Construction Gear for Women

Who says you can’t look good to work hard? Not Marissa McTasney. The Brooklin entrepreneur has successfully launched a line of women’s construction gear in female-friendly pinks, blues, reds and greens.

When Marissa McTasney decided to enter the skilled trades, the first thing she needed was a pair of steel-toed work boots. Dissatisfied with the assortment of mundane tans and blacks, she tracked down a sales manager to enquire,
“Where are the pink boots?”

“I get asked that all the time,” was the sales manager’s reply.

So why, thought McTasney, isn’t someone selling them? The savvy entrepreneur quickly capitalized on what she perceived as a hole in the marketplace by introducing a line of women’s construction gear.

She persevered with her pursuit of pink. She discovered a company in China that would deliver what she wanted. They sent her a picture, and she ordered 30 pairs.

She added baby blue, red and hunter green to the colour spectrum and broadened the line to include colour-coordinated hardhats, tool belts, safety glasses and formfitting, cap-sleeved T-shirts designed for a woman’s figure. She branded her line Tomboy Trades, and stamped them with a slick ‘girl-power’ logo of tool-toting women.

Now she had a product line. All she needed to figure out was how to get them on the market.

McTasney had run into Annette Verschuren, president of Home Depot, at a Women of Excellence luncheon. Verschuren, a dynamic female president heading a male-dominated business would make an ideal mentor, she thought. With typical persistence and determination, McTasney set about meeting with her to discuss her innovative idea.

She packaged up an attention-grabbing gift box to introduce Verschuren to her product line. In it was a pair of work boots, just Verschuren’s size, a hardhat, tool belt, T-shirt and safety glasses – in pink, of course – all in a galvanized bucket gussied up with fresh flowers and cupcakes.

Luck was on her side. The day the gift basket arrived, Verschuren was slated to appear at a playground build, one of thousands of goodwill projects sponsored by Home Depot. As the saying goes, if the shoe fits … And it did.
“She wore the boots all day long. She said they were the most comfortable boots she's ever had on,” McTasney says with pride.

Home Depot inked a deal to distribute Tomboy Trades products online. The boots retail for $99; the other products are all priced under $25. They’re flying off Home Depot’s shelves, fueled by word-of-mouth and media attention, and are quickly becoming a standout success with women in the trades.

“This is a great boot at the right price and women just love the pink. The style has been around for years because it’s a comfortable fit and a well-made boot. As a result, I’m able to keep the cost down.

“We’re looking at designing other boots as well. There’s a running shoe style, very lightweight, that’s very comfortable for people who need steel-toed boots, but don’t require such a rugged style. We’ve also added a tan and black product line called Tough Trades; it’s a men’s line specifically for Home Depot.”

An August newspaper article featuring the trademark pink boots prompted a call from Jason Britt, store manager for Zellers Shoppers World Brampton.
“He said, ‘I want everything – let’s figure out an order.’ It was one of those calls you just die for, right?”

They met a snag: Britt’s order wouldn’t fulfill McTasney’s order minimums with China. The enterprising McTasney asked, “Could you get me into any more stores?”

Before too long, 16 Zellers stores, including the Oshawa Centre, Bowmanville and Lindsay locations, made room on their shelves for a line of pretty work wear with girl appeal – just in time for Christmas.

“We’re now talking about going national with Zellers and HBC. Wal-Mart is also signing on. It’s been a real whirlwind.”

The company’s success and expanded market has meant a recent move into office and warehouse space. It was about time.

“On Friday night, I literally had three taxi drivers going – two doing deliveries and one dropping stuff off – and a tractor-trailer backing into my driveway!”
Who’d have ever guessed the power of a pink work boot?

“I’ve been getting 10 to 15 e-mails a day. Everyone’s so excited. They’re sending me photos of themselves. They’re saying, ‘I’ve been wearing men’s boots for 30 years and I’ve wanted pink boots forever!’ They just want to say, ‘Thanks!’”

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