Interview with: Pillowcasegram

Meet the Mom Behind Pillowcasegram!

Who is Pillowcasegram? Where are you located?
My name is Lesley Rackowski. I am in my fifties, but feel like I'm 29. My husband and I have been married for 32 years, and we have two sons, two dogs, and a cat. I am located in Westfield, New York. Westfield is in the southwest corner of New York State, 8 hours from New York City. Sometimes when I say I live in NY, people just assume I live by New York City, but we are as far away as you can get from NYC and still be in the state. We moved here from the Washington, D.C. area two years ago to get away from the rat race. We own a 30-acre farm, which has 12 acres of Concord grapes on it.


How did you come up with your business name?
Well, pillowcase is, of course, the easy part, since it is about pillowcases. At the time I was coming up with the name, I happened to read an article about how Western Union was not going to be sending telegrams any more. So since I include the sender's personal message with each pillowcase, I thought, "Hey, why don't I call it Pillowcasegram." The messages that people send are on a "telegram."

When and why did you decide to start your own business?
I have actually been a WAHM for 22 years. When my first son was born, I started transcribing at home. I really wanted to stay home with my children. Twenty-two years ago, working at home was almost unheard of. Personal computers were just starting to come out then. When my husband brought home our first PC, I asked him, "What in the world are we going to do with that?" Well, it enabled me to stay at home and work as a transcriber. I still do that occasionally. About a year ago I decided to get into something new. I love to sew. My friends loved getting my pillowcases as gifts. So I thought I would start a business sending pillowcases in the mail.


What motivates you to keep your business going?
I love it. I love being in business and working for myself. It's not easy sometimes, but I find it exciting.


Do you have a particular product that's a best seller on your site?
Believe it or not, my most popular pillowcase is the camouflage one. The men love it. My other most popular ones are the sports themes. I can put a photo on a pillowcase that makes a nice remembrance for someone. I can work with my customer to make any pillowcase a unique gift for whomever they are sending it to.

How do you advertise your business? Which methods proved successful/effective?
Word of mouth has been best. I put my business cards and brochures wherever I can, i.e., restaurants, stores, banks. I talk about it a lot. When I meet someone new and they ask what I do, "I custom-make pillowcases for gifts." I also do local craft shows, which allows me to meet a lot of people.


How do you juggle family and work at home?
I raised my family (my husband, too) to realize that I have a life, too. That I have things I love to do and that I want to do, and that I'm not here just to serve them. I also don't worry about having a perfectly clean house. Our house is lived in. When my kids were very young, I would work during their naps and also in the evening. I am very fortunate that my husband is very supportive. When he came home from work, we would have dinner, and then he would watch the kids while I worked. To me, it was the same thing as if I worked on a night shift, like a nurse might do. But I was lucky and could take a break and go play with the kids a few minutes, and then go back to work in my office.

What advice would you give to moms seeking to become a WAHM?
You can take almost anything you like to do and turn it into a business at home. If you like to cook -- catering. If you love animals -- walking dogs. If you love to write -- a writing service. If you love to scrapbook -- make scrapbooks for people who are too busy to do it themselves. I just took what I love -- sewing -- and turned it into this business, Pillowcasegram.


Visit Pillowcasegram at: www.pillowcasegram.com and at www.pillowcasetalk.blogspot.com

Current promotions/specials at Pillowcasegram:
If someone mentions this interview with an order, I will send them a free fabric gift bag. That is my "going green" promotion. Fabric gift bags don't waste paper, and the recipient can use them for something else.


Anything else you'd like to add about Pillowcasegram or about being a WAHM in general?
I love being a WAHM. My kids are now 17 and 22 and I could go back into an office, if I wanted. But I love working at home so much, that I decided to continue even though they are older. My kids also love having me home. When they were older and would come home from school, and I wasn't there, they'd call me, "Where are you? When are you coming home?" Right now, my 22-year-old is in college, and I now homeschool my 17-year-old. The funny part is, though, that we are hardly at home. We find so much to do. So that is one thing you do have to do when you work at home -- make sure you balance your time so you do have time to work.