FedEx Awards Artisanal Leather Shop Small Business Grant
April 21 2015 - 03:22PM
Business Wire
Asheville, North Carolina-based ‘In Blue
Handmade’ wins third-annual grant contest
FedEx announced today that In Blue Handmade—a boutique maker of
handmade leather products—is the grand prize winner of its third
annual FedEx Small Business Grant Contest. Based in Asheville,
North Carolina, In Blue will receive a $25,000 grant to invest in
new tools and upgrade its studio, allowing the small team to
fulfill larger contracts and meet growing demand.
FedEx awards small business grant to
Asheville-based artisanal leather shop, In Blue Handmade. (Photo:
Business Wire)
“This year it was very inspiring to see such a depth of
tenacious and talented entrepreneurs from a variety of industries
entering the FedEx Small Business Grant Contest,” said Becky
Huling, vice president of Customer Engagement Marketing. “Every day
we are introduced to more small businesses that are seeking support
to grow their enterprise by reaching new customers.”
In Blue is an artisanal leather shop run by a small team of ten.
Each day, the team hand-cuts, sews and individually prints custom
leather goods, including notebooks, tote bags, guitar straps and
more from a converted warehouse studio in Asheville. Beginning with
just two hands and a sewing machine in 2008, owner Mary Lynn
Schroeder has since expanded her team of “leather working
magicians” and grown her business to achieve over $500,000 in sales
annually.
“Winning the FedEx Small Business Grant Contest is a huge boost
for In Blue Handmade,” said Schroeder. “We’ll be using this money
to upgrade In Blue’s studio and invest in new tools. This will
allow us to diversify our product line and drive further growth for
the business.”
In addition to the $25,000 grand prize, FedEx awarded one
$10,000 grant and eight $5,000 grants:
- AnaOno, $10K winner (Philadelphia,
PA)
- Fortified Bicycle (Boston, MA)
- Guerilla Beekeepers (Santa Ana,
CA)
- Knerd Shop (Castle Rock, CO)
- Monsters in My Head (Jersey City,
NJ)
- Nested Bean (Hudson, MA)
- Nowear Extreme Rider (Unadilla,
NE)
- Paleo Treats (San Diego, CA)
- Shark Wheel (Lake Forest, CA)
The FedEx Small Business Grant Contest offers significant
opportunity for small businesses across the United States to share
their inspirational stories and achieve national recognition while
simultaneously rallying support from local communities to grow
their businesses.
FedEx. Solutions that Matter.® for Small
Businesses
The FedEx portfolio of services allows small businesses to gain
access to the global marketplace and to shipping, logistics and
printing solutions. FedEx has recently introduced two new options
that make shipping even easier for small business customers,
including:
- FedEx One Rate®, a U.S.-based flat-rate shipping option that
combines simplified, predictable pricing with the same reliable
delivery and excellent service customers expect from FedEx.
- FedEx Delivery Manager®, allowing U.S. package recipients to customize
home deliveries to fit their schedule.
For more information on how FedEx helps small businesses, please
visit the FedEx Small Business Center at
fedex.com/us/small-business.
About FedEx Corp.
FedEx Corp. (NYSE: FDX) provides customers and businesses
worldwide with a broad portfolio of transportation, e-commerce and
business services. With annual revenues of $47 billion, the company
offers integrated business applications through operating companies
competing collectively and managed collaboratively, under the
respected FedEx brand. Consistently ranked among the world’s most
admired and trusted employers, FedEx inspires its more than 325,000
team members to remain “absolutely, positively” focused on safety,
the highest ethical and professional standards and the needs of
their customers and communities. For more information, visit
news.fedex.com.
Photos/Multimedia Gallery Available:
http://www.businesswire.com/multimedia/home/20150421006675/en/
FedEx Media RelationsGretchen Mathis,
901-434-5701gretchen.mathis@fedex.com
FedEx (NYSE:FDX)
Historical Stock Chart
From Feb 2024 to Mar 2024
FedEx (NYSE:FDX)
Historical Stock Chart
From Mar 2023 to Mar 2024