WomanMade Products is celebrating 50 years in business with a new owner, a familiar family connection and plans to keep the longtime Seneca Falls shop rooted on Fall Street.
Founder Becky Bly transferred ownership of the business in June to her niece, Stephanie Yearsley, marking the beginning of a new chapter for a store that has been part of downtown Seneca Falls for more than three decades.
The transition comes as WomanMade prepares to celebrate its 50th anniversary with a public event from 2 to 6 p.m. Sept. 12 at the store, 91 Fall St. The celebration will include refreshments, live music from Annie and Marley, storewide discounts and specials, and commemorative T-shirts for the first 50 guests.
Bly founded WomanMade Products on Long Island in 1976. The business began as a T-shirt screen-printing company and gift shop and also operated a feminist and LGBTQ bookstore during its early years.
As the bookstore business changed, Bly relocated WomanMade to Seneca Falls in 1991, where its focus on women-centered products found a natural fit in the community known as the birthplace of the women’s rights movement.
After several moves, the business eventually settled at 91 Fall St. and developed into a downtown fixture selling original apparel, gifts, books, fair-trade goods, woman-made products, souvenirs and custom screen printing.
Over the years, Bly also became active in a wide range of local organizations and events, including downtown initiatives, women’s rights programming, the It’s a Wonderful Life Festival, Canal Fest, Seneca Community Players and the Seneca Falls Performing Arts Center.
She was named Seneca County Woman of the Year by the Seneca County Women’s Coalition in 2023, an honor that was also recognized by the New York State Legislature.
Yearsley said keeping the business locally owned and in Seneca Falls was a priority as she took over.
“Becoming the new owner of WomanMade means much more than buying a business,” Yearsley said. “Becky built something over the last 50 years that has become part of our family, part of our community, and has empowered women from all over who have visited Seneca Falls.”
Yearsley plans to continue the store’s in-house screen-printing operation and its focus on woman-made, woman-owned and women-supporting products. She also plans to expand the business’s online presence, add new merchandise and look for new ways to serve both local customers and visitors to Seneca Falls.
She said some changes will come with the new ownership, but the business’s broader identity will remain intact.
“I feel incredibly lucky to be the person who gets to carry it forward,” Yearsley said.
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