3 Hip Chicks Have Found Their Niche

A simple monogrammed silver sterling bracelet transformed a Grafton mother and her two daughters into Three Hip Chicks.

Today, they do six-figures worth of sales, all on the Internet.

And best of all, mom Chris Wehmann and her daughters Heather Berube and Christine Forte say, they get to work together while sharing quality time.

The bracelet that started it all was a gift from the two daughters to their mother.

When they saw her enthusiastic response, they decided to try making a business out of selling similar items.

They began with house parties, where the women sold sterling silver monogrammed jewelry.

As the popularity grew, they began selling on the Internet, on 3hipchicks.com. In time, they expanded from jewelry to wall decals, plates and tech-related items, including their “new baby,’’ cell phone cases.

All the 2,700 products available on their site have a common theme: They sport personalized monograms.

And that, the women say, is key to their success.

“People are looking for that kind of gift in today’s economy,’’ Forte said.

Budgets may not allow people to give many gifts, so the presents people do buy become that much more significant, Berube said. “If you’re only going to buy one thing, buying something personalized is important,’’ she said.

The women vet the products themselves and make sure that customers will appreciate the style and quality. “We sell things that we love,’’ Berube said.

They also work hard to build their business, largely by word-of-mouth. Their core customer base in and around Grafton has exploded into a database of 12,000 names throughout the world, including a large clientele from the South.

The women work hard to keep the line fresh, visiting New York City frequently to attend trade shows and to stay ahead of trends.

And like Santa and his elves, the women work around the clock during the holiday season. Half their annual business is done in November and December. “We’re up late, which is a good thing,’’ Forte said, chuckling.

They continue to expand. “We plan on branding it and taking it to a much bigger level,’’ Forte said.

But they also hope someday to have a brick-and-mortar business, ideally on the Common.

“We would love to have a place where other hip chicks could come,’’ Wehmann said.

And perhaps they would be inspired by the camaraderie among co-workers who are also, more importantly, family. “It is an honor to work with my daughters,’’ Wehmann said.