Panicked gift-buyersare occasionally spotted at jewelry shops and department stores on the eve of an anniversary or in the morning hours of a beloved’s birthday. However, online shoppers can relax and choose a present that is far more interactive than neckties or necklaces: Smittens.
“My husband came up with the name,” says Wendy Feller C’85, designer and producer of the new outerwear for handholding (www.Smittens.biz). It’s a combination of “‘mitten’ and to be ‘smitten’ with the other person.” Each set includes a left-hand glove, a right-hand glove, and a muff with room inside for joining two hands together.
When asked how the men in her life react to the gloves, Feller laughs, “They love it!” For each set sold, she donates upon request three dollars to an organization that sends students to college—adding another warm and fuzzy dimension to the product. In addition to their sale online, the mittens are available at a couple of stores in Seattle; Feller is trying to get them into stores in other cities.
Though Feller is keeping her day job working for Eddie Bauer and designing clothing on a freelance basis for the knitwear industry, Smittens are gaining popularity with lovers, and even siblings. Anyone can use the product, after all: if the hand-holders get in a fight, the set can be divided into a separate pair of gloves and a muff until the wearers make up.
—Sarah Blackman C’03
