When Darlene Cahill couldn’t find the right holster to fit her body and her firearm, she decided to make one herself.
“I decided to come up with something that would be more comfortable for me,” Darlene said. “I was just problem solving for myself.”
Traditional gun holsters were bulky and unforgiving. They were hard and uncomfortable. They left bruises on Darlene’s side. So Darlene fashioned her own holster, hand-sewing it out of elastic and non-slip grip.
Little did she know that countless women across the world would have the same complaint. A friend suggested she make her holsters available online and her product took off.
“It just kept snowballing every month,” she said. “I had to start calling my friends from church, asking if they could help me sew because I couldn’t sew them all on my own.”
Eventually, she started her own business called Can Can Concealment. Based in New Port Richey, her company offers different styles and sizes of holsters with a woman’s body and fashion in mind. Hip huggers, garters and corsets allow access to the weapon without ruining the woman’s silhouette. In the last two years, Can Can Concealment sold more than 6,000 items.
“We wanted to be able to wear our regular clothes and have our normal silhouette without showing that you’re wearing a firearm,” Darlene said. “We wanted it to be comfortable, but we wanted it to be cute.”
The company is based in New Port Richey and sews all their products by hand.
Each holster is made of military grade elastic. Non-slip, hypoallergenic silicone lines the inside to provide a stable grip. The holsters come in different sizes and different capacities – the classic size can hold weapons under 6.5 inches and the ‘Big Shebang’ size can hold firearms above 6.5 inches.
It’s important for a person to be able to protect themselves, Darlene said. She’s proud that she can help women feel empowered and safe.
“It just makes my heart soar to read the emails of all the women who now have a way to carry, to protect themselves,” she said.