It’s a couple days before our line is officially out there for sale. It’s been in the works for a year now. I left my job at D2 brands last September, and then the economy went in the tank. That’s been fun hasn’t it? Well, imagine the pushback on a new line…
I feel like taking this step has put me more in the spotlight than I feel comfortable being at times. There are times when it feels like the most natural thing to be talking about the line and myself and my journey, and at others I just feel like I’m looking in. Everyone thinks it’s exciting, but all I feel right now is nerves. I remember running the fashion show and feeling the same way until the moment the show started, a build of adrenaline that exploded once the first look hit the catwalk.
Designing is personal, but you’d never know I think that from talking to me. I’m pretty straight faced to critique, I take it in. I believe it’s my job as a designer to hear the bad more than the good, because really it’s my job to fix the problems. I accept that responsibility. I sometimes hear the things people think too, because I listen to what’s in between the lines and what is left unsaid as much as what is said out loud.
I’m waiting to share this! I’m waiting to get this out there and hear both good and bad reviews, because I can’t expect everyone to love it! Hearing my fellow designers who are pursuing starting their own lines makes me feel like it’s all a possibility. I think of this as truly the American Dream, and I so badly hope that the garment industry remains alive enough to let it be a possibility for future fashion designers as well.
my favorite bag in my lap, bag of samples and lookbook heading to factory in brooklyn…
I welcome competition, I welcome anyone who has the kahunas to walk in these shoes. Being an entrepreneur is not easy, and the things I think about keep me up at night. It’s like Monk says “it’s a blessing, and a curse.” Really, that is how it is. A blessing to be alive and have the ability to pursue this, to have the drive to follow this. It’s a curse because the journey can be so exhausting. I think in the end the good outweighs the bad, but it definitely takes a certain personality to navigate that road.
 |
 |
I try to be understanding and answer people’s questions about starting a business as often as I can, but I am also aware that each business no matter how similar in product is a totally different experience with different challenges based on the person starting it. For me the challenge has been to remain motivated when I spend most of my time alone, and even when I’m surrounded by people I can often be alone in my head…
muggy day, looking out of the stairwell (very dirty old brooklyn window)
No wonder, this has been my calender for just this week before the show…
