39-Year-Old Turned $90K Debt Into $2M Hair Clip Business — Refuses To Pass Tariff Costs To Customers

Jenny Lennick is swallowing the cost of US tariffs on Chinese imports to keep her food-themed hair clips on shelves, even as her San Francisco brand Jenny Lemons crossed $2 million (£1.51 million) in annual revenue last year, the BBC reported.

'If we raise our prices, we're not going to be able to sell as many hair clips, which eats into our profit too,' Lennick, 39, told the outlet. She said there is no domestic factory producing cellulose acetate at the scale her business requires, ruling out a move to US manufacturing.

The clips, shaped like strawberries, sardine tins, and rainbow chard, are made from cellulose acetate, a material sourced from wood pulp that serves as a plant-based substitute for petroleum plastic. A large claw retails at $24 (£18), with the strawberry being the top seller. Lennick sells through her website and wholesale to around 1,500 independent stores in the US and overseas.

From $90,000 Debt To a Profitable Hair Clip Brand

Lennick founded Jenny Lemons in 2015 as a hand-printed clothing line in San Francisco's Mission District. She had moved from Minnesota after spending more than six years at art school. A shop followed in 2018, but the economics did not hold. Customers thinned out during the pandemic and never returned in sufficient numbers. Rent climbed. By the time she locked the doors at the end of 2023, she owed $90,000 (£68,000) in debt.

The turnaround had already started. At a craft fair in 2022, Lennick connected with a vendor who introduced her to a hair claw factory in China. She began designing food-shaped clips and found they outsold her clothing almost immediately.

'They were keeping the store open,' she told the BBC.

Revenue rose to $1.7 million (£1.28 million) in 2024 before reaching $2 million last year. The company recently shipped 31,000 clips to a fulfilment centre in Missouri, its biggest single order.

Jenny Lemons operates with three full-time employees: Lennick, her husband, who runs operations, and an operations manager. Freelancers handle inventory planning and social media. The brand name dates back to Lennick's college DJ moniker.

Knockoff Lawsuits And Push For 30 Per Cent Growth

Patent infringement has become a recurring problem. Lennick's mother noticed what she believed were direct copies of the brand's designs at a Minnesota department store chain, prompting legal action. A separate dispute with a major retailer ended in a $45,000 (£34,000) settlement. Lennick said her team regularly scans online marketplaces and sends legal notices to sellers offering imitation products.

The company has previously partnered with Urban Outfitters, Aerie, and Ban.do, according to the Jenny Lemons website, and is now in discussions with a national home-goods chain. Around 60 per cent of sales come from wholesale, with the rest direct online. Most customers are aged 25 to 45, with about 30 per cent working in education or healthcare.

Lorynn Divita, an associate professor of apparel design and merchandising at Baylor University in Texas, said the clips tap into a food-inspired fashion trend first pushed by luxury labels such as Dolce & Gabbana and offer an accessible entry point at a giftable price. She called Lennick's target of 30 per cent revenue growth this year ambitious.

Beki Gowing, a lecturer in fashion entrepreneurship at the University of the Arts London, praised the strength of the business but said the brand should be clearer about its sustainability messaging. Cellulose acetate comes from natural sources such as wood pulp, but its chemical processing puts it in the category of semi-synthetic plastics.

Lennick said bank loans are the only external funding she has drawn on. She has no plans to open another shop.