KANSAS CITY, Mo. (AP) — A brother and sister are receiving national recognition for a rural Missouri quilting business that ships up to 5,000 orders a day to customers around the world.
Alan Doan and his sister, Sarah Galbraith, started Missouri Star Quilt Company after the 2008 market crash to help recover their parents’ retirement savings. The U.S. Small Business Administration honored the siblings this month as this year’s Small Business Persons of the Year.
Banking on a passion for quilting shared by Sarah Galbraith and her mother, Jenny Doan, the siblings took out a loan to buy a quilting machine and a small building to house it in Hamilton, Missouri. They produce quilting tutorials on YouTube and the number of subscribers now tops 220,000.
The business has grown to employ 184 people.