Power pair: The impact of Bernie's mittens

A view of River Road in Woodstock, Vermont. (Gareth Henderson Photo)

Who would have thought a pair of mittens would raise money for charity, help businesses and put smiles on millions of faces?

Before the Jan. 20 presidential inauguration, it would have seemed a bit far-fetched, but Sen. Bernie Sanders' mittens have done all those things. The now-famous wool mittens made from recycled sweaters rode the wave of meme stardom straight into the economy, and they're having an impact at a very tough time for nonprofits and businesses.

Most recently, Jen Ellis, the teacher from Essex Junction, Vermont, who made the mittens Sanders wore Jan. 20, partnered with the Vermont Teddy Bear Company to create a new mitten line, according to NBC 10 Boston. Some of the proceeds are going to Make-A-Wish Vermont.

"I can't be more thrilled, because I personally can't make 18,000 pairs of mittens," Ellis told NBC 10, giving a rough estimate of how many inquiries she received.

Ellis has also partnered with Darn Tough Vermont to design wool socks that mimic the mittens — fittingly called JENerosity socks. They sold out in 24 hours, and 100% of those proceeds went to the Vermont Food Bank, as the Associated Press reported.

Shortly after the meme of the Vermont senator and his mittens went viral, he harnessed the image to raise over $1.8 million in merchandise for charity. In late January, Ellis put a couple of new pairs up for auction to help a couple of Vermont nonprofits. One pair benefited Passion 4 Paws, a foster-based dog rescue organization, and the other one helped Outright VT, a group promoting equity and providing support for LGBTQ+ youth.

The mitten craze has helped those making similar mittens as well. For example, the Woodstock, Vermont, store Encore Designer Consignment got a nice boost in their winter business when a flood of orders came in for their mittens, made of recycled wool and cashmere sweaters.

The impact of the Bernie mittens has warmed not only hands, but also hearts. Just think of how much those donations mean to local nonprofits trying to make it through the winter and help their communities. Unexpected fundraising efforts are always welcome, especially now.

We hope the mittens craze helps local groups and businesses as they try to find their way through these colder months. Meals on Wheels in Vermont was one of the recipients of the proceeds from the meme-themed T-shirts and sweatshirts sold from his website, as Sanders told CNN early last week. Though he, too, enjoyed the ocean of memes, the senator said, "It turns out to be actually a good thing, and not only a fun thing."

— Gareth Henderson

Back in Vermont, Bernie’s mittens good for business

Jayne Webb, owner of Encore Designer Consignment, sews a mitten with a style similar to the pair U.S. Sen. Bernie Sanders, of Vermont, wore at the presidential inauguration last week. (Gareth Henderson Photo)

Bernie mittens. Those two words took the internet by storm when U.S. Sen. Bernie Sanders was seen at the presidential inauguration donning his Vermont-made mittens crafted from recycled sweaters.

Jen Ellis, the school teacher in Essex, Vermont, who made Sanders’ mittens, got a series of media interviews, and people have churned out hilarious memes right through the weekend. But it hasn’t only been good for a laugh; it’s also been good for business, and Jayne Webb knows that all too well.

Webb, the owner and curator of Encore Designer Consignment, runs the downtown Woodstock shop with her husband, Dan. She sews mittens using recycled wool and cashmere sweaters and a pattern similar to the one the famous Vermont senator wore, and customers have noticed. Starting on Thursday, orders for mittens flooded her website, even causing her site’s purchasing software to crash at one point (it was back up in 10 minutes). 

That was a first. Here’s another one Webb shared on Saturday. 

“I woke up this morning and sold all the pairs I had just made yesterday,” Webb said. “That’s never happened.” 

She’s thrilled that it did, too. Before last week, Webb was in the midst of a tough January, following a holiday season that brought fewer out-of-state shoppers into the store. A number of the people who have come in are second-home owners who have been living here since March due to the pandemic. Overall, Webb found a lot of people were just browsing to get out of the house, not necessarily to shop. After New Year’s weekend, visitor traffic disappeared within days — more quickly than usual. With all that, the sudden surge of sales for her Tweed River Farm Mittens brand has been a life-saver. 

“It couldn’t have come at a better time,” Webb said. 

On Saturday, Webb had a bunch of mitten palms pre-cut for sewing and some brand-new fleece ready for the inside liners. She sometimes sews in the store when traffic is slow, using a Singer Featherweight made in 1949. 

“The original Singer Featherweight my grandmother had in 1937 is what I use at home, day in and day out,” she said. 

Webb said “the older the better” when it comes to sewing machines, adding older models are more durable and more convenient. 

“I can take it apart and clean it and put it back together,” she said. “There’s no computer, like some of the new ones today.” 

Webb, who lives in Pittsfield, Vermont, has owned the Encore shop since 2012, and started making mittens a couple of years ago. Making mittens was the plan for Sunday, as the orders have just kept coming. At this point, the Bernie mittens craze is showing no sign of stopping. 

— Gareth Henderson

Encore Designer Consignment is open Sunday and Monday, 11 a.m. to 3 p.m.; Tuesday and Thursday, 1 to 5 p.m.; and Friday and Saturday, 11 a.m. to 5 p.m. Closed Wednesday. For more information, visit encoredesignerconsignment.com or email info@encoredesignerconsignment.com .

Jayne Webb displays one of the mitten pairs in her shop, Encore Designer Consignment, in Woodstock, Vermont. (Gareth Henderson Photo)