Womanswork - Strong Women, Strong Gloves

Speaking recently with Dorian Rogers Winslow, owner of Womanswork, was an eye-opener in several ways. Our thoughtful GKH marketing team chose Dorian’s Womanswork products as the perfect addition to our Shop as one of the best gifts for gardeners you can buy. The company’s catchphrase, "Strong Women Building A Gentle World" perfectly describes the work and goals of this small company, based in Dutchess County, New York.

While their primary products involve the design and production of gardening gloves and supplies for women, there is much more to their work than meets the eye.

Why Womanswork?

You might think women’s gloves are no different from men’s - that all one needs to do is trim down the design for smaller hands. Not so! From simple gardening gloves to hefty leather and protective goatskin, these gloves are made for the work that women do and are specifically designed for women’s hands. And let’s not forget that women do a lot more these days than home gardening!

Women’s roles are changing steadily. We see women serving as first responders in disaster areas, building homes (10% of the construction industry is now made up of women), working as plumbers and electricians, and tending to urban gardens and collective farms. Currently, there are approximately 90,000 women firefighters on the job in the U.S. Home gardening is close to our hearts, but clearly, women’s hands need protection for many different reasons.

Background

But back to our story about Dorian and Womanswork. Dorian was close to her maternal grandmother. Her grandmother talked about the riverbank garden she grew in her younger years in Iowa. Dorian was fascinated with an old black-and-white photo of her grandmother’s garden, and vividly imagined the colors and beauty of the old-fashioned plants and flowers. Vacationing in Maine revealed the diversity of native plants in different areas, and Dorian’s course became set on running a garden business.

With her entrepreneurial interests focused on the gardening industry, in 2000 Dorian purchased Womanswork, a small leather glove company. At a time when most gloves on the emerging market were synthetic, Dorian knew she wanted to grow this company’s product line to make it more unique and practical for modern gardeners. And, while most glove companies were simply downsizing men’s gloves and calling them “Ladies,” Dorian developed her glove patterns with the recognition that “men’s and women’s hands are simply shaped differently.”

Support

Proud of her family’s involvement in the business, Dorian has received strong support from her mom and her husband. Her mother worked there first, running the warehouse in Connecticut, but the company grew too big, so they moved their fulfillment center to Massachusetts. Her mom handled much of the company’s initial customer service. Now, along with her assistant, Lily Gregor, the company’s General Manager Nicole Zmetra is, well, “everything,” according to Dorian.

A Strong, Thriving Community

Naturally, the company expanded with a strong line of gardening specialty products and it even includes a line of men’s gloves. In its 38+ years, this woman-owned business does much more than sell gloves and gardening accessories. Through connecting every day with customers nationwide, the stories of strong women have become part of Dorian’s story. The Womanswork website features profiles of women who have made a difference in the lives of others, and some of those stories appear on hang-tags of certain Wormanswork products. Dorian has facilitated a community of women who are doing extraordinary things in the world, and they’ve become part of her network.

Corporate Philanthropy

In 2023 Womanswork became a member of 1% For The Planet, whose mission is to accelerate environmental giving. Womanswork has committed 1% of its gross sales toward helping the planet. One of their recipients is the popular Patagonia company, whose large non-profit collective fights climate change. Others are Pesticide Action Network of America, based in Berkeley; Beyond Plastics in Vermont; City Harvest & Food Distribution of NY, and Hudson River clean-up efforts.

Watch for mentions of Womanswork in Vogue magazine, Country Gardens, Martha Stewart Living, Real Simple, and Better Homes & Gardens! We are delighted to carry Womanswork’s excellent products and are honored to have Dorian Winslow’s team join us in our Gardening Know How SHOP.

Featured Business Owner

Featured Business Owner

Dorian Winslow

More than 35 years ago Dorian Winslow founded Womanswork, the first company to design women's work gloves specifically for women's hands.

This article features products available from third-party vendors on the Gardening Know How Shop.