Editor’s note: This is the latest in a series of articles on where to “shop local, shop small” in and around Waynesboro.
WAYNESBORO—By day, Cindy Broas is the mild-mannered office manager for the Washington Township Police Department, but in her off hours, she is The Wicked Hen, craft extraordinaire.
The Wicked Hen and Her Deviled Egg is the name of her business and her daughter, Addison, 13, is “Her Deviled Egg.”
“I had seen a funny sign somewhere that said, “Wicked hens lay deviled eggs,” Broas explained of how she came up with the moniker for her side hustle making custom tumblers, shirts, koozies and more.
“I do the creation and she helps me do pricing and tagging and stocking. She’s my good little deviled egg,” Broas said.
The two work from home. “My ‘henhouse’ [workshop] is actually in my basement,” she said. “My husband is very supportive and my kids are, too.”
From present to gifts
Broas started the business rather by accident in 2019.
“Every year, my husband asks what he can get me for Christmas. On Black Friday, we got a really good deal on a Cricut,” she recalled. “I played around with it a little bit and my son came home on leave for Christmas that year and asked me to help design a sweatshirt for his military unit.”
Broas said they made 25 sweatshirts that were sent to Poland for Defender-Europe.
Then, the COVID pandemic hit and Broas began making logo masks.
“It just kind of exploded from there,” she said.
Success came after she made some custom masks for the Maryland State Police and some of her masks turned up at the Presidential inauguration.
“It’s something little, but it’s big to me,” Broas said.
Having mastered the Cricut, it was on to other craft tools—a sublimation printer and a heat press.
“I make T-shirts, sweatshirts, coasters, koozies, stickers and tumblers,” she said. “I can take a photo and put it on a tumbler, a mouse pad, a sticker … just about anything you want.”
Keeping it real
Once Broas decided to turn her hobby into a business, it was on to the next steps.
“It’s been an adventure making this a legitimate business. I’m licensed through the state of Pa.,” she said. “It really does make you stop and think about supporting small local businesses because of all the work that goes into it.”
Broas sells her creations at local shows and shops and customers can buy from her inventory or order a custom piece. She said she’s always looking for ideas. “I’m willing to try anything,” she said. “I have a lot of fun with it.”
Despite her creativity and passion, Broas said she has no plans to turn her part-time gig into something full-time.
“This is my bonus job,” she said. “I love my real job. It would be hard to leave that for this.”
The Wicked Hen and Her Deviled Egg will be at the Main Street Holiday Bazaar on Saturday, Dec. 11, from 10 a.m. to 4 p.m. or daily at D&G Treasures, 11359 Anthony Hwy., Waynesboro, and Mason Dixon Creations, 26 W. Main St., Waynesboro. You can also order online through Facebook or her website.
