Entrepreneur Knits Together $1 Million Apparel Business
North Oaks, MN – They’re handwoven by artisans in Peru, and some are so elaborately patterned that they take days to finish.
These days, North Oaks entrepreneur Mary Ann Weerts, 49, generates about $1 million annually importing alpaca-blend sweaters through her import business, Tabask Inc. Sold across the U.S. in gift shops and museums and via catalog, the high-end pieces help Peruvian natives make a living while keeping customers warm in often-frigid places like Minnesota.
Weerts performs several functions of the business and spends several weeks annually on business in the Lima, Peru area. Her husband Scott heads up sales and marketing and oversees five contract sales representatives across the U.S.