This press release was done at the college I attended. I balanced a full college schedule and my broom making business from 2003 until 2006. I graduated in December 2006 with an Associates degree in Business Management. I have been making brooms full time since I was 17 and now that I am out of college I am working even more and I absolutely love it!
Somerset Community College
Press Release
October 2006
SCC Business Management Degree and 100-year-old machines
help Chris Robbins’ build hand-crafted broom business
Somerset Community College student Chris Robbins makes hand-made broom and mops. He has been making brooms since he was 14-years-old. Now, at 21, Robbins is majoring in Business Management at SCC.
“Coming to SCC has really helped me in my business,” Robbins said. “The business management program has taught me different aspects of business. Now, I manage my time better. I’ve learned about marketing and advertising. Accounting taught me how to manage my finances.”
This semester Robbins is taking a web design class which he hopes will assist him in improving his www.broomsbychris.com web site.
Robbins is the son of Miachel and Peggy Robbins of Ottawa in Rockcastle County. The quality of Robbins' work has been recognized with membership in top crafts groups like Sheltowee Artisans, the Kentucky Guild and Kentucky Crafted.
Robbins’ broom making began almost by accident when Chris and his father helped to move a group of old log cabins known as the “BitterSweet Cabins” to the famous country music venue at Renfro Valley. One of the cabins was a broom shop that was fully equipped with broom making equipment from the 1800s.
“At one point, I was bored, so I went into the broom shop and made a couple of brooms,” Robbins recalled.
Not long after that, Robbins met Jim Harmon at the Berea Crafts Show. Harmon was a master broom maker from Springfield, KY. Robbins stopped at his booth during the crafts show and began talking to the master about broom making.
“I think he was excited to find someone so young who was interested in making brooms,” Robbins said. “Soon after that he began teaching me to make brooms at the BitterSweet Cabins in Renfro Valley. Then, I began working at Renfro Valley on the weekends demonstrating how to make brooms.”
Robbins’ brooms sold well in the Renfro Valley gift shop, so when Harmon offered to sell him two 100-year-old machines used for making brooms, Robbins bought them. In 2001, Robbins set up the machines in a shop above his parents’ garage and started into full-time business.
Recently, someone gave Robbins an old log cabin that belonged to his ancestors. He is in the process of restoring the cabin and it will eventually house his business.
Robbins made two kinds of brooms when he started. Today he makes 25 different broom varieties, some with interesting names like a “cake tester” or a “mountain cobweb grabber.” He recently added hand-crafted cotton mops to his inventory.
“People love them,” he said. “You can’t beat them for cleaning and they can last several years if you take care of them.”
Robbins comes from a crafty family. His father decorates gourds, while his 15-year-old brother does chair caning.
In addition to being found at his website, Robbins brooms are available at several Kentucky State Parks. You can also see him make brooms at any Sheltowee Artisans show.
SCC student Chris Robbins makes brooms the old-fashioned way – Chris Robbins, a business management major at Somerset Community College, ties one of his hand-crafted brooms during a Kentucky Crafted show using a 100-year-old broom making machine. The string Robbins is using is hemp which is the material used to tie brooms for centuries. Today, the hemp Robbins’ uses must be imported from Romania. Robbins said that the education he is receiving at SCC has helped him build his business. Robbins' brooms are sold at several Kentucky State Parks, online at www.broomsbychris.com, at the Kentucky Artisan Center at Berea, at BitterSweet Cabins in Renfro Valley, and many other craft and gift shops throughout the United States.
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