Meet Lori Machiorlette | President

We had the good fortune of connecting with Lori Machiorlette and we’ve shared our conversation below.

Hi Lori, we’d love to hear more about how you thought about starting your own business?
I’ve always had an entrepreneurial spirit and I also married someone who shared the same interest. In grade school, I painted barrettes and sold them to my friends. Since those days, my founding principle has been that every problem needs a solution. My first venture was a dating service. Yes, before the internet even launched, we matched people with personality tests and in-depth interviews. We enrolled over 7,000 members in the Houston/Beaumont area and helped people meet like kinds. We sold that business and moved into consumer goods and the mantra of solving problems continued. Our first product was a luxury wood HVAC grille that paints the color of the wall or trim. After engineering and finding an importer, we started offering homeowners an attractive alternative to builder-grade metal grilles. Then came the Instant Pendant Light, a first-of-its-kind conversion kit that transforms recessed lights into hanging pendants in minutes. Next came the blendSMART, a first-of-its-kind rotating makeup brush. I never felt particularly confident about applying makeup and when this idea came to us, I was confident other women shared my struggles. So three patents later, here we are.

Can you give our readers an introduction to your business? Maybe you can share a bit about what you do and what sets you apart from others?
I believe we’ve been able to survive the good times and bad because we manufacture unique and patented products. Yes, we have had to defend our IP, but we haven’t had many direct competitors in our categories. Consumer goods isn’t an easy space especially if you import. But all our brands, the Instant Pendant Light, our Luxury A/C Grilles and blendSMART are niche products that are easy and affordable DIY solutions.

Any places to eat or things to do that you can share with our readers? If they have a friend visiting town, what are some spots they could take them to?
Like many small business owners, I don’t have much of an exciting life outside of work, and today we’re all limited to outdoor activities. I love walks and Houston has some great places like: Memorial Park, our diverse residential neighborhoods and I have recently discovered all our Bayou Greenway trails. Since I never really shut down as a consumer goods operator, I love retail treasures  like Kuhl-Linscomb and even uncovering product ideas at Central Market.

Shoutout is all about shouting out others who you feel deserve additional recognition and exposure. Who would you like to shoutout?
Every step forward was with my partner, husband and best friend, Steve. My small but amazing staff and even a few amazing influencers on social media have helped make us relevant. Lastly, our 3 amazing kids made plenty of sacrifices and endured many a bad day and are now amazing adults and inspirations.

Website: https://www.worthhp.com/ https://www.blendsmart.com
Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/blendsmart/ https://www.instagram.com/worthhome/
Linkedin: https://www.linkedin.com/in/lorimachiorlette/
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/blendSMART/ https://www.facebook.com/Worthhome/
Youtube: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCQi7Gmx894X5g5zsh6z8DkA?view_as=subscriber