My $1 Million Business Solves a Common Office Problem: Warmür

Key Takeaways

- Helman founded Warmür in 2021 and made the first prototype in her living room.

- She was surprised by the demand, but leaned into it to build her business.

- Warmür saw $200,000 in sales last year and is on track to hit $1 million in 2026.

This as-told-to story is based on a conversation with Jane Helman, the Australia-based founder of Warmür, which sells office chair blankets designed to keep people professional and warm on Zoom calls and in the workplace. The brand is now stocked on Uncommon Goods, Amazon US, CA and AU; Walmart online; Grommet online; and Staples Canada.

Founded in 2021, Warmür spent its first few years building to $150,000 in revenue. Then in 2025, Helman relaunched the brand with a new design direction, and in just six months, July to December, generated approximately $200,000 across direct sales and wholesale. With $500,000 in combined retail value stock either in production or in the pipeline, Warmür is on a clear trajectory toward $1 million by the end of 2026. The piece has been edited for length and clarity.

Image Credit: Warmür. Jane Helman.

In 2021, I was living in Canada, and it was February, so it was absolutely freezing. I had been laid off from my job, so I was a bit down on myself. And, like most people during Covid, home by myself. I started reading through a stack of books, wrapping up in a giant fuzzy blanket to get cozy.

Spilled coffee led to frustration — and a business idea

One day, as I was reading and taking notes, I leaned forward to reach for my pen, and the blanket knocked over my coffee. I was like, “There’s no way. This is so impractical.” Assuming I’d be doing this for a while, I searched for a nice-looking wearable blanket online. And all I came across were blankets with hoods and big bulky things with avocados on them. I was like, “This is so not my style. I’m a beige girl.” I just wanted a blanket that looked nice and draped seamlessly over the desk chair — so if somebody jumped on FaceTime or said, “Join this Google Meet,” I’d still look good. I decided to make one for myself since I had a lot of spare time.

Using a childhood sewing machine to start a business

I drove home and picked up the sewing machine I’d gotten when I was 12. I had no idea how to use it. It was still in the box. I brought it back, and on my living room coffee table, sewed together the first prototype. I just had this vision in my head of what I would want it to look like. A very rough idea. I’m not a fashion designer whatsoever. I went to the fabric store and asked the employees which fabrics might work well for an office chair blanket, and they suggested fleece. I bought a bunch of different materials.

The very first thing I did was have somebody sit in a chair, and I put two scarves over their shoulders, and I was like, “I love it. I see the vision.” Then I cut out different shapes on the floor until it made sense. Because I was a bit of a mad scientist in the sewing department, the product development process did take a lot of trial and error. Starting with even getting the sewing machine to work. But eventually, I had a functional product. I took the blanket over to a friend’s house and asked them what they thought. My friend’s brother walked in and said he’d take ten. He wanted to give them to employees at his insurance firm.

Image Credit: Warmür

For some reason, it felt like a very isolated need. But as soon as I put it out into the world, everyone was like, “That’s exactly what we’ve been looking for.” And I was like, “Wow, okay.” I was not trying to start a business here. I was just trying to solve my own problem — but I saw a major opportunity for the product in the workplace, particularly in the realm of corporate gifting.

Working at Shopify brings valuable business lessons

Ironically, a couple months after I came up with the idea, I started working for Shopify. It was kind of a match made in heaven. It was an opportunity for me to learn the ecommerce world and also to use my own product every day. So that really helped me with product development. The very first ones that I made, probably for the first year, were manufactured by a local seamstress. Because if I learned anything from that first prototype, it was that sewing is definitely not my thing. So I brought it to her, and she made me a paper pattern. At that point, I was selling on my own website that I had built through Shopify.

Then I actually posted a video on TikTok that went viral in that first year. I had a retailer based out of New York reach out, Uncommon Goods, and they said they wanted to stock the product. I was like, “Oh no, here we go.” That pushed me to get real manufacturing because the seamstress said, “I’m way too busy. I can’t make hundreds of blankets in my little shop.”

I really wanted to partner with other women-owned businesses,