For four decades, a Florida business made the Blue Angels’ ceremonial flight suits. Now, that relationship is over.
The Sewing Box, a Black-owned business in Pensacola, Florida, said they found out they lost their big client last month. The owner, Jellie Whitehurst, who is known as Candy, said she was completely blindsided.
Whitehurst told The New York Times she learned from an officer when she reached out to pay a visit to take measurements for new suits.
“It was devastating to lose it. Period,” she said. “But it was even more devastating to lose it like this. I would have never thought my Blues would do me like this – that they would treat me like this when we had a good relationship.”
According to sam.gov, the U.S. Navy awarded a new contract worth up to $1.69 million over five years to Aquila International, LLC in Virginia. Sam.gov is a government contracting website.
The business had already been outfitting the Blue Angels with flight gloves, compression garments, and other athletic apparel, according to company co-founder Todd Kelsey.
“Never have they did that for me ever,” Whitehurst told WEAR. “I’m making pennies compared to what they’re doing.”
Since 2014, the Sewing Box has earned $684,000 from the Navy to make the suits.
The new business is also far from the Blue Angels’ base in Pensacola, where Whitehurst’s business sits nearby.
The Blue Angels had been the shop’s largest customer, and it had produced, custom-fitted, and tailored thousands of flight suits since the 1970s.
Navy Says Whitehurst ‘Intended to Retire’
Cmdr. Amber Lewis, a spokeswoman for Navy Supply Systems Command, told the Times that Whitehurst had informed the Blue Angels back in January “that it was her intention to retire.”
“The following month, the formal, open process of posting, bidding and awarding the contract for the next supplier of Blue Angels uniforms was started and completed several months later in accordance with federal law,” Lewis said.
Lewis told the Times a notice seeking potential vendors was posted online Jan. 29. It remained open until Feb. 18.
“Sewing Box was not among those who submitted bids on the open and transparent process,” Lewis told the Times. “The contract was awarded to the best value to the government. The cost per uniform is less than the previous contract.”
Whitehurst said she never told the Blue Angels — or anyone else — that she was retiring. She did not publicly confirm her age.
“I have text messages where the guys were saying, ‘Oh, this is the best suit I ever had, right before I found out,” she told CNN. “I can just show you and tell you stories where they was just in here praising me, so why they took this initiative, I do not know. But I just wish they would have had a conversation with me beforehand.”
Whitehurst and her husband emphasized the importance of their relationship with the Blue Angels and how much they meant to their community.
“When you say Blue Angels, you think excitement, you think joy; they bring joy to the city,” Ronnie told CNN. “They bring joy to kids’ hearts. Even my wife, I think sometimes she loves the Blues more than she loves me with the amount of hours that she spent here getting this blue uniform perfect.”
After appearing on CNN, some people on social media began speculating that race might have been a factor.
Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth has taken action to end diversity, equity, and inclusion efforts, including programs intended to assist small businesses owned by minorities.
Whitehurst’s past contract documents noted that her business was small, woman- and minority-owned.
She told the Times she didn’t believe her race or gender played a role in her winning contracts to make the suits.
“They wanted me, and they knew I could do it,” she said. “My quality was the factor.”
Potential Suit Changes
The change also raises questions about ownership of the flight suit design.
In 2018, the Navy sought an $81,600 sole-source contract with The Sewing Box. It said it had to go with The Sewing Box because The Sewing Box owned the design, and the Blue Angels could not send it to other vendors.
The 2018 decision also mentioned the Sewing Box’s proximity to the Blue Angels. A local vendor was reportedly needed to accommodate the flyers’ demanding show schedule and occasional on-site measurements. That contract expired in 2022.
The Aquila deal did not mention a redesign. Sam.gov said the deal “encompasses the construction, alteration, and repair of highly specialized ceremonial flight suit uniforms.”
Kelsey told WEAR his company plans to subcontract production to another manufacturer operating at several locations around the country. He did not say if The Sewing Box would be among them.
Making flight suits for the Blue Angels has always been a handmade process for Whitehurst. She said she makes 85 to 100 suits each year, each costing an estimated $850.
“It’s a lot of joy and pride that I feel that the world sees something I made,” she said.
Whitehurst told the Times she started working at The Sewing Box in 1989. She learned how to craft the infamous Blue Angels suits with Samuel Miller, a former Navy officer who opened the shop around 1978.
The business owner is reportedly in talks with an attorney to look into potential legal action.
“It would mean a lot to me if I could get them back,” Whitehurst said. “And when I retire – when I decide to retire – I would like to retire as the maker of the flight suits.”
Atlanta Black Star made multiple attempts to contact Whitehurst but has not heard back.
