The Current
‘They call us the Knotty Girlz’ Valleyford woman runs rope business from rural home By Valerie Putnam
CURRENT CONTRIBUTOR
Robyn Slate-Doloughan never dreamed the small business venture she began with $500 cash and a tub of rope inside her camper would be what it is today. Columbia Basin Knot Company, the business Robyn Slate-Doloughan began in 1998 to make a little extra cash, generated threequarters of a million dollars in sales in 2013 and is shooting for the million dollar mark. "Isn't that amazing?" Business Manager Chris Kovacevich said. "She grew it to that." Based in Valleyford, Columbia Basin Knot Company is an international manufacturer of equestrian products such as rope halters, leads and reins. "We're one of the top 200 distributors for Samson rope," Slate-Doloughan said. "And we're probably one of the leading manufacturers of horse halters and lead ropes in the U.S. that are private labeled." The company also wholesales different lines of rope products and hardware internationally for industrial, marine, theatrical, climbing and government purposes. A woman-owned business, Columbia Basin Knot Company is completely managed by seven women. "They call us the Knotty Girlz," Slate-Doloughan said, who named the manufacturing division the same name. Any product made at the facility is sold under the Knotty Girlz name. Slate-Doloughan, who is married and has four children, wants the company to be a laid-back, family-friendly workplace and allows her employees to have the flexibility to work around their schedules. "It's a great place for a woman to work," Kovacevich said, noting that all school holidays are con-
sidered days off. Columbia Basin Knot Company originated when SlateDoloughan was a young mother working nights temporarily at Pathology Associates. As a suggestion to earn a little extra money, a family friend gave her the idea of making horse rope halters. "I didn't own a horse," SlateDoloughan said. "I didn't know anything about horses but thought I'd just try and make one." Finding instructions online, the first horse halter she made took her six hours to complete one knot. Persevering, she made more halters and sold them on a website she designed. Over the next three years, she sold over $5,000 worth of equestrian products. In 2001, Slate-Doloughan decided to expand her business from strictly selling equestrian products into selling the rope used to make the products. "People kept asking me, 'Where do you get the rope?'" Slate-Doloughan said. "I found out that by the time rope gets into the store, there is a 100 to 600 percent mark up. I thought, ‘I'm going to sell it.’" That was also the year the company officially became Columbia Basin Knot Company. "My husband had a good point when we came up with the name," Slate-Doloughan said. "If you put equine in the name, you're limiting where you can go. So we put knot in the name, and then we could sell anything pertaining to knots. It just opened the door." Since 2001, the company has grown and expanded its inventory. No longer in a camper, the company operates out of a 40x70 shop on the Doloughan's property and is currently being renovated to provide additional square footage. The company's expansion is due in part to Slate-Doloughan's business tactics. "When someone asked for something I didn't have, my goal was to find out what that rope was and where I could get it," she
BUSINESS
AUGUST 2014 • 25
CURRENT PHOTO BY VALERIE PUTNAM
Columbia Basin Knot Company is managed by an all-women team including (left to right) Daphne Hunt (standing), Brandy Mallery, Brook Gibson, Robyn Doloughan, Alyssa Doloughan, Kyanna Fejes, Chris Kovacevich and (front center) Leaira Anderson.
FOR MORE… Columbia Basin Knot Company is located at 17015 E. Washington Road in Valleyford. Business hours are 8:30 a.m. to 3:30 p.m. The manufacturing division is under the name, Knotty Girlz and can be found at www. knottygirlz.com. For more information, go to www.cbknot.com or call 2913024. said. "We say yes, and if we can't (find a way), we give them a different option.” With limited space available, Slate-Doloughan works with several rope mills across the country to drop ship orders from their locations. "We like to say 'the middle women,'" Slate-Doloughan said with a laugh. The stock she has on hand is sold by the foot. She also carries different hardware used for various purposes and DVDs demon-
strating how to tie a rope horse harness. Acquiring the Samson rope distributorship also broadened Slate-Doloughan's perception on new products she could sell. "When I got their catalog, I realized there are tons of different ropes," Slate-Doloughan said. "I thought, ‘Wow, I'm just limiting myself.’" Besides Samson rope, Columbia Basin works with ten rope mills from across the county including New England and Continental Western Corporation (CWC). According to Slate-Doloughan 95 percent of the products sold are manufactured in the United States. "We pride ourselves in keeping it U.S.-made," she said. Over the years Columbia Basin has expanded into diverse industries and sold product to clientele such as movie stars, theatrical riggers and rodeo stars. She recently sold a rope curtain used during the Academy Awards, as well as a custom-made rope with 3M reflectors wove through it to the Arab Potash Company based in Jordan.
"They used it at night to pack the camels with product so when the lights flashed they could see the camels," Slate-Doloughan said of the purchase. The company has even sold custom-made kayaks made out of carbon fiber to the government in Brunei. "I said we could get kayaks, even though I wasn’t sure how we would do it," Slate-Doloughan said. The kayaks were made in China with pictures sent to SlateDoloughan throughout the process. Once completed, they were shipped to Portland, stored, and then sent onto Brunei. Five years ago, Slate-Doloughan started selling clearance merchandise on eBay, and three years ago she began selling merchandise on Amazon. With business steadily growing with only word-of-mouth referrals, Slate-Doloughan wants to continue expanding. "It all grew from that camper and that one little idea," SlateDoloughan said. "I would love to grow as long as we can do it in a way that we're not overwhelmed."