Hosiery Maker Keeps Leg Up on Competition : Santa Ana’s Crystal Creations began with a sparkling idea and a loan from Dad and has expanded into a $2-million-a-year operation.
Crystal Creations in Santa Ana is one company that doesn’t want to give you a run for your money. Instead, this designer leg-wear company--started in 1978 during the disco craze--gives you stars, stripes, shamrocks and anything else that can be bonded to hosiery.
The company began when a mutual friend introduced Therese Jordan and Harrison (Hatch) Manell. Jordan had once worked selling hosiery for a woman who bonded rhinestones to pantyhose. “So I knew that there was a market. When I met Hatch he expressed an interest in starting a company,” she said. “I knew the fabulous response I’d received earlier when I was selling custom hose. . . . The woman I had worked for hadn’t gone anywhere with the idea, so we started this company.”
At the time, Manell was working on developing a process to fuse touch key switches onto computer keyboards. “So, I’d learned the technology to make automated heat press equipment. The procedure to bond the rhinestones on pantyhose was (similar) so I quit my perfectly good job to go out in the garage and put rhinestones on pantyhose.”
Crystal Creation’s first design was the “Diamond Dancer” hosiery line. Harrison and Jordan took the rhinestone-laden stockings to a national fashion trade show in Los Angeles. They left three days later with more than $7,000 in orders.
Manell had spent all the money he had to build his machine for rhinestone bonding. “I then went to my dad and asked him for $10,000 to buy pantyhose. At that point I’m sure he thought I was crazy,” he said.
The loan came through and by the ninth month of operation the company had shipped $90,000 worth of decorated pantyhose. “We had outrageous growth and no money, so we begged and borrowed anyone we knew to come and work for us,” remembered Jordan.
After the disco craze faded, Crystal Creations stayed competitive by producing a line aimed at adolescent girls called “Footsies,” followed by “Bridal Belles,” fine hosiery designed with pearls and sequins for brides and bridesmaids. In 1986 came children’s fashion hosiery made up of pantyhose, tights and socks for girls from toddlers through preteen.
The company has continued to grow by diversifying and adding new fashion lines. Last year, Crystal Creations shipped more than 300,000 pairs of hosiery and generated in excess of $2 million.
Even though Crystal Creations has moved to expanded facilities twice, the basic operating structure remains. Manell’s original heat-press machine is still in use--along with several others he has designed--and the pearls, rhinestones, bows and other accessories are all applied by hand. During peak production, such as before Christmas orders are filled, there may be as many as 70 people working to decorate hosiery and ship orders.
Now, Crystal Creations’ workers are busily bonding small red hearts for Valentine’s Day and green shamrocks for St. Patrick’s Day.
“We do not knit our own hosiery,” said Jordan. “It’s done in the Carolinas in very large plants. We buy the blank hose and then we treat them here.”
“We have a couple thousand patterns that we’ve developed through the years,” continued Manell. “We have to reinvent the line a couple of times a year to meet the seasons.” It is this changing to remain current that helps sell the product, according to Andrea Sullivan, manager of the hosiery department for the Nordstrom store at South Coast Plaza. “I’ve been here for seven years and I’ve seen lots of their hose. They have fun, unique designs every year. Every holiday they come out with something new and they’re always best sellers.”
Medium priced, most of Crystal Creations’ hosiery retails for from $4 to $10. According to Sullivan, some of the more glamorous, ultra-sheer hose last only a couple of wearings, while the mesh pantyhose last much longer.
“On a scale of 1 to 10, our quality is 8,” said Jordan. “If you go to 10 you’re going to pay twice as much.”
The company will soon introduce a new line called “Destroy,” featuring snake tattoo transfers, zipper seams and graffiti. Pin-striped and plaid pantyhose are ready for shipping this spring for women who like the menswear look. There will also be new $4 to $6 “Footsies,” trouser socks and tights with themed designs, such as Happy Birthday and Congratulations, that can be used as greeting card gifts.
Manell and Jordan combine their energy and creativity with a strong sense of humor to keep the company vital. Almost as a joke, they once added a diamond chip to a pair of French hosiery, wholesaled it for $75--and sold 500 pairs.
“That was the ‘80s--a more decadent time,” said Jordan. “Now we’re more into fashion at a reasonable price.”
If your Orange County company has annual sales of less than $10 million, we would like to consider it for a future column. Call O.C. Enterprise at (714) 966-7871.
