Motherhood is a beautiful thing. For friends Lauren Woodworth and Chandler Lettin, it became even more profound when they realized they’d have their first children just days apart from each other.
As the pair's pregnancies progressed and they learned more about the maternity world, the only clothes they could find were boring and disappointing. Though they were about to be mothers, the last thing the two wanted to feel during their pregnancy was matronly.
“Picture going into a store to get a new bra because you're growing, but it's like nothing you've ever seen before,” Lettin said. “It's like a sea of beige and frumpy, huge tons of fabric, and you’re like ‘Well, this isn't where I was before.’”
Woodworth and Lettin tried to continue wearing the clothes they loved, like patterned sports bras, but they either didn’t work with nursing or just ended up getting stretched out. These issues inspired the two to create Avyn, a company that specializes in making new mothers feel comfortable in their bras.
Avyn’s bras have easy pull-aside access to allow for easier nursing and lack an underwire to ensure maximum comfort. They also are hyper-stretchy and have removable cups to allow for customization. The items are also available in many different patterns to allow new moms to still feel sexy and fun.
“After many years of designing, sampling and revising the samples, we found what we thought worked and we think they're really empowering for women,” Woodworth said. “They empower you to be active and to move and enjoy the great outdoors, and not change your bra for every activity that you're doing.”
The brand launched in 2019, and neither Woodworth or Lettin had any experience working on a startup. While they learned a lot of lessons along the way, none served them better than to learn to trust their gut.
Because they lacked experience, the two hired a design agency early on to help with their bras’ aesthetic and branding. Though she said they learned a lot from the experience, Lettin, a graphic designer by day, said they probably could have saved money and gone without it.
“While we did learn a lot and it did add a level of organization and professionalism to our designs, we didn't need it,” Lettin said. “Trusting the process is hard because as an entrepreneur, you want legitimacy from somebody who knows what they're doing.”
Since launch, Avyn has logged a 35% steady increase in gross sales, attended several trade shoes and recently began wholesaling. The company was also recently accepted into Title Nine’s Outdoor Pitchfest in California this fall.
The future of Avyn lies in finding more sustainable fabrics and expanding their sizes. Woodworth and Lettin want their products to be available to all, but making bigger sizes takes more than just bumping up the inches. The design must be completely altered given how different bigger and smaller bodies are from each other, they said.
“Long term though, I would really love to have a holistic women's wellness brand,” Lettin said.
OWNERS: Lauren Woodworth and Chandler Lettin
WHAT IT DOES: Makes fashionable and functional maternity bras
FOUNDED: 2019
GROWTH: Avyn has recorded a 35% steady increase in gross sales since launch, quadrupled the number of boutique retail partners and generated a 20%-plus returning customer rate
