Sisters go to extremes with clothing line

Snowboarding is extreme, but not nearly as drastic as the measure two sisters took to enjoy the sport.

When vacations weren't enough anymore, the former Greensburg women moved all the way to the state of Washington to ride the fresh powder in the mountains of Bellingham. But the West Coast move served up more than just a chance to "rip it up" on the slopes for Marissa Noppe, 23, and Adrienne Noppe, 20. Frustrated with the selection in women's extreme-wear clothing, last year the two started Burly Girls, a line of stylish extreme wear just for women.

"Stores that have extreme wear don't carry a good selection of girls clothes. You would either be buying men's clothes or girl's clothes that were designed really small. It is hard to find something that really fits, especially for muscular girls who do snowboarding and things like that," Adrienne Noppe said.

Marissa Noppe said the name came about from a friend who would respond to just about anything or anyone with the word "burly."

Although it's only been a year, the Noppes said the business is doing well with merchandise available online and locally at Leveled Inc., in Latrobe, as well as a store in Glacier, Wash. The line offers casual clothing and accessories such as key chains, visors and belts that sport the Burly Girls logo.

Between their full-time jobs — Marissa is a bartender and Adrienne is a whitewater river guide — the two fill their days with sewing tags, developing new designs and booking trade shows, not to mention getting some good slope time in during the winter and riding the waves in the warmer months.

This fall will present more challenges with time constraints as the two start back to college to strengthen their business skills. After a short hiatus to work on the business and with two years of study already under her belt, Marissa Noppe will attend the Western Washington University where she plans to delve into their advertising, marketing and business program.

Adrienne will start college at the Whatcom Community College in Bellingham. She will study graphic design.

During the first year, the two determined, young entrepreneurs said they learned their way through the business world through trial and error. They both want to be their own boss and spend their time involved in what they love most — extreme sports. The business gives them the best of both of those worlds.

"We don't want to work for someone else," Marissa said. "We knew it was going to be a lot of work and time consuming. But we are having a fun time so far and meeting good people. We were doing everything in house, and we just moved into an office. It's a lot easier now that we have our own space."

The sisters aren't complete strangers to the business world. There mother, Judy Palmer, owns Billy's Restaurant, in New Alexandria, and their father, Michael Noppe, runs Noppe & Associates title company on Main Street, in Greensburg.

With that business savvy family gene under their Burly Girl belt, the sisters hope to expand the line to include stylish outerwear for snowboarding and a whole kayaking line complete with logo embellished life vests and other types of extreme sporting equipment.

"Next year, our catalog will include a skateboard deck that will include the logo, and we will have skateboard decks that are narrower because girls have smaller feet," Adrienne Noppe said. "There are just so many things we can do with Burly Girls, it's just a matter of time."