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CHARLOTTE VOLINN |
Charlotte Volinn, 78; cofounded Makit & Bakit craft line in Quincy
Charlotte Volinn was a stay-at-home mom in 1966 when she launched the "Makit & Bakit" craft line out of her Quincy basement with two friends.
Taking a poke at detractors, the women dubbed themselves "The Three Dumb Broads" and turned their company, Quincrafts Corp., into a runaway success built on colored plastic crystals melted into frames shaped like owls, mushrooms, and clipper ships.
Mrs. Volinn, who died July 30 of kidney cancer at a Vermont hospital, sold the company to
She liked to say the venture "ruined a perfectly good bridge club." Mrs. Volinn was 78 and lived in Quechee, Vt., and Longboat Key, Fla.
"She was a beautiful, intelligent giving person who adored her family, her husband, her children, and her grandchildren," said her business partner, Sylvia Schwartz of Palm Beach, Fla.
Schwartz, Mrs. Volinn, and Estelle Sugarman "always had the ambition to start a business," Schwartz said. "We came across the cooking crystals, and it evolved."
Mrs. Volinn did not make any handy crafts herself. She could not even sew a button on a shirt, according to one daughter, but she knew a good idea when she stumbled across the idea of turning plastic crystals into suncatchers and jewelry box tops.
"She loved business and investing in the stock market; she was just an avid business person," said her daughter, Nancy Volinn-Blaze of Cohasset.
Born in Boston, Mrs. Volinn grew up in Roxbury, where she met her husband when she was 14.
"I was the boy next door," he said.
At 17, he didn't pay much attention to his skinny, younger neighbor. "I went off to the service and when I came back, she looked totally different," he said. They were married 55 years.
George supported his wife's business venture and boosted her confidence when she was petrified to go on an early sales call at the corporate offices of Jordan Marsh.
"She was white with fear," he recalled. "I pushed her out the car door and said, 'You are easy to buy from. Go in there and do it.' She came out beaming. She made a sale."
The growing company was based in rented space in Quincy Center in the early years and then moved to a bigger space at the Squantum Marina.
The Makit & Bakit kits expanded to 200 designs and were sold worldwide.
"Once they got up and running, it moved right along," Geroge said. "They were a great team, and each brought something to the business that made it successful."
In 1979, the company, which was originally launched with a $300 investment, got a loan from the Small Business Administration and moved to an industrial park in Hingham. The company employed about 150 people at its peak.
The women formed a realty trust to own the Hingham building and named the trust TDB Realty in honor of the disparaging names they once heard. They also drove cars with vanity license plates carrying the same TDB moniker and their initials, according to family members.
In 1980, Mrs. Volinn and her partners were named "Small Business Persons of the Year" and collected their award in a rose garden ceremony at the White House.
A filly named Genuine Risk had just won the Kentucky Derby and Mrs. Volinn declared, "This is a great week for fillies."
Mrs. Volinn had no formal business training or college degree. The women ran a lean operation with little debt, according to George. "Every bit of machinery was paid for without borrowing," he said.
In 1985, General Mills began exiting the toy business and offered to sell the company. Mrs. Volinn's daughter Nancy bought it back, along with Sugarman's daughter.
"All of us grew up in the business, and it was in our blood," said Nancy, who sold the company again in 2005.
Her mother was her mentor. "She was just such a great role model for me and for my children," she said. "She was a great woman."
In addition to her husband and her daughter Nancy, Mrs. Volinn leaves a son, David of Sarasota, Fla.; another daughter, Lisa Volinn of Vail, Colo.; a grandson; and granddaughter.
© Copyright 2008 Globe Newspaper Company.
