Reidlings are now nearly ready to make their first donations, a prospect that excites her, though Amy said they are not yet sure what the total will be. Orders are coming in so quickly that, despite their best efforts to keep their products in stock, certain popular aprons and fabrics are already sold out until the new year. If that success can assist others, Amy said, then it is all the better.

“A little hope is better than nothing,” she said.

Whatever the cause may be, Aprons by Amy customers certainly seem taken by her product. Amy said at least one woman has told her she collects the different styles of aprons offered on her site. Another woman said her daughter has asked for an apron of her own for Christmas. But her No. 1 customer demographic is men.

“Right now, the men are really buying for the women,” Amy said. “Men are buying multiples of even 10.”

Most of the aprons they buy, she suspects, are the results of one-stop shopping for her customer’s female relations. It’s not uncommon for her to receive an order of multiple unique aprons — some suited to completely opposite tastes. But she has made several sports-related aprons for tailgating as well. In either case, when a man orders, Amy said it is rare for her to have to walk the customer through the ordering process.

“They seem to know exactly what they want,” she said. “It’s the ladies who are more nit-picky. Men don’t get as hung up on the details.”

Thus far, the aprons business has been so successful that Amy said she intends to introduce a new line of aprons every month next year, beginning in January with what she calls the “Monogram Chic Line,” a series of aprons with print and sold fabrics arranged to complement custom monograms. After that, she plans to add a line that resists dirt and hair for house cleaning and hair stylists. These aprons, she hopes, will be sold in sets with matching gloves.

What exactly is fueling the aprons’ popularity continues to evade the Reidlings, who cited the charity aspect, the ability to make a unique gift, and nostalgia. But the ultimate advantage of her aprons, according to Amy, is that they can make anyone look like a “professional mom” — a term first coined by her daughter.

“It makes you look like a legitimate good cook,” Amy said. “Go get take-out and you still look like a rock star.”

Amy’s aprons aren’t all just for sale. She has made several for herself, as well.

“I have my apron for every task,” she said. “I have an apron for cleaning the house, an apron for cooking, and even an apron for working in the garden…. Can you really have too many?”

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Last year, Tooele resident Kae Olson wanted to find ways to better her eating habits.

“Now that I’ll be turning 48 I wanted to find something that would keep me out of the doctor’s office later in life.” she said.

Olson knew she needed to change the way she was eating to help her complete the journey to a healthier life, so she did research, learned about raw food and gave it a shot.

Being in charge of her own health is what gave Olson the motivation she needed to start eating raw foods — essentially uncooked and unprocessed food.

Olson said raw foods are those that have activated enzymes, such as fruits and vegetables, and foods with dormant enzymes, which include a few grains, beans and nuts.

Eating in such a way cleans out your system and allows your body to function more naturally than it would if a person ate a lot of processed and cooked foods, according to Olson.

“It’s about taking charge of your health and your body,” she said. “This is all live food, not dead food. It feeds you differently.”

On this particular diet, Olson said a person starts out by making small changes to their eating habits and gradually they will eat raw foods 100 percent of the time.

But when making the change to raw, Olson found something was missing.

“Anytime you make a big change in your life you need support,” she said.

Support was especially important to her since her husband, Richard, doesn’t enjoy vegetables like she does.

In July 2010, two months after she switched over to raw foods, Olson started the Awareness Factor — a group dedicated to eating raw foods.

Olson invited those she knew were also on a healing journey toward a healthier life, who hadn’t thought of raw food as an option yet, to join her. 

There are currently 10 to 12 members in the group. Olson said she’d like to see it grow to 15 to 20, but doesn’t want it to grow too much so the group can keep up the support level.

The Awareness Factor meets once a month for a potluck dinner at Speirs Farms in Tooele.

The monthly meetings are important to those who regularly attend because it gives them a chance to talk about the foods they are eating and how they feel they’ve changed. It also gives them an opportunity to exchange recipes with one another and branch out their tastes.

“Each person has a different talent that they bring to the table.” Olson said.

Many people have common misconceptions about a raw food diet.

“People think that you’ll end up looking too skinny and gaunt looking.” Olson said.

Another common misconception is that all healthy foods are bland and don’t taste good. Most of the food that is eaten on a raw food diet are actually quite flavorful, according to the members of the Awareness Factor.

Tooele resident Terri Ellsworth said, “Eating healthy foods that are alive actually makes you feel and look healthier.”

Ellsworth regularly attends meetings and enjoys preparing different foods and trying out the new meals others bring. She added some people think those who eat raw foods eat like rabbits because salads are the only thing they are allowed to eat. 

In actuality, the diversity of food brought to the monthly potluck is as different as those who attend. Foods range from spicy salads to sushi, and from cakes to soups.

At the Awareness Factor’s last potluck meeting on Jan. 6, each food item was a dish no one had tried before.

Taco soup, an oriental salad, carrot combinations — carrot dishes mixed with various ingredients and sauces — sushi, a banana and mango cake, and even a cheesecake made it onto the menu. An arrangement of fruit, consisting of orange wheels, and red and white apples, was also brought to the dinner.

The banana and mango cake was actually made from a mixture of dates, cashews and walnuts crushed together to make a paste. Bananas, pineapples and mangoes were placed between the two layers of the cake and pecans made a decorative display on top.

While losing weight is a reason some members eat raw food, it’s not the only reason.

“First it does start as a diet to lose weight and then it turns to a lifestyle that you stick to 100 percent,” Olson said. “Of course if I go to a friend’s house for dinner I’m not going to tell them that I can’t eat what they made. It’s about learning what foods go best with each other to help your body perform to the best of its abilities.”

Amy Reidling, a Tooele resident and member of the Awareness Factor, has different reasons for choosing this eating habit. Reidling’s son has Celiac disease — an allergy to gluten — and is also highly allergic to many of the ingredients that are put into pre-made meals on store shelves.

“The key is finding replacements for the simple things.” Reidling said. “It’s also less expensive to buy the individual ingredients and make the food yourself.”

Finding replacements for foods that she has previously eaten on a regular basis is also true for Olson. Instead of eating hamburgers, Olson eats nut-burgers — vegetables and nuts ground together and dehydrated. In the mornings Olson has what she calls “green juice” — spinach, parsley, cucumbers, apples and celery blended together into a drinkable mixture.

“My goal is to eventually switch over to raw foods completely and stay that way,” she said. “Right now I’m just trying to get an understanding of how much we can do for our body in the way we eat. It’s amazing to see how quickly my body changes and loves eating healthier. I’ve become much more aware of myself and how food impacts my life.”

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Saturday, February 5, 2011