Lachlynn Golder is a junior at Madison High School who won the school’s Business Pitch Competition with her creative business venture “Lachlynn’s Closet.” Her business focuses on upcycling old quilts and blankets and turning them into fashionable hoodies and crew necks.
Golder has great confidence and passion for her work. Winning the Business Pitch Competition was a great moment of validation for all her efforts to turn something some might see as a hobby into a profitable business
“It feels really good [to have won the competition] because at first whenever I started, I felt like it was just a little silly thing. [It] is something that I love doing, but I never thought it would be something to [this] scale, so it feels really exciting and [good],” Lachlynn said.
The experience of presenting her business to a panel of judges was both nerve-wracking and exhilarating for Golder. She drew from her prior participation in Business Professionals of America (BPA) and was able to navigate all the challenges she faced.
Lachlynn’s Closet is an innovative approach to fashion. Golder credits the idea from a time where she wanted to repurpose one of her old quilts into a hoodie, eventually turning the idea into her business.
She has a meticulous process when it comes to selecting the right fabrics that are both aesthetically pleasing and practical for sewing. She chooses materials with interesting patterns and tries to cater to unique styles instead of doing plain colors.
Looking ahead, Golder envisions expanding Lachlynn’s Closet by diversifying the product lines to include quilted bags and shorts. She will participate in a local farmers market where it will help her reach new customers along with the ones she has on Instagram and Etsy.
Golder emphasized the importance of never giving up and believing in oneself when it comes to trying something new. If you are interested in seeing her work or making an order, you can find her on Instagram at lachlyyns_closet.