Activity is a habit
Jen Albert is the Sales Manager East for Handful. She loves staying active, a habit instilled upon her in her youth. She is also a proud mother of three.
Albert was born into a retail family and spent much of her time outside as a kid, always looking for things to do. For her, activity had been a habit and now is a part of her personality. She has an entrepreneurial spirit, fostered by growing up in a family business.
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Jen Albert meets Jennifer Ferguson, founder of Handful
She crossed paths with Handful at a trade show. She saw founder Jennifer Ferguson before she even knew what she was doing there. She eventually found her and was impressed with Ferguson’s passion and tenacity. It wasn’t until a bit later the business relationship formed. Albert had paused her career to spend time with her family and had started back up with a retail consultant business.
Albert was attending a trade show in Florida, and saw Ferguson with three bags on the bus pushing through the crowd in Battle Cry Pink sports bra. She later spotted her selling sports bras. Albert tried one on and was amazed by the quality. She learned a bit about their product, but not much else matriculated in that meeting.
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6 months later, Albert was watching the news and she saw a program about breast cancer survivors. She remembered Ferguson’s passion for breast cancer awareness and she called Ferguson out of the blue and asked her if Handful was in the east. Albert noticed she couldn’t find Handful where she lived. Jen mentioned really needing help with sales in the east.
This was the one aspect that Albert had not dipped her toes in and only took a day to realize she was in. She couldn’t get Handful out of her mind. And if that is what Handful needed, that was the role she would take on. She joined 4 years ago and it became her mission as much as Ferguson’s. “You can always grow and succeed better by seeking to understand by growing with each other,” says Albert.
Why is the company called Handful?
This name dates back to founder Jennifer Ferguson’s youth. Growing up, Ferguson’s dad used to look at her and say: “oh Jennifer, she’s a handful”. The name stuck and Ferguson was ok with that. She worked the “Handful” moniker with pride.
In 2006, Ferguson couldn’t find a bra that could keep up with her. Instead of settling, she created Handful together with other women who support one another. For women who want to “grab life by the Handful”.
The 5 F-words
At Handful, a sense of humor is required. So it only makes sense that the foundation of Handful is built on 5 f-words. Fashion. Function. Feel. Fun. Fight. That is what Handful is all about.
Ferguson wanted to create something that could last her the whole day and not sacrifice fashion or function. Function is a necessity, fashion is a necessity, why should you sacrifice either? Each product is crafted with these core principles.
The bras were created to feel comfortable to the point that you don’t even want to take it off. The bras were designed with premium fabric, double quick-dry, the straps are comfortable, it has no hardware that could aggravate you and the bands don’t chafe.
With names like Booya Black, Glass Ceiling and Hibiskiss, the idea of fun is never far from the minds of the creators. Laughter is key to keeping the business running. After all, if you aren’t enjoying yourself, why do it?
And they never lose focus by remembering why they fight. They fight for women. In particular, they fight against breast cancer. It is a cause they rally behind through inclusive sports bras (they offer free stackable padding to any woman who has lost a breast) and other programs geared to supporting (both physically and mentally).
Want to know more about Jen and Handful? We featured her on a recent episode of The Omega Sports show which you can watch and rewatch whenever you want.
