All about how Tongue Tops started
My name is Audrey Abell. I have a physical disability called cerebral palsy that affects my ability to walk and use my muscles. Even though I have a disability and use a power wheelchair, I don’t really see it as being limited. I live in a very small town named Little River in Northern California. Most people know this area because it’s very close to t
he town of Mendocino. I have lived in Little River all my life. It’s really beautiful because it’s by the ocean and we have plenty of redwood trees. I graduated from high school in 2008. After High School I started at the local junior college, College of the Redwoods. Back then I was thinking that I wanted to go into psychology. I wanted to get my Master’s in counseling. In 2013, College of the Redwoods had a lot of cutbacks and there weren’t many classes there or support for disabled students, so I started going to Mendocino College in the spring of 2014. I have wonderful daily support from personal assistants that I hire through the services that I receive. I am so grateful because they help me be as independent as I can be and do the things that I can not do, like drive my car and write with a pencil. I’ll never forget one day I was on Facebook and I saw a picture of a friend wearing a really cool pair of coverse with a different colored tongue. So I had this idea that I wanted to make the converse that I owned have a unique fabric tongue. In 2012 I finally got around to it and I sewed my first pair, which was challenging because the thread kept breaking. I can’t use my hands well enough so I explained what I wanted to do to my personal assistant and she sewed it for me. Back then I really liked anything to do with Japan and so the print had Gieshas on it. That’s how I invented Tongue Tops! When my parents saw what I came up with they thought it was such a cool idea. Then everyone who saw them thought the same thing. And since both my parents are self employed one thing led to another and they encouraged me to make a business out of it! I always wanted to be self-employed, even when I thought that I wanted to get my master’s in psychology. My whole family is full of entrepreneurs. So that’s why I decided that I wanted to be independent, be able to work like everyone else and hopefully start my business! I made many prototypes in the beginning while I was developing my idea. I like Tongue Tops so much because it’s such a practical and inexpensive way to make your old converse stand out and cute again. After I discovered I could iron them on it made it so much easier and viable to sell and make. Then after thinking of many different names, “Tongue Tops” just fit. We had help from a few different graphic designers and consultants. It’s taken a few years and a lot of work to get everything set up in this business! There were many legal aspects that I had to learn about and I’ve had some wonderful people helping me. Right now my team is made up of my wonderful personal assistants, myself and my parents. I can work out of my home too! I have so much fun thinking of all the patterns I can do! I hope you find some you love. I try to keep up with what’s trendy in the fashion world but I also like what is unique and different and even funny and quirky. My personal favorites of my latest collection are the black and white Aztec pattern ones. My second favorite one is the ma*****na leaves. You will have to let me know which is your favorite. I look forward to hearing your feedback. Since materials may not be available for long I’ll have an inventory that changes so do come back, you never know what you’ll find. Everyone says that my product is mostly for teenagers, but I think they are for everyone! I also hope to eventually raise money and offer limited product lines that all the proceeds of which will be donated to certain charities. For example I want to support the One Billion Rise movement. I’d also like to help other charities that help women and children in third world countries because I see it on the news everyday and it really pulls at my heart. I have always wanted to do something about it. I’m looking forward to doing this after I am more established. I plan to advertise my product on sites like Instagram and Facebook. Maybe Pinterest, but I haven’t used it and have to learn about that one, lol. You can follow me on there as well. I have so much to learn about having an online store! I’m so looking forward to finding out what everyone likes and orders! Thank you so much for supporting my store! Tongue Tops
P.O. Box 1742
Mendocino, CA 95460
Tongue Tops is registered and patent pending
If you’d like to contact me please do so by emailing [email protected]
