John M. and Annette Douthat, the passionate marital team behind our brand, have been in the sewing business since the mid-70s. Together, they have spent forty years cultivating AllBrands.com as their pride and joy, setting an example for competitors everywhere on how to properly offer superior customer service and unbeatable satisfaction. Still active within the company today, John is a regular at our weekly meetings, as vibrant and passionate as ever before. A walking encyclopedia of sewing machines and repairs, he can be regularly found bouncing ideas off of his tailor-picked staff through email, discussing business propositions with vendors and salesmen, and attending conventions.
Back in 1995, it was the suggestion of their preadolescent son, John F., which prompted the senior John M. to consider a website. At the time, the Internet was just pulling itself out of its infancy, long before the dot-com bubble burst of 2000. The World Wide Web was a new frontier, offering limitless potential to some, but nothing more than a gimmick to others. Regardless to say, John and Annette took their business online, becoming the first sewing and vacuum business on the Internet. John and Annette have been very involved in the community to give back. Through philanthropic endeavors, donating machines, or various charity work both John and Annette have found various outlets to give back to the community. Now, we are a proud retail member of the Be the Difference Foundation , lending our support to fight Ovarian Cancer.
In 2015 John M was inducted to the Vacuum & Sewing Dealer Trade Association’s Hall of Fame. He is only the second person in Louisiana to bestowed this honor the other being David Oreck founder of the famous Vacuum Company Oreck Vacuums.
See what else we are up to by visiting our blog
We made history in 1996 as the first sewing and vacuum business on the Internet. We operate a multi-million dollar online empire of sewing machines, vacuums, small appliances, and more, and you would never know by just visiting our stores. In 2003, we were proudly cited in the Greater Baton Rouge Small Business Report as doing $8.2 million in sales the previous year, and shipping over 1,000 appliances a week out across the world. Our main store here in Baton Rouge conceals a warehouse large enough to sustain all of our retail stores, and we employ a diverse and eclectic team of highly-trained Internet staff to painstakingly keep your experience a positive. |
John M. and Annette Douthat, the passionate
marital team behind our brand, have been in the sewing business since
the mid-70s. Together, they have spent almost forty years cultivating
AllBrands as their pride and joy, setting an example for competitors
everywhere on how to properly offer superior customer service and
unbeatable satisfaction. Still active within the company today, John is
a regular at our weekly meetings, as vibrant and passionate as ever
before. A walking encyclopedia of sewing machines and repairs, he can
be regularly found bouncing ideas off of his tailor-picked staff
through email, discussing business propositions with vendors and
salesmen, and attending conventions.
(PHOTO: John M. Douthat, greeting guests at a Brother convention)
Back in 1995, it was the suggestion of their
preadolescent son, John F., that prompted the senior John to consider a
website. At the time, the Internet was just pulling itself out of its
infancy, long before the dot-com bubble burst of 2000. The World Wide Web
was a new frontier, offering limitless potential to some, but nothing more
than a gimmick to others. Regardless to say, John and Annette took their
business online, becoming the first sewing and vacuum business on the
Internet. Shortly after, a new era of prosperity came to AllBrands, and
John M. was able to suspend his extensive trips between his ten retail
stores. He consolidated his brand further towards home, able to focus on
delivering exemplary customer service.
Their twins, John F. and Barbara, have both been
a part of the business since high school. Always tinkering with electronics
and computers from an early age, John F. built the website, and can be
usually found glued to his MacBook Pro while continuously improving and
streamlining our extensive system. Barbara, meanwhile, is the head of
Product Development, overseeing the cherry-picked selections of vendors,
product lines, and products themselves. She maintains and oversees the
presentation and quality control of our inventory.
HOW WE GIVE BACK
AllBrands has
participated in extensive philanthropy work both here in Louisiana and
outside our community. and To our local youth development 4-H
charter, The Douthats have donated a
brand-new machine every June for the last thirty years to the winner of
their design contest, as well as supplies to all the contenders. Several
years ago, the company donated over 1000 machines to the 4-H national
charter.
Among the other extensive local charities and
clubs supported are Fashion Week New Orleans, which raises attention through a
variety of high-end runway shows, pop-up boutiques, networking
opportunities, and chic parties, and Hemline@LSU, the official student fashion organization
at Louisiana State University.
(PHOTO: Project Runway All-Stars winner Anthony Ryan Auld, surrounded by fans at an AllBrands event.)
Outside of our home state, AllBrands responded
to the 2010 earthquake in Haiti. After learning that 60% of the country's
exports are sewn products, John M. donating over one hundred factory-sealed
Brother sewing machines to the cause. We are also a proud member of the
SeaHope Partners, working to do our part to curb the aftereffects of the
2010 Deepwater Horizon oil spill in the Gulf of Mexico, as well as the
Sewing
Machine Project, dedicated to donating machines around the world that
have been ravaged by misfortune and disaster.
At our various retail locations, AllBrands is
host to a variety of sewing classes for the community, incorporating such
guests and celebrities such as Paula Reid of Batts In the Attic
and Anthony Ryan Auld, first-place winner of Project Runway All-Stars
Season 2.
Giving back to the community is a massive part
of who we are. It's how we identify ourselves. Whether it's donating a
hundred sewing machines to Haiti, offering sewing classes to the community,
seeking out and presenting the biggest names in sewing and crafting,
working with and inspiring the local youth, or sponsoring local fashion
events, we are here to help.
(PHOTO: Paula Reid conducts a class at an AllBrands.)
THE ALLBRANDS
PROMISE
Dedicated to serving our community whether that's
Baton Rouge or any of our retail locations, or worldwide with our diverse
charity work we are here to give back. Our extensive contributions have
gone back more than thirty years, with well over a thousand machines
donated, annual machines given to our beloved local groups, and disaster
relief. We came from humble beginnings, and are resolved to leave a large,
positive footprint on the world one sewing class, fashion show, or donated
machine at a time.
We promise unparalleled customer service and satisfaction, guaranteed. We like to say that everyone on our team wears a lot of hats, and it's true that almost everyone does several distinctly different things. The overlap allows us to fulfill your every sewing need, and we collaborate to ensure your experience is the best it can be.
(PHOTO: Allbrands
Proclimation to The City Council of New Orleans CLICK TO
ENLARGE)
• " AllBrands.com Blog " (link)
• "Reinventing AllBrands", Business Report Article by Meredith Whitten" (link)
• "AllBrands Named LPB Underwriter of the Year" (link)
• "Baton Rouge Newspaper" (link)
• "Business Report" (link)
• "LSU Agricultural Center" (link)
• "The Times-Picayune - New Orleans Newspaper" (link)
• "July 2010 Issue of SQE Professional" (.PDF)
• "TheSewingMachineProject.org" (link)
• "Brother™ Article on Charity Work" (link)
• "Proclamation by the Council of the City of New Orleans" (.PDF)