Chilly Jilly Heats Up
A Pocketful of Warmth
September 26, 2008
By Hope Keller and Nan Heneson
Photography by Bryan Burris
Chilly Jilly founder Jill Boehler (left) with her associateCharlie Belmore.
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Jill Boehler can’t stand the freezing blast of air conditioning on warm evenings. Before, when she and her husband went out to eat, she invariably wound up wearing his suit jacket over her dress and a napkin around her neck — and running outside between courses to warm up.
“I used to be an obnoxious restaurant person,” she says.
What happened? Simple. Boehler had a good idea and turned it into reality. Today Boehler, 56, a former audiologist and speech therapist, is the founder and president of Chilly Jilly LLC. The company — for now — makes only one item: a warm, lightweight, wrinkle-proof wrap that, folded up, fits into a woman’s purse; open, it serves as a shawl.
The microfiber wrap, which comes in several styles and colors, has been a hit with women around the world. Boehler and the Chilly Jilly were featured twice on The Big Idea, a CNBC business program, and she has also shown off her wares on the QVC shopping channel.
In the first 18 months since the wrap became available, $300,000 worth were sold. “It grew very, very quickly,” Boehler says of her Phoenix-based business.
The Maryland-made Chilly Jilly is sold in 160 boutiques in 30 states and in Ireland, England, Israel and Canada.
Boehler, who shares an office with colleague and pal Charlie Belmore, says she’s always been a font of ideas. But in the past she never acted on them. This time, when she started dreaming out loud about what is now the Chilly Jilly, one of her children laid down a dare: Mom, for once just do it.
So she did. Through the Internet she found a manufacturer in Hanover. She had a few wraps created and started making the rounds of local shops. “I just drove, drove, drove,” she says. “I called stores randomly.”
She chose well. Local high-end shops Vasari, Trillium and Box of Rain were among the first to stock the Chilly Jilly. “They were very, very good to me at the beginning,” Boehler says.
Soon she was too busy to continue her career. “Chilly Jilly is full time,” she says.
Boehler also joined a local chapter of Ladies Who Launch, a national networking group for entrepreneurs (www.ladieswholaunch.com). “Women are willing to help women,” she says. “I have appreciated other women a lot more since I’ve done this.”
Her appreciation of Baltimore has also deepened. A Brooklyn, New York, native who came to Maryland from Massachusetts, Boehler sings Charm City’s praises. “I feel Baltimore is the reason the product made it,” she says.
For information: www.chillyjilly.com
My Girl Friday
Even wives need a wife — or such is the experience of Beth Adams and Susan English, co-owners of My Girl Friday, a personal concierge service that does everything for the harried householder, from hitting the grocery store, pharmacy or post office to waiting for the cable guy or finding contractors.
“As long as it’s legal and we can do it, we do it,” Adams says. “And if not we find somebody who can do it.”
My Girl Friday’s clients include working parents, senior citizens, new mothers and people who need help while recovering from illness or surgery. Who can afford a concierge in this economy, you ask? Well, think about the value of your time — hours that could be spent with your family and friends instead of fretting over clutter or waiting for the plumber.
A couple of other benefits: With My Girl Friday, there’s no impulse buying. And just think of the jobs you can avoid: Do you really want to clean that nasty basement?
For information: Susan English, mgfb...@aol.com; Beth Adams, 410-236-2097
Plan It Perfect
If you think an eco-friendly wedding means the bride wore hemp and served granola, you’ll be pleasantly surprised by Plan It Perfect, the brainchild of wedding consultant and event planner Cate Buscher. Plan It Perfect custom designs events and puts a special emphasis on the three Rs of environmental awareness: Reduce, Recycle, Reuse.
When she worked as an actress and attended events in New York, Buscher was struck by the amount of waste she saw. “In one hour, dozens of cocktail napkins get thrown away, along with bottles and cans,” she says. “In one hour you can do a lot of damage.”
Buscher offers things like wildflower seed-embedded paper, linen napkins and organic and locally grown food. When she started her business three years ago, Buscher found that Baltimoreans, especially those bound for the altar, were a bit of a hard sell. “[They] thought I was one of those people who live in the forest,” she says. But she sees the green concept catching on here: “It used to be, ‘Oh great, we have a tree hugger on our hands,’ but now they’re intrigued.”
For information: www.planitperfect.com; Cate Buscher, 410-685-4765
