It’s safe to say that Adrienne Ferguson, a wreath designer and our NJMOMpreneur of the Week, owes the existence of her business to the pandemic. During Christmas 2020, she was laid off from her retail job, and using leftover Christmas tree branches, she made a wreath with found pinecones. Friends asked her to make more, and soon she began selling them on Facebook Marketplace. After a few trips to the craft store and with ideas for making wreaths for any season, Adrienne decided to go all in, opening an Etsy shop, Kendall Cole Home. Now, creating modern farmhouse wreaths from her home is her full-time business, and she’s found a loyal customer base who frequent her shop to freshen up their decor with the change of seasons. We chatted with this Westampton mama of three to discover the benefit of being a night owl, what’s next for Kendall Cole Home, and the South Jersey coffee shop that’s almost like a museum.
Please tell us about your family and the town you live in. My husband Brian and I live in Westampton with our three children, Logan, 11, Kendall, 9, and Colin, 4. I love Westampton—it has a small-town feel even though almost 10,000 people call it home. I can be as involved as I choose to be in the schools through volunteering, and it’s really beautiful with a lot of open land and horse farms.
How has your career background helped you now that you do your own thing? I went to Indiana University, where I majored in Apparel Merchandising and minored in Business Management. I had a job in store management for years before Logan was born and then went back part-time as a supervisor afterward at Victoria’s Secret. Early in the pandemic, I was furloughed and eventually let go because they shut down the store. I’ve always had a business mindset, and my experience of working the front-room and back-room in retail, handling customer service and money matters, taught me what I needed to know to run Kendall Cole Home.
What is the best thing about owning this particular business? I get to be creative, and it’s so rewarding to know that what I make will be the first impression of someone else’s home.
What is the most challenging thing about running your business? Balancing family time can be tricky because, first and foremost, I’m a mom and a wife. My business is very important to me, too, so I’m fortunate that my husband is very supportive and gives me the time I need to get it all done. He keeps the kids busy when he’s home, and I need to work. I’m a one-woman show doing everything from design to marketing to shipping, billing, and everything else, so I have a lot of very late nights. Thankfully I’m a night owl by nature.
How does your family get involved in your business? My husband could not be more supportive, keeping the kids engaged when I need extra time to get work done, but he’s also very active in the community and keeps an eye out for upcoming events that might be a good fit for my business. I named my company after my daughter because she’s creative, too. Right now, she particularly enjoys coloring, drawing, and painting. Colin, my 4-year-old, loves to explore nature, and he helps me find pinecones and other natural elements that I can use in my wreaths. And Logan, my oldest, is very supportive when I need time to box things up for shipping—he’s the ultimate babysitter for my youngest.
What hobbies do you enjoy in your downtime? I love tinkering in the yard and almost consider my plants and shrubs my 4th child! I’m passionate about gardening, and that knowledge of greenery and florals has helped me in wreath making by inspiring me to come up with ideas that I’ve seen or would like to see in nature.
What do you hope your children learn from seeing you as an entrepreneur? I hope they know that you should dive in and go for it if you have an idea and are passionate about it. It’s so rewarding to do something that you love, and that other people appreciate and love, too.
What’s next for Kendall Cole Home? I’m excited that I’ll be one of the monthly vendors at Rancocas Woods Craft and Antique Show, where they have an eclectic mix of unique goods for sale and lots of different events happening throughout the year.
What are some of your favorite things to do in NJ with your family? Our kids have summer birthdays, we love being outside, and we have a pool, so we spend most of our summer in our backyard with our friends and family. We love the shore for the beach and the boardwalk when we venture out. Island Beach State Park is a favorite because it’s such a pure, natural beach and serene. And there are so many small, great towns in our state so as a family we like to get in the car and go on an adventure visiting other local towns. We’ll explore and have ice cream and go to outdoor markets, craft shows, and street fairs.
What are some of your favorite NJ businesses? The Colonial Café in Mount Holly is the cutest coffee shop. It’s located in a house from the 1700s filled with historical items, and I love how it feels like a mini-museum. But, décor aside, they make the best coffee and switch things up flavor-wise depending on the seasons, plus their lemon and dill cream cheese and their breakfast sandwiches are so good. I’m also a big fan of Greentop Gardens in Columbus Flea Market. I love being around plants, flowers, and nature, so I wander a bit and always find something I can add to my yard. And Sapphire Salon in Cherry Hill has been my go-to for almost a decade. I like switching my hair color up—from platinum to violet to grey–and the owner is fantastic with color. During the pandemic, when people couldn’t go to a salon, she made these color kits and would drop them off at your home so that you could do it yourself. It helped keep her in business, making her clients very happy.
What is your best advice for an NJMOMpreneur just starting? Know who your customer is and always have them in mind. And, the business won’t come to you, so you need to go out there and get it. Have a social media presence—it’s the best way to market yourself.
For more information on Adrienne Ferguson and Kendall Cole Home, please see their Etsy shop, Pinterest, Instagram, and Facebook pages.
