Elisa Minsk Hartstein is truly a mother of invention with creative, attractive and profitable nursing wear attire.
by Deborah Held Maslia
July 1, 2006
When marketing executive Elisa Minsk Hartstein thought breast–feeding mothers should not have to sacrifice fashionable attire to be able to discreetly nurse their babies, the native Atlantan went to bat – for herself. What began in 2000 as a mere concept is now a global company headquartered in Atlanta, which grossed close to $1.5 million in 2005. By 2007, Hartstein and her business partner, Ed Hyken, expect Expressiva, an online retail and wholesale corporation, to double its earnings and yield a minimum of $3 million.
In 1998, after the birth of the first of Hartstein’s four children, all of whom were born within six years of one another while she was living in St. Louis, with her husband, Morris, Hartstein found herself locked in cramped bathroom stalls at work, awkwardly fumbling with her clothing, trying to express breast milk. Hartstein had been seeking office–appropriate nursingwear, but “ wouldn’t be caught dead” in the small assortment of frumpy and unfashionable clothing that she was able to find. By the time her second daughter was born in 1999, Hartstein, at that point a stay–a t-home mom, had begun purchasing clothing she liked and having it altered with discreet, easily covered and uncovered, nursing slits by a nearby tailor.
“I was surprised,” says Hartstein. “I spent nine months looking fashionable while pregnant.” But she couldn’t believe how hard it was to find chic nursing–wear. She knew there had to be other mothers who wanted to look good for any occasion and still be able to inconspicuously breast–feed their babies. Hartstein voiced her thoughts to friend and entrepreneur Hyken, who thought the idea was a born winner, and the two partners launched Expressiva in 2001. Hartstein is the savvy visionary who marries the talents of manufacturers, designers and textile merchants in the Philippines, Brazil, China, New York City, Atlanta and her own current hub, Israel, where the Hartstein family is currently located and halfway through a three–year sabbatical.
The move to Israel works well, as the family enjoys a new culture. Israel is seven to eight hours ahead of the Eastern timezone, which allows Hartstein to be with her two daughters and two sons all day, and then “go to work” late in the afternoon from her office nearby, using technology to communicate with her far–flung web of associates.
As business continues to boom, Hartstein knows she will have to step back as new employees are hired to help the company reach its full potential. Hartstein grows misty eyed at the thought of sharing “her other baby” with new people as, to date, she has enjoyed helping to control the product that developed from her own need. Still, she knows she “must offload” some of her work for the company to continue its growth.
“I feel very blessed,” says Hartstein, acknowledging that it was her vision and its success that has led her and her family to the Holy Land. “Expressiva has allowed us to do something very special.” For more information please visit: www.expressiva.com.