It’s a pajama party for Richmond alum and REM Sleepwear founder
Alumni
A pivotal moment led this Robins School of Business graduate to launch her dream company during her senior year.
Penelope Armenio, a 2024 business administration and marketing major, didn’t have “brainstorm a business idea” on her to-do list that life-changing Sunday during her senior year. Instead, she was simply folding pajamas on a typical weekend when she had an epiphany — she would create a line of pajamas.
“I’ve always believed that cozy pajamas are the start of a beautiful evening routine. Putting on a comfortable pair of pajamas is a small act of self-care,” Armenio said.
Armenio examined her sleepwear, considering everything from the fabrics to the features, imagining what the perfect pajama would be like. “While looking at all my pajamas, I noticed features I would have changed about each one. So I thought, why don't I build my own brand that I’m obsessed with and want to wear every night?”
She funded her company — REM Sleepwear— with her own money and, to date, has sold about 200 sets. “Right now, most everything I make goes right back into REM to cover marketing and inventory expenses. I have been focused on growing sustainably and putting every dollar toward building the brand the right way.”
Cozy pajamas are the start of a beautiful evening routine. Putting on a comfortable pair of pajamas is a small act of self-care.”
The proof is in the fiber
Armenio now considers herself an expert on pajamas. She went through several rounds of creating prototypes and tested over 100 fabrics to find the perfect blend for her pajamas — soft, comfortable, breathable, and cooling. She settled on a silky modal fabric, washing it multiple times, sleeping in it, and wearing it often to see how it held up.
“I wanted to ensure each detail was perfect. I shared samples with family and friends, and everyone said they were the softest PJs they had ever worn,” she said.
While material was a main concern for Armenio, so was style. “I also wanted to make pajamas that boosted your confidence and made you feel good about yourself while you were getting ready for bed,” she said.
She credits her college advisor and Robins School marketing instructor Bill Bergman for his help along the way. His disruptive marketing class had piqued her interest in creating a brand. “He’s always been super-supportive of this project and even helped me earn a marketing credit while building my business,” she said.
Armenio also gained valuable insight for her brand from other UR classes, including professional selling with marketing professor Jeffrey Carlson, business law with lecturer Jeffrey McMahan, and strategic management with management professor Jeff Harrison. “The professors really went out of their way to show they cared,” she said.
A product with a purpose
REM Sleepwear is currently a one-woman operation run out of Armenio’s childhood Massachusetts home. “I’ve turned my bedroom into my office, the sunroom holds my inventory, and I am also the packaging and shipping department,” she laughed. “I am hands-on with every detail, from packaging to fulfillment, and I personally check each order to make sure it ships within three days.”
Armenio has her eyes on expansion. She plans to add robes, tanks, shirts, slippers, and men’s sleep boxers to her offerings. The men’s sleep boxers are an idea that came courtesy of her boyfriend Wayne Galloway, a class of 2024 UR graduate and former Spider football linebacker and team captain, who willingly modeled her PJ creations for the company’s Instagram.
She hopes to hire employees to assist her with the day-to-day operations. “I’m exploring different avenues for scaling my business,” she said. While REM can be found online and in a Rhode Island boutique, Armenio's immediate goal is to increase her retail presence.
Armenio is also mindful of finding ways to give back. She donates two percent of REM Sleepwear proceeds to cancer care and research in the Boston area in honor of her dad, Vincent, and hopes to begin donating pajamas to cancer centers for patients undergoing chemotherapy.
“I always thought of him as a hero,” she said about her father. She learned a great deal about how Vincent — an oncologist who passed away during her junior year — had touched the lives of so many as she stood beside him, listening to his former patients express their gratitude.
“I just wanted to make a brand my dad would be proud of.”