Needlepoint fad began when a girl wanted to impress a boy
In the never-ending quest for that perfect guy gift, a small company in Bethesda, Maryland, has cornered a niche market of male preppy chic: needlepoint belts. In fact, it’s fair to say that Smathers & Branson is the world’s pre-eminent men’s needlepoint accessories brand. If that’s your thing.
It’s a U.S. presidential thing: George H.W. Bush and Bill Clinton have both been spotted wearing the company’s American flag belt. And a sports thing: Peyton and Eli Manning have needlepoint belts bearing the logos of their alma maters. And a hobby thing, because for some people, sailing or golfing or Christmas movies aren’t a complete experience unless there’s a needlepoint version wrapped around their waist.
Call it traditional, WASPy, classic or tongue-in-cheek, but it’s working. The 10-year-old company is featured in 1,500 stores, including J. Crew and Nordstrom.
On a recent day, the Bethesda offices in an unassuming strip mall are empty. All the employees, including official dog greeter Moose, are two floors below, in the warehouse, furiously packing belts, wallets, hats, flasks, key fobs and other needlepoint adornments to arrive before Christmas Eve.
It all began, as so many things do, because a girl wanted to impress a boy.
The company started at Bowdoin College in Maine, where Austin Branson and Peter Smathers Carter were roommates. Austin, 34, grew up in Bethesda and went to St. Albans; Peter, 33, attended Deerfield Academy in Massachusetts before returning to his native Maine.
It really started in Italy, where Austin fell in love during the fall of his junior year. His girlfriend, a fellow exchange student, made him a needlepoint belt for his 21st birthday: little pink elephants drinking martinis and his initials. He thought it was sweet but didn’t really get the significance of the gesture.
“It meant nothing to me at the time,” he says, sitting in his decidedly modest office. “I dutifully wore it.”
Turns out that among a certain set, handmade needlepoint belts are a sign of a serious relationship, like exchanging class rings or other tokens of love. One belt can take 4050 hours to stitch, then has to be sent away to be completed.
With the parts and assembly, the cost runs up to $300 — a considerable investment for a college student. (They’re also known as “breakup belts,” because so many relationships end before the belt is finished.)
Austin just wanted to keep his girlfriend happy and wore the belt around campus where, to his surprise, he received a lot of compliments. A few months later, Peter received a handmade belt with sailboats from the girl he was dating.
The two friends started brainstorming: Nothing similar was available in stores. What if they could get the price down and customers didn’t have to wait six months? A business was born. The first year they sold 1,000 belts, mostly by driving up and down the east coast and walking into small men’s stores wearing their product. The business grew slowly, expanding to key fobs, wallets, flasks, dog collars, hats and pillows, introducing about a dozen new designs each season.
They’re not sure how Clinton got one, but he has been spotted wearing it a few times, most notably at an Obama rally with Bruce Springsteen.
Hand-stitched needlepoint doesn’t come cheap: Belts retail for $165, wallets for $115, flasks for $65, all U. S. dollars. Last year they sold 250,000 belts and other accessories.
Lest you question the power of the needlepoint belt, remember the girl who made that first one for Austin?
He married her.