Following the loss of her mother, Pam Stanley, a world renowned watercolor artist, Manny Altman was in search of a new direction in life. The year was 2012. “My loss was tragic,” says Manny. “I needed to find an outlet to grieve.”
Manny grew up in Corpus Christi, Texas and fished the beach on Padre Island from age 3. “I have always been an angler at heart, and as I grew up my passion for fishing grew with me.”
The loss of her mom and her passion for fishing lead Manny to dedicate her new efforts towards a love and a cause. “I decided to pour my heart, grief, and love of fishing, into sun protection.” In a very short period of time her labor of love resulted in the birth of her company, Tailin’ Toads.
Manny explains that she and her husband have been together for 24 years and have been fishing together most of those years. The last eight years they fished competitively. “I was wearing the gloves with the cut off fingers. I couldn’t stand the smell or the seams between my fingers.” She decided to make her own glove that would allow angler’s fingers to be completely free. “I wanted to be able to tie lures, land fish, rinse off the slime and still have the 50 UVP protection anglers need so desperately.”
The first prototype was tested by Manny, her husband and some of their well known angler friends. The response was overwhelming. Manny knew she had created a glove than anglers liked.
The next step in the process was a three month search for quality fabrics. “After I found the fabric I wanted, I decided to catch my own fish and make a sublimated print of my fish on the fabric for the gloves.”
“My goal has, and always will be, to make my fabrics in the USA. I hand sew each pair of gloves myself, and have healed tremendously through this journey.” She attributes part of her healing to feedback received from anglers that use her product. “The joy I have gotten from the positive responses from anglers in such places as Australia and Canada and all over the world has been awesome.”
She describes the primary benefit of using Tailin’ Toads Fingerless Fishing Gloves as the protection from harmful UV rays and the prevention of skin cancer. The secondary, but important, benefit to anglers is the complete freedom of movement allowed for the fingers. Threading line through rod guides, tying knots, handling fish and every other angling function is easier with the fingerless gloves. Manny adds to this description, “They are pretty cool looking too!”
Continuing her theme of sun protection she has created a matching hand woven face shield. The product line has now expanded to include the original fingerless glove, a face shield, rod/reel covers, paddle covers, microfiber hats and performance shirts.
“My target audience has been primarily anglers,” says Manny, “but I have sold many gloves to hunters, gardeners, and outdoor enthusiasts of all kinds.” Anyone that spends considerable time in the sun should take a look at these sun protection gloves.
The full line of products can be viewed at www.tailintoads.com.
The name Tailin’ Toads came to Manny about 3:00 in the morning. It was the night following her mom’s celebration of life. She started thinking about tournament fishing and redfish in particular. “I thought since redfish eat on the bottom, and their tails stick out of the water, Tailin’ was the perfect first name. When we catch a slot redfish, we call it a Toad. I put the two together, and Tailin’ Toads just fit.” And the rest, as they say, is history.
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