Australian founder used her childhood sewing machine to create office-chair blankets; her business recorded $200,000 in sales in six months and targeted $1 million in 2026

A spilt coffee, a job loss and an unused childhood sewing machine helped inspire Jane Helman to create Warmür, an Australia-based business selling blankets designed to drape over office chairs. The idea began as a solution to a practical problem: staying warm at a desk without looking as though she were wrapped in a conventional blanket during video calls. In an as-told-to account published by Entrepreneur in May 2026, Helman described how the business developed from a homemade prototype into a retail product. The publication’s editorial introduction reported approximately $200,000 in sales across direct sales and wholesale between July and December 2025, and cited a $1 million sales target for 2026. The target was a projection at the time of publication, not a confirmed result. That figure was a forecast at the time of publication, not a confirmed year-end result. Her account traces the idea from a homemade prototype to a business selling through online and retail channels.Warmür founder Jane Helman: a spilt coffee and a childhood sewing machineIn her as-told-to account for Entrepreneur, Helman said the idea began in February 2021, when she was living in Canada after being laid off. She recalled spending time at home reading while wrapped in a large, fuzzy blanket. One day, as she leaned forward to reach for a pen, the blanket knocked over her coffee. The incident made her reconsider how practical ordinary blankets were for someone working at a desk. She searched online for a wearable blanket that looked suitable for video calls, but the options she found were bulky or had designs that did not suit her taste. She wanted something that would drape neatly over an office chair while keeping her warm.Helman decided to make a prototype herself. She retrieved a sewing machine she had received at age 12 and began working on the idea, despite having little sewing experience. She experimented with fabrics and sought advice at a fabric store before developing a workable design. The first product attracted interest beyond her own needs. According to Helman's account, a friend’s brother asked her to make 10 blankets for employees at his insurance firm. That early request suggested that the product could appeal to other people who wanted to stay warm at work without relying on an ordinary blanket. Helman began selling the product through a website built using Shopify. At this stage, the business grew from a practical solution to a personal problem rather than from a fully developed retail strategy.How Warmür grew through Shopify, TikTok and Uncommon GoodsWarmür’s next stage came through a combination of online sales and retail interest. Helman began working at Shopify, where she gained experience with e-commerce while continuing to develop her own business. She initially relied on a local seamstress to make the blankets, selling them through her own website. Within the first year, a TikTok video featuring the product went viral. The attention brought the brand to the notice of Uncommon Goods, a retailer that wanted to stock the blankets. The opportunity also created a production challenge: the seamstress could not make the hundreds of units that a retail order might require.Helman began searching for a manufacturer that could handle larger orders. In her account for Entrepreneur, she said the search took 8 months. She eventually found a women-owned manufacturing facility in Toronto and worked with it for 3 years, until the business outgrew its production capacity. Helman described Warmür as entirely bootstrapped. She said pretty much all her savings went into the business and that she reinvested its earnings rather than seeking outside funding. She also described herself as the company’s only official employee, with support from contractors, family, friends and her professional network.In 2023, Helman left her job at Shopify to focus on Warmür full time. She said the company supported her decision. Entrepreneur’s editorial introduction listed Uncommon Goods, Amazon in the United States, Canada and Australia, Walmart online, Grommet online and Staples Canada among the brand’s retail channels. The distribution network illustrates how the company expanded beyond its own online store while remaining a small operation. It also brought new demands, including production planning, inventory management and customer service, that are more complex than selling directly through a small e-commerce site.Warmür’s design upgrade, customs challenges and path to $1 millionThe business has also had to adapt its product and operations as demand grew. For its first 4 years, Warmür used a design close to the original prototype. Helman said she collected customer feedback before developing an updated version with several practical changes. The revised design included a zipper to accommodate chairs with headrests, front buttons to help keep the blanket in place, and tassels and fringe intended to make it blend more naturally with office decor. The company also added a fleece layer to the outer knit material to make the inside feel more like a conventional blanket. Helman also described difficulties with an import from a new factory in China to Canada. She said she had expected the shipment to arrive within about 2 weeks, but it was flagged in customs. The experience involved approximately three and a half weeks of late-night and early-morning communication with the factory. She said the episode taught her to allow more time for imports and keep customers informed when delivery expectations change.Warmür also received publicity through its inclusion in gift bags for 2026 Oscar nominees. In her account for Entrepreneur, Helman said the company had sent 45 blankets to nominees and first-time directors as part of its promotional activity around the Academy Awards. Such placements can raise brand awareness, although they do not by themselves establish how much additional revenue they generate. According to Entrepreneur’s editorial introduction, Warmür spent its first few years building to $150,000 in revenue. The introduction also reported approximately $200,000 in sales across direct sales and wholesale between July and December 2025, following the product relaunch. Entrepreneur’s editorial introduction put the retail value of inventory in production or in the pipeline at approximately $500,000. That figure represents potential retail value, not revenue already earned, and does not establish how much of the inventory will ultimately sell.Entrepreneur’s headline and editorial introduction framed $1 million in sales as Warmür’s target for 2026. Published in May, that figure was a projection rather than a confirmed result. The material cited here does not establish whether the business subsequently met the target. The reported six-month sales figure of approximately $200,000 also shows that reaching the target would require substantial further growth. Helman’s story offers a practical lesson for aspiring founders: a business can begin with a small problem, but growth requires more than an original idea. Manufacturing capacity, customer feedback, reliable fulfilment and distribution all become increasingly important as demand expands. Warmür’s next milestone is to turn its growing retail presence and updated product into sustained sales that support its seven-figure ambition.You use AI every day. Now get your AI Quotient. Take the AIQ test.