When we think of women that are innovative and trailbazers, Joy Mangano is one of the people that come to mind. We're honored that she sat down with us to talk about her aha moment, her ability to create functional items that make your life easier, how she maintains a fresh perspective when she is working to continue to develop great products and the importance of being a mentor to share the wealth of inspiration. ATHLEISURE MAG: For those who have not seen the movie where Jennifer Lawrence plays you OR those who are not familiar with you, can you tell us how you went from realizing the need for one great product that brought you to HSN, to where you have now generated a number of great products and assisted those who also have great concepts that fit within our lifestyle? JOY MANGANO: As a single mother of three, I was looking for a way to make the daily chore of mopping easier. I didn’t know much about the world of product and business, but I felt like most mothers and wives do, not having enough time to care of their families and homes, and I wanted to try to fix that. The Miracle Mop was born from that feeling, a feeling I never gave up on, that I could help people like me. And that belief is what kept me going, to new products, to TV retail, to HSN, to where I am today. ATHLEISURE MAG: Do you believe that all great products come out of the need to solve a problem? JM: 100% yes. I’ve always wondered why the ordinary things in life need to remain ordinary, if they have a chance to be better. I guess I just don’t settle for accepting things the way they are, I focus on the way they could be, and should be, in every aspect of life. For as long as I can remember, I’ve had dreams for new ways to design something better. More color, more style,
DOING IT HE
with Joy Man more function. I was always inspired by the world around me. AM: At what point did you realize that expanding from the mop was necessary to build your empire and how many products do you say that you concept and then eventually bring to market? JM: It’s funny, but stopping at the mop was never really an option in my mind. I saw, and still see an opportunity in everything. As a child, I was always searching for a way to improve everything I could get my hands on. And that’s still true today. I’ve always had ideas about products in my head; but the success of the Miracle Mop allowed me the courage and self-belief to bring so many of them to life. AM: What would you say the ethos of the Joy brand is and how do you continue to come up with great ideas that really become adopted into our lifestyle quickly? JM: I believe we’re all basically the same. We have the same needs, the same wants, the same challenges and troubles. So I’m always convinced that an idea will resonate, because it always comes from a need I have; a need my customers might have too! The process really starts and grows from there. AM: As the Co-Founder/Style Director of Athleisure Mag, my first steamer whether I was styling projects or was going on air for HSN myself, I would bring My Little Steamer. This was my first steamer that I used for a number of years! What was the moment
