Owners Bio

Susie Duboe-Bryant, president of Dubofsky Inc, the parent company of Hinsdale Furriers, This Old Fur and Formally Hers in Hinsdale, IL (a suburb of Chicago) has been part of the retail family business since the tender age of 6 when she began as a pin sorter. At the helm of Hinsdale Furriers since 1982, Susie has expanded the family business to include This Old Fur (a fur consignment shop) and recently Duboe Bryant is opening “Formally Hers,” an upscale consignment shop of ladies’ formal wear, cocktail attire, bridal wear, elegant shoes and evening purses.

Hinsdale Furriers is a full service furrier that offers a complete line of new fur and shearling coats, jackets and accessories, as well as onsite fur coat storage, cleaning, repairs and redesign. Susie and her team take great pride in the way they blend modern fashion ideas with old world workmanship, and with its website presence expanding, Hinsdale Furriers now serves customers across the country (www.hinsdalefurriers.com).

Susie (3rd generation owner) and her niece Melissa (4th generation) are the dynamic duo that manage all 3 of the family businesses. They pride themselves on knowing what the customer wants and then making sure to fill the need. This practice is what prompted them to open “This Old Fur” a small corner of Hinsdale Furriers, 8 years ago. Many customers had furs that they inherited, out grew, or no longer had the need for and didn’t have any idea what to do with them. Thus “This Old Fur” was born as a fur consignment shop and has continued to grow each season. “This Old Fur” accepts furs from all over the United States and does much of its business via the web (www.thisoldfur.com).

In November of 2009, the space above Hinsdale Furriers became available. Susie and Melissa decided to take advantage of this prime location and open Formally Hers (www.formallyhers.com) , an upscale consignment shop featuring formal wear, cocktail attire, bridal wear, shoes and evening bags. Due to their great reputation for an eye for style and the ability make things happen, the dream of this new consignment shop became a reality. Before the shop even opened they had accumulated over 300 items ranging from Jimmy Choo shoes, St John Evening suits, Escada evening gowns and a Judith Lieber bag brought in by over 30 consignors.

Thanks to Susie’s incredible and reliable team of coworkers, she is still able to devote time to the civic organizations that she is most passionate about. After losing her best friend to a drunk driver, Susie became a victim impact speaker for Mothers Against Drunk Driving. As a volunteer since 1985, Susie is also very active with Women In Need Growing Stronger (WINGS). As a board member from 1991 to 2001, she served three terms as president and a period of time as acting director of the agency while a new director was being found. In honor of her decade of exceptional service, WINGS bestowed on Susie the title of Honorary Lifetime Board Member. Passionate about helping women succeed in business, she helped found two Chicago area mentoring organizations: Network of Women Entrepreneurs and West Suburban Women Entrepreneurs. In addition, she enjoys hosting women entrepreneurs from Tanzania and other nations, arranging onsite visits and social events with other entrepreneurs and serves as a member on the Enterprising Women National Advisory Board.

The awards Susie has received are a reflection of her hard work, passion and determination. She was a winner of the 2008 Enterprising Women of the Year Award. She was named Women Business Owner of the Year in 2007 by NAWBO Chicago. Hinsdale Furriers was recognized as a finalist in Loyola University’s Family Business of the Year Award in 2005 and 2007. In 2007 Hinsdale Furriers received the SBA Family Business of the Year Award.