Charlotte entrepreneur selling more homemade gnomes than ever after landing ‘Shark Tank’ deal

CHARLOTTE, N.C. (WBTV) - Charlotte-based Wendy Hoffmeister and her business selling handmade gnomes are getting more attention than ever after being featured on ‘Shark Tank’ on Friday.

Hoffmeister landed a $200,000 investment from shark Daymond John for 30% equity in her business.

Her company, Wendy’s Gnome Shop, brings joy to people across the country in the form of gnomes for every occasion.

“We’ve packed over about 1,500 orders since we aired, and the orders are still coming in,” Hoffmeister told WBTV on Sunday. “About one every five minutes, so it’s absolutely amazing.”

She makes the unique gnomes from the workshop in the comfort of her Charlotte home.

“They come plain and then I attach trim and bows, before we add the beard and the hat,” she said.

Her national television debut is pushing her business to a whole new level of success.

“Normally we sell about 50 a day, now we’ve sold a couple thousand,” she said.

What started as a hobby on the side of her career as a labor and delivery nurse, became a full time job.

“March of 2020 was the first month that I sold more than 100, so it really started during the pandemic,” she said. “I think people were just home and they weren’t out shopping and they needed something so that contributed to it. And then they found something that they just love, and they found something that made them smile in a time when no one was really smiling.”

She left her job in the hospital to create smiles with these furry friends on a daily basis.

“We have some customers that have over 50 gnomes,” she said. “Any one I make, they order.”

It is a creative outlet transforming into an unexpected business venture, and Wendy says she’s just getting started.

“I think someday I’d like to open a store,” she said. “I’d like to open them all over. I think that’d be wonderful.”

Her gnomes range from $30 to $35 dollars and can be purchased online.

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