Featured in Small Business Saturday
Today's #SBS is with @civileapparel! We got a chance to chat with the founder Aubri Steele. Here’s what she said...
1. What really excites you about owning your own business?
I was one of the 5m women forced to transition away from corporate full-time work during 2020. With 5 teenagers at home on Zoom school and having lost my father late in the year, the increasing need to support the kids and my mother became overwhelming. Civile was born shortly thereafter. Being an entrepreneur has awarded me the flexibility I need to put my family first. It has opened a door to the creative side of me that I was always hesitant to foster. It is allowing me the platform to spread a positive message in the world. It has forced me to embrace my strengths & face my weaknesses, & inspired me to grow & learn along the way.
2. What product does your brand provide?
We make modern pickleball apparel for the women we are, on & off the court.
3. What's the back story of the sport pickleball?
The game was created in 1965 by two men trying to entertain their teenage children. Pickle was the name of the dog, whose ball they borrowed.
4. How do you say Civile, where did the name come from?
It's pronounced, "chi-vee-lay" & it means "civil" in Italian. With the brand having been born out of the darkness & divisiveness of 2020, I wanted a name that represented the respect among humans I felt was absent in the world. I asked my Italian friend how to say civil in Italian. As soon as it rolled off her tongue, I loved it. The name really lends itself to the joy & inclusiveness of the sport, while still offering a message to the world that transcends pickleball.
5. What is the purpose behind Civile?
With pickleball growing so rapidly all over the world, I found that the pickleball apparel landscape didn't have anything that spoke to myself & my friends, from a fashion perspective. The line is witty, modern, & brings a little sexy into pickleball too. One of the founding purposes for Civile is to build a female founded brand that supports & honors women around us, & around the world. We are led entirely by a female team & we are proud to support these women.
1. What really excites you about owning your own business?
I was one of the 5m women forced to transition away from corporate full-time work during 2020. With 5 teenagers at home on Zoom school and having lost my father late in the year, the increasing need to support the kids and my mother became overwhelming. Civile was born shortly thereafter. Being an entrepreneur has awarded me the flexibility I need to put my family first. It has opened a door to the creative side of me that I was always hesitant to foster. It is allowing me the platform to spread a positive message in the world. It has forced me to embrace my strengths & face my weaknesses, & inspired me to grow & learn along the way.
2. What product does your brand provide?
We make modern pickleball apparel for the women we are, on & off the court.
3. What's the back story of the sport pickleball?
The game was created in 1965 by two men trying to entertain their teenage children. Pickle was the name of the dog, whose ball they borrowed.
4. How do you say Civile, where did the name come from?
It's pronounced, "chi-vee-lay" & it means "civil" in Italian. With the brand having been born out of the darkness & divisiveness of 2020, I wanted a name that represented the respect among humans I felt was absent in the world. I asked my Italian friend how to say civil in Italian. As soon as it rolled off her tongue, I loved it. The name really lends itself to the joy & inclusiveness of the sport, while still offering a message to the world that transcends pickleball.
5. What is the purpose behind Civile?
With pickleball growing so rapidly all over the world, I found that the pickleball apparel landscape didn't have anything that spoke to myself & my friends, from a fashion perspective. The line is witty, modern, & brings a little sexy into pickleball too. One of the founding purposes for Civile is to build a female founded brand that supports & honors women around us, & around the world. We are led entirely by a female team & we are proud to support these women.