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MEMBER NEWS HIGHLIGHT:
Threads of hope in the hospital
BRIDGEWATER -- It's bad enough to have cancer and endure chemotherapy and radiation treatments, but do you have to be humiliated, too?
That's what Margaret Feodoroff was thinking as she shivered in a flimsy, backless hospital johnny awaiting radiation treatment in the basement of Massachusetts General Hospital in the summer of 2002.
The thought passed; Feodoroff had other things to worry about, like her fight against melanoma. But four months later, when her sister Claire Goodhue of San Francisco was diagnosed with colon cancer, Feodoroff was motivated anew and began to create the line of fashionable hospital johnnies she calls Healing Threads.
''Studies have shown that when you feel that you look good, you get better quicker," said Feodoroff, 56, as she surveyed her office and warehouse in Bridgewater.
Healing Threads creations -- which have won favorable reviews in Women's Wear Daily and other major media outlets -- have little in common with the traditional thin and backless hospital johnny. Made of soft microfiber for comfort and warmth, the clothing is equipped with hook and loop closures and panels that can be easily opened by physicians. Some have mandarin collars and kimono-style sleeves. There are robe-length garments for those who prefer maximum coverage and a wrap-around style.
''The wrap comes with a belt that can be tied around the waist," said Feodoroff. ''We've found that women who are going through breast cancer like to emphasize their waist. It makes them feel more feminine."
The line also includes breakaway pants and tops that have interior pockets for drainage bags. Some have outside pockets, ''so you can keep your hands warm, or hug yourself," said Feodoroff.
The clothes come in coordinating and basic colors that allow the pants and jackets to be mixed and matched. ''So you don't look like you're wearing a uniform," she said.
''One client said she was going to wear it out to dinner," said Feodoroff, who designed the clothes with the idea that they would be worn from home to hospital.
Feodoroff wore one to a regular visit with her oncologist, Dr. F. Stephen Hodi at Dana-Farber Cancer Institute, and got a good review. ''Patients are on an emotional roller coaster and feel vulnerable enough, and some are bothered by the johnny," Hodi said recently. ''Hers looked like a fashionable garment, and it was easy to examine her, too."
Feodoroff's company has come a long way since its inception. Feodoroff says she remembers well that first visit to Mass. General. ''I thought I was just going to scoot in and scoot out, 20 minutes tops," she said. But the visit dragged on for two hours, and she was freezing in the flimsy hospital johnny.
''There was a gentleman there I will never forget," she said. ''He had white hair and was wearing a johnny, wingtip shoes, and socks. He was constantly pulling at his johnny to keep it closed. He looked like a judge, and he looked completely humiliated."
Feodoroff is not a clothing designer. For more than 25 years she owned and operated Inspired Interiors, an interior decorating firm.
''I wanted to try something new, " she said, ''and I always wanted to go into business with my sisters." So she started the business with Claire, the one with colon cancer, and her other sibling, Patty Goodhue O'Brien of Atlanta. Thus the company's name: Spirited Sisters Inc.
In 2004, with the help of a design student at Massachusetts College of Art, she completed her first prototype, and she quickly learned that it is one thing to have a good idea and quite another to make it commercially viable. She showed the prototype to the members of a small-business group to which she belongs. ''They said the concept was great but the execution was lacking," she said.
Then came a break that Feodoroff called ''kismet-y."
Her business broker put her in touch with David Norris of Osterville, a client who had recently sold his apparel business.
''I was bored and I had all this knowledge and I wanted to make something that mattered," Norris said. ''When I saw the prototype, I said, 'We've got to do this.' "
Norris suggested changes in the design that made it easier to manufacture. The patterns are cut in Brockton and assembled in East Boston from material made in the South.
''Everything is made in the USA," said Norris.
Feodoroff's son Matthew came aboard to handle the company's website and Internet presence. ''The line is not just for cancer patients," he points out. ''There are many applications for patients with orthopedic problems and other ailments."
The business was put on hold while Feodoroff's sister, Claire, fought -- and lost -- her battle with colon cancer. She died earlier this year, leaving behind an 8-year-old daughter.
''She fought a fabulous fight for three years," said Feodoroff, who has set up a foundation in her sister's name. Three percent of proceeds from Healing Threads will benefit the Claire Foundation to help single mothers maintain their lifestyles while battling cancer.
Feodoroff is now able to give Healing Threads her full attention. The company has more than 2,000 garments ready to ship, and she said she expects to do about $1 million in sales her first year.
''We're pursuing a typical Internet sales strategy, " said Norris. ''We have product, we're prepared to ship, and, once word gets out, it's a natural."
Healing Threads prices range from $50 to $160. All are available on the company's website, www.spirited-sisters.com.
