Schenectady student has stable business in horse trade

Taylor Cuomo's company is going global.

The 14-year-old student at Notre Dame-Bishop Gibbons School in Schenectady is the proprietor of "T's Totes," a tote bag company that focuses on making sturdy bags for horse riders to carry their equipment to and from the stable.

"We're going international," she said. "I have a bag I'm making that's going to Germany."
Taylor didn't intend to go into business. She rides horses and has a lot of equipment to cart to and from the stable. She needed a way to carry her helmet, horse brushes and boots.

"I've always been a sewer," she explained; "so I threw a bag together."

I'll take one
People at the stable saw her bag and began requesting their own. Soon, people at school saw her bag and also began commissioning bags. Last fall, people began requesting bags to give as gifts, so she put up flyers around town, the stable, and her school.

Over the past year, she has made 40 bags. Her business venture was featured in a recent edition of "American Girl Magazine." A local floral and gift shop also carries the bags.

Each bag is custom-made of sturdy upholstery fabric. Currently, she is working on one that will feature the Flint House, a historical home in Schenectady County. She has also made bags with horses and pictures of people's pets quilted on them, bags that feature the Chinese symbol for luck, bags with Celtic symbols, and one with a picture of a client's summer camp.

It takes Taylor two hours to complete a bag once it is designed. She speaks with her clients prior to designing the bag to get an idea of colors and interests. She also has them fill out a form so she can keep all of the information on her clients in one place.

On the grow
While her first bags were sold to other horse enthusiasts, her client base has grown to librarians, teachers and other students, she said. Her ten-year-old brother, who is a hockey player, recently requested a bag for his hockey gear.

The bags range in price from $20 to $30 depending on the amount of personalization and details, Taylor said.

She invests part of her pro-fits back into the business so she can buy fabric and sewing no-tions. The rest of the money is her spending money and savings.

Being featured in a national magazine was a somewhat unexpected experience for the student. In one issue, the magazine had asked readers how they earn spending money; Taylor sent in a letter with her answer, thinking the letter might appear in the magazine or possibly she would be quoted.

She was surprised to get a phone call from the magazine asking for an interview. She was asked to send in a few of her bags, and her mother had to take pictures of her with a disposable camera that was sent to the magazine.

"It was cool to be in an actual magazine," she said of the resulting feature story. "Friends of my mother's bought lots of copies and were so excited."

Taylor advises other young people who would like to start their own business to use their talents.

"Find something you're good at and work from there," she said.

Despite her interest in sewing and design, Taylor's plans for the future don't include fashion. "I'd like to be a veterinary surgeon," she said. "I've helped take care of neighbors' cows, cats and pigs, and of course I love horses."

More hobbies
all sewn up
In addition to making bags and riding horses, Taylor is a member of the ND-BG Quilt Club. The club makes quilts and donates them to area nursing homes. Because she has experience sewing, she is available to help other members of the club who have never sewn before.

She is also a member of the school's Olympics of the Visual Arts team. Schools from across New York State compete in the event annually.

Last year, she placed fourth in the "paper fashion" category. She had to make an outfit out of paper and wear it.

She used several types of paper for the outfit, including tissue paper, and she made shoes out of cardboard. She was pleased with winning fourth place, as she worked alone and those she competed against worked in groups. (MM)

(11/13/08)