Meet Dawn Quinn of Once Upon a Stocking in Crystal Lake, IL ~ Woman on a Mission
Creativity comes out of her ears and empathy shines in her large deep blue eyes. Dawn Quinn went to Marquette University, and then followed the traditional route, getting married, having three children and holding a job for 26 years as a dental hygienist. However, her sense of design emerged even as she was cleaning people’s teeth. She always felt that her dream eluded her but could never put her finger on what it was.
Her husband experienced a massive stroke and lives with a speech impairment called “Aphasia”. That was the last time Dawn could remember her life being “normal”. It was like waking up to a bad version of Alice in Wonderland when the doctors said he would not walk or talk again. What was once important fell away and was no longer satisfying. She painfully discovered that true satisfaction in life was in following a “mighty purpose” for life. Her reason for living had to be bigger than her. She built a company from nothing by using astute business knowledge, her design skills and spiritual inspiration. Her mission statement became “Profit for a Purpose” as seen on her website.
What first drove her passion and inspiration was a drawing her 10-year-old son brought home from school. He drew his impression of Aphasia. He drew 5 bodies moving and jumping, two with music notes and two with words coming from their mouths, and a man in the middle had a large X across his mouth representing his Dad. She looked at the picture and saw the disease, Aphasia (the inability to verbalize your thoughts) as being trapped inside your body, like a caged animal.
She created a unique stocking to raise awareness for not just Aphasia but many other illnesses like Breast Cancer, AIDS, and Autism. She pays close attention to detail, fabric quality, texture and embellishments that symbolize the cause. Dawn Quinn took a risk two and a half years ago and now owns and operates “Once Upon a Stocking”.
This unique company was her way to give hope to others. She donates 10% of each product profit to the organization representing the cause.
Dawn continued to expand her brand of the causal stockings and became licensed at 4 universities. The collegiate line, gives back in another way by donating a percentage to scholarship funding. She also began making baby stockings, the profits going to the March of Dimes. Dawn has added licenses for 23 different sororities, adding purses and clutches to her design line. The profit for the sororities will go to their individual philanthropies.
Not content just to provide money, Dawn tackled another pressing issue that makes her company so special. She researched and found there were many craftspeople in the US that had lost their jobs to production going overseas. In an attempt to give jobs back, she bought a cargo van, filled it with machines, materials and converted a log cabin into a sewing factory in southeastern Kentucky. Dawn provided jobs to many unemployed in the area. That is how “Once Upon A Stocking”, became her defining moment and embodies what goodness is all about.
Learn more about Once Upon a Stocking at www.onceuponastocking.com
