Starting on July 4, 2015, an up and coming preppy clothing company took off. This company goes by the name of Welsh Wear. The clothing brand itself is comparable to big names like Southern Proper and Vineyard Vines. However, the best part of this company is the fact that the Founder and President of Welsh Wear just happens to be West Virginia University alumni, Nicole Molinaro.
Nicole is a truly a go getter. After the development of her clothing business, she decided to move on to something that hits closer to home for her. Nicole wanted to come up with something new and revolutionary that would appeal to just the students, staff, and the community within the surrounding area of her alma mater. She decided to create a clothing line solely based around Morgantown and called it the Wild and Wonderful Morgantown Collection.
Now, of course, Nicole's business isn't solely focused around Morgantown. Her company has begun showing up on all the major college campuses across the United States. She has been on the search for college ambassadors to help build brand awareness for Welsh Wear. Her goal for the future of this program is to get at least one ambassador per university. Anyone interested in said job can apply here. If selected as a college ambassador, you would receive promo items as well as a discount code that can be handed out which would then allow you to gain store credit.
When asked where the idea of Welsh Wear came from, Nicole said “The idea for Welsh Wear just popped into my head one day. I was working at the Devon Horse Show and was really noticing how Corgis have become the go-to dog of the equestrian industry as well as YouTube stars! Devon’s Executive Director at the time had a Corgi that came to the office every day that I absolutely loved! I realized that there were many different animals used for preppy clothing, but none of them were a Corgi. After working as the Marketing Director at the Devon Horse Show, I knew I wanted to start my own Media business, which I did, but never thought about my own clothing business."
Nicole is an extremely driven individual who has proved that you can accomplish anything that you put your mind to. When asked about what drives her, she said “As for what drives me, that came from growing up in the Equine Industry, but also loving the preppy style which made me want to create a company that caters to both groups. All riders have non-horsey family members and a good portion of those who like the preppy style, ride. It overlaps a lot and no other company has seemed to make an effort to go after both types of customer bases.”
When talking to Nicole about why she chose Morgantown as the sole area to not only start up her business but also have an entire clothing line dedicated to it, she answered by saying “I loved West Virginia and miss it every day! It truly is my second home and I want be the preppy brand that all Mountaineer fans turn to! I think it will! I'm hoping that students, locals, and supporters all over the world fall in love with it! I am willing to have that grow to have as many items as there are with the regular Welsh Wear logo.” Being an alumni of West Virginia University has impacted Nicole in so many ways. It’s almost as if this is her way of giving back to the community that has enriched her life beyond her wildest dreams.
However, Nicole is most excited about the support she has been receiving from her former university. “I knew I would get support, but never thought I would get the level of support that I have!” With pure joy, Nicole continued “From the start, Crystal Smith, who is in charge of the Equine Studies program, has been so supportive and wearing Welsh Wear all over! Then I was contacted by the Alumni Center about being a part of a fashion show in Charleston, this June after the DA published an article!” While she was getting an immense amount of support from people within the community, she also has the support of her sisters from her previous sorority, Alpha Omicron Pi.
In addition, she has also been getting additional support from West Virginia University’s President, Gordon Gee. Nicole sent him a ¼ zip pullover earlier this year, to which he responded with a wonderful letter as well as set up a meeting to discuss what she hopes the future will bring for her dream.
During Nicole's time at West Virginia University, she majored in Agribusiness Management and Rural Development. In addition, she also had the pleasure of minoring in Equine Studies as well as Public Relations. “After working as the Marketing Director at the Devon Horse Show, I knew I wanted to start my own Media business, which I did, but never thought about my own clothing business,” she said. However, following graduation, Nicole decided the sky was going to be the limit for her business. “As for how far I see the business going, I think and hope there is no limit! I want to eventually become a company that is considered competition to Vineyard Vines and Southern Proper,” she said.
Nicole has had a lot of great successes and passed so many milestones even just with starting her business less than a year ago. However, there have been a few times where she has been challenged. The most prominent challenge that Nicole has had to face in the last year was in certain situations regarding the types of items that she was putting out into the market. Nicole explained this issue further when she said “There has been the occasional situation where we come up with a new item that we think everyone is going to love and order a lot of it, and then realize that it's not selling as much as we thought it would.” In most instances, most business owners would just keep these items out on the market for as long as it took them to sell, but not Nicole. “In that situation, we then mark it down on sale or use it as a promo item. Even if you aren’t making money on that item because you gave it away, the brand is still benefiting because it's just more people that are realizing it exists,” she said with enthusiasm.
While it is difficult for some people to accept their ideas didn’t quite work out as planned, Nicole confronts the problem head on by immediately coming up with a positive solution. In this instance, there is an important message to be taken away from Nicole’s problem-solving abilities. In order to be a strong person in addition to being a business owner, it is incredibly critical to be able to come up with your own solutions to day to day challenges, much like this one.
In regards to the day to day operations, as the President of the company, Nicole has prided herself by doing the majority of the work by herself. “I am really handling the majority of the business at this point. I run all of the social media, come up with designs (with input from my family), order merchandise, go to shows, and fill most of the orders. It is a lot, but I really love it,” she said.
Many customers have mentioned that the brand itself stands out against its competitors. Personally, the one thing I find unique about Welsh Wear is how Nicole is an alum from West Virginia University. Making the decision to come out with a clothing line that was solely for one area is something extremely risky that I haven’t seen any other clothing brands do. But I think it actually works out in her favor.
With West Virginia University being such a big school, the audience base is incredibly large. On top of that, she is also extremely creative to the point where she has come out with items that set her apart from other brands, such as the long sleeve that is a part of the Wild and Wonderful Morgantown Collection. It incorporates so many destinations that are recognizable to the community. Places such as Los Mariachis, High Street, and even a broken sign of Pittsburgh, because we all know that anyone from West Virginia University hates Pitt.
Opening up her own business has truly been a learning process for her and she feels that she has gained a lot even in just her first year of the business. “I have learned that you can’t make everyone happy, no matter how hard you work and to go with your gut, because saying “No” every once in a while can be a good thing!” She also mentioned that the entire process has been nothing short of a major learning experience and she feels that it will continue to be that way. In regards to her future, Nicole said “I would love to open a physical store! I’ve joked about opening the first one in Morgantown, but I think we need to grow a little bit more before we go in that direction! My ultimate goal is to become a top “preppy style” brand that can be found all over.”
All in all, Nicole is someone I strive to be in the future. A real go getter who tells herself that the sky is the limit for where this business can go in the future. I can definitely see this brand skyrocketing in no time.
