Hawaii WBE Feature – The Aloha Spirit: An Impactful Journey in Sustainable Fashion

Intro: Broadcasting live from the Business RadioX studios. It’s time for Women in Motion. Brought to you by WBEC West. Join forces. Succeed together. Now here’s your host.

Lee Kantor: Lee Kantor here, another episode of Women in Motion and this is going to be a good one. But before we get started, it’s important to recognize our sponsor, WBEC West. Without them, we couldn’t be sharing these important stories. Today on the show, we have Cora Spearman with Coradorables, a sustainable corporation, and Cora Spearman, Hawaii. Welcome.

Cora Spearman: Aloha. How are you?

Lee Kantor: Lee, I am doing well. Before we get too far into things, can you tell us a little bit about Coradorables? How are you serving folks?

Cora Spearman: Coradorables, we are Hawaii’s first ever B-corporation product based b-corporation. We are 100% made and sourced here in Honolulu, Hawaii. Manufactured here in Honolulu, Hawaii. And when people buy corridor bulls, they’re helping to support over 30 locally owned, mostly female run and founded organizations. Whether it be our cutters, our sewers, our pattern makers, our graphic designers, etc., etc. they’re all mostly women owned companies. And so we make everything right here in Honolulu, Hawaii. We are what is considered mid-century modern contemporary luxury resort wear, and we are excited about all the different clients that we partner with. We started off as a direct to consumer company online, and we moved now more into wholesaling. And so we have partners like the Four Seasons, the Fairmont Resorts, Bloomingdale’s and now Celebrity Cruise Lines.

Lee Kantor: So what’s your backstory? How did you get involved in this line of work?

Cora Spearman: Oh backstory. Oh. Origin story. Okay, where do we start? I think, um, like most entrepreneurs, we always say that our our businesses are baby. And like any baby, um, my business was oddly born in a hospital, you know, and it was born, um, actually, during the time when I was battling head, neck and brain cancer. And I wanted a healthy distraction from the cancer, I had to close my 2500 square foot retail stores here that we had here in Hawaii, and they no longer could handle my cancer here in Hawaii. So I had to go to Baltimore, Maryland, um, at Johns Hopkins Medical Center. And so while I was in the hospital there, um, the doctors and nurses became my first test market. And they are still my clients to this day. Um, so that was kind of how corridor was was born.

Lee Kantor: So you were you had a retail store selling clothing.

Cora Spearman: Oh, we we had a gift store. So yes, we sold clothing and gift items.

Lee Kantor: And then were you designing at that point or you were reselling other people’s things?

Cora Spearman: No, I wasn’t designing at that point. I was actually selling other woman owned, uh, products. So Mirabel chocolates for 79 popcorn. I was sourcing other, um, what would be, uh, back then? Um, we didn’t know about webbank, but, um, what would be considered a webbank? Um, companies that were women owned, certified women owned companies.

Lee Kantor: So that has always been part of your history even prior to this adventure.

Cora Spearman: Oh, prior to Coradorables? Yes. I’ve always very much supported not just local, but also supported woman owned. Um, for sure.

Lee Kantor: So then when you, uh, came back to Hawaii, um, then this idea kind of was germinating and then you were like, okay, let’s start kind of making this happen.

Cora Spearman: Well, yeah. Um, so, like the doctors and nurses I was designing, but then I was also taking samples and products to local children’s stores there. Um, in, um, Towson, I believe Maryland. And I must have looked absolutely crazy walking in with bandages on, um, all over my face because I was undergoing, um, extreme radiation at the time and multiple facial reconstructive surgeries. Um, but like I said, I was focused and determined to start something new and something exciting. I hadn’t had kids yet. Um, I wanted to have children. And, um, I knew that there was a void in the marketplace for, um, high end, um, children’s resortwear.

Lee Kantor: And then so you started creating those, and then you started then selling them on your own. Correct. And that was first online. And then you did a brick and mortar.

Cora Spearman: It was first online and then no, we did not do brick and mortar. We’re actually located in the foreign trade zone here in Hawaii. Um, we started actually exporting to Japan. Um, and so we started with our partners, um, with, uh, Hankyu department stores and, um, it kind of caught craze there. We also got to, uh, beta test because at the time I had, um, pitched with Webank Disney and when I pitched Disney, uh, an executive from Disney had said to me, Cora, do you want to just sell us your product or do you want to help tell your story? Because we’re very much a, you know, story centric. And that was how my cartoon characters, Bill and Zoe and the Hawaii Transplants were born. Um, I ended up meeting at the Webank conference in San Diego. Um, uh, the animator, one of the animators from Disney, named Benson, Shum and Benson, um, they kind of whisked him away and I said, oh, well, maybe that’s a sign for me to go and go upstairs and practice for my pitch. And when I got in the elevator there he was. So like any little kid that I learned from little kids, I started pushing every button in the elevator so that I could have enough time to give him my elevator pitch, and to pitch him to see whether or not he’d be interested in drawing my cartoon characters that I thought would, um, eloquently tell, you know, the story of our brand, the story of our, um, diverse background, um, being, uh, us as a family, Hawaiian, Chinese, Portuguese, African American, Native American, which was, as we told Disney, every Disney princess under the sun. A little bit of Moana, a little bit of Pocahontas, a little bit of Mulan, a little bit of Tiana, you know, and all of that mixed together. And, um, what became, you know, is definitely our daughters, Bella and Zoe. So, yeah.

Lee Kantor: Now, is there any advice you can give other entrepreneurs out there? Because it seems like you have such, um, amazing drive and you’re you don’t take no and you go for what you want to achieve. Any lessons there for other people on how to have the, the gumption to, um, you know, be brave enough to do the things that you’ve done.

Cora Spearman: Oh, um, my advice is, um, I think cancer and life showed me, um, that life is not promised. It’s short, so you have to actually do what you love, you know, not waste your time, not waste other people’s time, uh, doing something that you don’t love and don’t enjoy. So you have to figure out what your true calling is. Um, I’m not an advocate or a proponent of just doing things for money. I do things with purpose. Um, so finding your purpose, finding your passion in that purpose, and then letting that drive you because then it doesn’t feel like work. You’re just honestly doing what you were called on this planet to do and living out your full and complete happy life.

Lee Kantor: Now, when you have that mindset shift and that belief, does that kind of take away the fear? Or are you kind of a little nervous, like when you pressed all the buttons in the elevator, was there any hesitation or any nerves? Or were you like, this is what I have to do because I’m trying to achieve something and this person could help me.

Cora Spearman: Um, I never move with desperation. Um, but I definitely move with excitement and vigor. So, um, I think, like I said, I guess it’s more of that, like I said, that that little kids abandon of having just, um, excitement and, uh, just pure, pure intentions and, um, and just wanting, you know, being excited to play, you know, to have fun, to create. You know, it wasn’t, um, coming from a place. Oh, I need to do this. It’s, uh. That’s never my energy. I think the energy is more of. Oh, my gosh. What? Um, the stars have aligned. Like, what a serendipitous, you know, uh, occasion. This is definitely kismet. You know, it was meant to be. So I think when you’re living in your purpose that the stars align. Um, in Hawaiian, we have a phrase that’s called imua. Imua is when more than one are gathered with a common purpose, and it literally means to push forward. And it’s when you’re pushing forward with perseverance, purpose, and, um, dignity.

Lee Kantor: Now, you mentioned earlier that you were a B Corp. For the folks who aren’t familiar, can you explain what a B Corp is and why it was important for you to go that route?

Cora Spearman: Oh, sure. Um, B Corp are businesses that use, um, business as a force for good, so to speak. Um, it’s, um, companies that definitely adhere to the, um, SDGs as outlined by the United Nations Global Compact on, um, you know, fairness and paying a fair wage and, um, no type of discrimination and having, um, equality in the workforce, like eradicating racism. Um, there’s just different pillars making sure, um, that we’re ecologically sound and being, as we call them, a Hawaiian, um, pono, which is a fair, righteous and just and being in balance with the environment. Um, and, um, for us, it’s the ocean, the air and the sea. Um, making sure that when we’re producing or consuming things, that is in a, a a, you know, a fair, righteous, just a very ecological way, you know, a very conscious and aware of every decision and the impact that you’re having, um, on the community around you and the people who are, um, consuming your products as well as, uh, the people who are creating your products and, um, you know, making sure that everything is is righteous, fair and just. And so I would suggest people check out, uh, b-corp net where they can find out more about exactly what B Corp are and some of your favorite brands may be B Corp’s. Um, like for me it was Doctor Bronner’s Patagonia, um, and um, a few others that were, um, Ben and Jerry’s that were, uh, very inspirational in the way that, um, they approached business but then also gave back to the communities that, um, they, uh, manufacture in.

Lee Kantor: Now, why was it important for you to become part of WebEx West?

Cora Spearman: Oh, wow. Um. Oddly, um, when I picked Disney, um, actually I had picked Disney because I had I was about to pitch Shark Tank and I was all set to go on to Shark Tank, and the producers cut me. My segment was cut, and I was bummed and devastated, and I asked myself, well, why were you, um, wanting to go on to Shark Tank in the first place? And my why was well, I wanted to get in front of some of these big box retailers. I wanted to get in front of the targets, and I wanted to get in front of the Macy’s, and I wanted to get in front of, um, the Disney’s. And so I blindly wrote a letter to Disney.com, just random, and I kind of forgot about it. And then I got this weird phone call from Anaheim, and it was from a woman named Ani Lamb and Ani Lamb, um, God rest her soul. She’s, um, no longer with us, but, um, she’s an angel we know by name. Um, most of the movies would know our niece. She was a huge advocate of woman owned business and an executive with Disney and I, when she called me, I was, like, not expecting the phone call. And I joked that she became my first shark. Um, she was a huge advocate and saying, Korra, you need to become a woman owned, certified. And I said, woman owned, certified. I knew nothing about it. I had just at that time, it was 2016. I had just won the Score Small Business Championship. And serendipitously, I was flown to Arizona, which is where we Bank West is, um, headquartered. And um, so when they flew me to Arizona for the Score championship, I then got to meet Doctor Pamela Williamson, um, as introduced by our niece lamb, and the rest became, um, herstory, as I like to call it.

Lee Kantor: And then have they have your relationship with Rebecca West? Um, helped you get access to those big boxes that you were seeking?

Cora Spearman: I think. Absolutely. And if, um, and even if it didn’t in some way, directly, indirectly, they always are, are looking forward to me having the certification. Um, whether it be, um, me dealing with Amazon, they ask you, you know, if you have it and uploading it into their systems. Um, it’s very, uh, useful and, and um, and looked upon. Well, when I’m dealing with, uh, Macy’s and Bloomingdale’s, um, as I’m dealing with them now, um, it’s taken some years, but I’ve finally got into those, um, big box retailers proudly. Um, but the certification definitely is a badge of honor. And it is also looked upon, I think, uh, very, very respectfully by those entities.

Lee Kantor: Now. Um, where can you find corridor balls now?

Cora Spearman: Oh well. We’re excited about launching on the Celebrity Ascent, so if you’re so blessed to take a vacation on a cruise on Celebrity Ascent, you can definitely find our collections there. Um, you can find us, of course, on wtkr.com. Um, you’re able to shop our collections also directly from any of your social media outlets, whether it be Instagram, Facebook, or Pinterest. Um, you’re also able to find us. Um, bloomingdales.com. They have a new collection, um, that we’re getting to them soon. Um, I’m actually pitching. I’m one out of 25 businesses. Um, 1300 applied, but they only chose 25. And I think more than half of us are Webbank certified, actually. Um, uh, for us to pitch for $100,000 for Macy’s, the workshop at Macy’s. So hopefully, if all goes well, I’ll be available at Macy’s very soon as well. Um, and then if you’re visiting the islands of Hawaii, you can find us at the Fairmont, the Four Seasons. Uh, the Grand Wailea. Maui Westin. Um, or the island of Lanai. The four seasons there, etc..

Lee Kantor: So what do you need more of? How could we help you? Are you looking to partner with more Hawaiian women owned companies? Are you looking to get into more and more accounts? Um, how can we help?

Cora Spearman: Oh, we can help by, uh, following us on our social media platforms and engaging with us there. Um, we are very much excited right now with our strategic partners in launching, um, our sustainable, um, circular fashion, um, installations that we’re planning to put into these stores. So we’re excited about, um, helping big box retailers become a lot more green. Um, so we’re very excited about that component, how people can also support by shopping our collections, um, buying our collections. Um, and I’d love to do, uh, collaborations with any of the other, um, entities out there, like, uh, Levi’s. I’d love to do a collaboration with them. Um, and any of the other, uh, collabs with, uh, bigger companies that are, um, uh, fortune 100 companies, like the, uh, Ben and Jerry’s and things of that nature. So, um, Patagonia, any of them. I would love to do a collab.

Lee Kantor: Well, Cora, thank you so much for sharing your story today. You’re doing such important work, and we appreciate you.

Cora Spearman: Oh, no, thank you for having us and we appreciate you. So mahalo nui loa.

Lee Kantor: And that’s corridor bulls.com c o r a d o r a b l e s.com. Perfect. Well, Cora, thank you again for sharing your story. It was great chatting with you.

Cora Spearman: Mahalo. Aloha.

Lee Kantor: All right. This is Lee Kantor. We’ll see you all next time on Women in Motion.