Today we’d like to introduce you to Mary Kate Kohl.
Hi Mary Kate, we’d love for you to start by introducing yourself.
Imagine this: you’re a fifth-grade girl unpacking your clothes at camp, only to find a training bra in your suitcase. That’s right, my mom bought me a training bra and packed it without me knowing. Simply put, I got boobs before I got braces.
And while I stayed relatively lean, my chest continued to grow. By 16, I had already sized out of many popular lingerie stores. What followed were years of uncomfortable underwires, heavy-duty support garments, shoulder pressure, and searching for solutions that never seemed designed for a body like mine.
Last year, I lost some weight after a medication change, but my chest didn’t get the memo. I proceeded to spend more than $600 on new bras, hoping the right one would finally help with the pain I was experiencing from underwires pressing into my ribs. Spoiler alert: it didn’t.
Eventually, I thought, Okay, fine. If I can’t find something that helps me, I’ll make it myself.
And that’s where Boobillow began.
One minute, I was on Etsy searching for fabrics and bra foam; the next, I was working with a woman from my church to create a pattern and bring the idea to life. At first, I wasn’t trying to start a company. I was simply trying to solve my own problem by creating an accessory I could wear with my bras; something that could essentially act as a pillow for my boobs.
But as I started talking about the problem, something happened: other women started sharing their stories with me. The discomfort. The underwires. The shoulder pain. The feeling that bras just weren’t made with them in mind. I realized pretty quickly that I wasn’t the only girl who hated her bra.
What started as me trying to make myself more comfortable became something I wanted to share with other women. If I can create something that helps women feel more comfortable and supported in the bras they already own, then I’m going to do everything I can to make it happen.
Today, Boobillow is on its third prototype. I’ve filed a provisional patent application and a trademark application for the brand, and I’m preparing to begin product testing. I’ve been the first guinea pig through every version, and I can confidently say this: it works, and it’s only going to get better.
Can you talk to us a bit about the challenges and lessons you’ve learned along the way. Looking back would you say it’s been easy or smooth in retrospect?
I didn’t know how to sew. I knew nothing about bra construction, and I certainly didn’t know how to start designing a product from scratch. It turns out it’s pretty hard to Google something that doesn’t exist.
The first challenge was finding the right materials. That was much harder than I ever imagined. Then, once I had pieced together a homemade pattern and prototype, I needed someone who could help me actually design, refine, and eventually produce it. I reached out to several product development companies and was quoted thousands of dollars to develop a single sample prototype.
Maybe for an established company that wouldn’t be a huge expense, but as a 30-year-old, single, self-employed woman funding this entirely on her own, every dollar counts.
That’s when I decided to reach out to the owner of Vickery Trading Company, where I had completed my very first internship years ago. To my surprise, the company had evolved in a way that made it possible for her to help me refine my prototype and create samples for product testing at a price I could actually afford.
By this point, I had already invested thousands of dollars of my own money into legal fees, materials, and development, so finding her truly felt like a miracle. Even more meaningful is that I get to support a company whose mission goes far beyond making my product. Vickery Trading Company employs refugee women and helps equip them for long-term success through education, hands-on job training, and personalized support.
Will there be more obstacles? One hundred percent. I’m building something from scratch, and I’m learning as I go. But one of the biggest things this process has taught me is that you don’t have to know how to do everything yourself. You just have to be willing to ask for help, and you might be surprised by who is willing to step up and help you along the way.
Thanks – so what else should our readers know about your work and what you’re currently focused on?
My professional background is actually in digital marketing. I’ve been self-employed for the past several years, working with businesses on everything from branding and social media to websites, digital advertising, and content strategy. I’m used to being the person behind the scenes, helping other businesses tell their stories and bring their ideas to life.
Boobillow has been a completely different experience because, for the first time, I am building a brand from the ground up for myself. My marketing and entrepreneurship background has certainly given me an advantage and will continue to serve me well on this journey, but product development has been an entirely new world for me. I’ve had to learn as I go, humbly ask a lot of questions, and find people with expertise in areas where I have none.
I am proud that I actually started this. It’s easy to have an idea, but harder to actually execute it. Spending money, filing paperwork, hiring lawyers, making prototypes, and dealing with the constant fear: Will this even be worth it?
Luckily for me, I am the audience for Boobillow. I am the person experiencing the problem that Boobillow solves. I am not a large lingerie company looking to make more money. I am just a girl who was tired of spending hundreds of dollars on bras, only to end up in more pain and discomfort. And when I can actually feel the comfort from Boobillow in real time, when I can wear an underwire bra all day without constantly readjusting it or wanting to take it off, that’s what makes this worth it.
Marketing is all about understanding a problem and communicating the solution. Boobillow was all about me understanding my own personal problem and finding a solution. While these two worlds of business may seem very different, at their core, both are about making someone’s life a little easier.
What matters most to you?
Growing up, I had a hard time accepting my large chest. I dealt with a lot of unwanted attention and harassment from older men when I was still a young girl. I also internalized a lot of shame because I worried that I could potentially be a stumbling block for someone else.
But here’s the thing: it’s time for me to love my body as the temple the Lord created it to be. My faith is my everything, and if I can take something I once struggled to accept about myself and use it to serve other women who have felt the same way, wow, that would mean everything to me.
Contact Info:
- Website: https://www.mkmarketingdallas.com/
- Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/boobillow/
- Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/boobillow
- LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/mary-kate-kohl-b95a76117/
