How an accident led to a Philly start-up’s ‘simple and classy’ clothing line for women in labs
How an accident led to a Philly start-up’s ‘simple and classy’ clothing line for women in labs
How an accident led to a Philly start-up’s ‘simple and classy’ clothing line for women in labs
Beau Wangtrakuldee’s kids wholesale clothing physical scarring from the chemical burn is long gone. But her memories of the terrifying and painful accident 11 years ago in a laboratory at Northern Illinois University in Chicago remain vivid.
She was in the fourth year of a doctoral program in chemistry. It was around 8 on a Friday night and Wangtrakuldee was alone, conducting an organic synthesis — combining bangkok wholesale clothing suppliers chemicals such as ketones, aldehydes, and isocyanide with a carboxylic acid — for an anticancer drug. As she poured the mixture into another wholesale childrens clothing container, Wangtrakuldee spilled a large amount onto her lab coat, which soaked through to her jeans and onto her legs, the methanol in the concoction causing it to absorb into her skin quickly.
Philly-area’s TechGirlz acquired in deal to build a bigger pipeline of women wanting tech careers
‘Tired of prejudice’: This 66-year-old ‘badass’ is crusading for more start-up funding for women
With no one else around,children's boutique wholesale she quickly stripped off her clothing, but not before she sustained what felt like a bad sunburn for a week.
“I was really lucky because it could have been so much worse,” Wangtrakuldee said Wholesale Footwear Market in Delhi in a recent interview.
Beau Wangtrakuldee's burns from a laboratory accident in 2008 could have been much worse, she said, but were scary enough to influence her to develop a clothing line for women that is both protective and fashionable.
Beau Wangtrakuldee's burns from a laboratory accident in 2008 could have been much worse, she said, but were scary enough to influence her to develop a clothing line for women that is both protective and fashionable.
That realization is why the now resident of Philadelphia and consultant to biotech companies is pivoting from chemist to clothing entrepreneur to do two primary things for women working in STEM: Protect them from injury and enable them to wear something more fashionable than a lab coat.
AmorSui — “love yourself” in Latin — launched last fall at www.amorsuiclothing.com after raising $15,000 in 40 days through I Fund Women, a crowdfunding platform for female entrepreneurs. Its fire-resistant tops, skirts, dresses, and pants, priced from $60 to $180, are named after women scientists, including Marie Curie, Rachel Carson, Rosalind Franklin, and Lise Meitner.
By some estimates, the global market for personal protective equipment — which also includes goggles, ear plugs, and respirators among other no-clothing items — is expected to expand at a compound annual growth rate of 6.2 percent through 2023, with the U.S. market alone reaching $53 billion by that time. The clothing portion of that — including lab coats, overalls, and aprons — is currently $19 billion.
AmorSui sales have reached about $5,000 a month, Wangtrakuldee said. While declining to disclose revenue projections, she said a deal is pending with a major supplier to universities, hospitals, and pharmaceutical companies that would likely lead to creation of a wholesale baby clothes line next year.
Wangtrakuldee turned to Old City fashion designer Lele Tran (right) for advice in developing her AmorSui protective clothing line. Tran told her to "keep it simple."
Wangtrakuldee turned to Old City fashion designer Lele Tran (right) for advice in developing her AmorSui protective clothing line. Tran told her to "keep it simple."
Married to a chemist, Wangtrakuldee has so far invested $40,000, about half of that in personal funds, in the company that has no full-time employees yet. She’s using a manufacturer in Allentown and relying on creative advice from Old City fashion designer Lele Tran.
Lab wear is new territory for Tran, who said she was surprised to learn there was woven-and-knit fabric that was resistant to chemical spills and fire, yet soft.
