Laurie Wright, a Stillwater High School graduate from the class of 1996, is back in Minnesota along with her successful business, Modern Envy Apparel. The company “carries sports-inspired socks in several different colors,” and released a line of hats last year, Wright says. She owns the business along with Chad Nakano. They pair lived in California until last year, when they decided to quit their jobs to fully commit to Modern Envy Apparel. With this decision came a move back to Wright’s roots in the St. Croix Valley.
“This decision was not an easy one, but a necessary one,” Wright says. They were doing a large portion of their sales in Minnesota and looked forward to returning to family and friends.
In the past months, they’ve been all over the Twin Cities, selling products at a variety of pop-up shops, including Mall of America, Southdale Mall, the Holiday Boutique at U.S. Bank Stadium and hockey tournaments in Stillwater, Wright says. This summer, look for Modern Envy Apparel at the Minnesota State Fair. This will be the company’s fourth year at the fair which is consistently their biggest event. Wright says she practically grew up at the fair. Her family has a combined 100 years of service working in some way at the Minnesota State Fair. “Now, having my own business there is very cool,” she says. Modern Envy has also sponsored the Stillwater Boys Hockey team and partners with other organizations to donate products or portions of sales.
