On Fashion Entrepreneurship: A Peek Inside the Hustle

A month in the life of a fashion entrepreneur

In this newsletter:

🧐 Homebound Reflections - reassessing how night owl turned morning bird change affects my creativity

👗 Rebranding Bastet Noir - delving into the complexities of rebranding

📚 Leadership and Personal Growth - how the Good Global Fund leadership program is refining my business focus and personal growth strategies.

🤔 Community Challenges - a local tragedy has prompted a deep reflection on my community role

Dear readers,

These past few months I grew quite accustomed to my couch potato life. I’ve fallen into a routine, I’m quite ashamed to say I’m secretly loving. I came to not only cherish the time spent alone but actually take great pleasure in the ritual of it all. Nothing can beat a good book or a movie at night, a cup of hot tea, cozy cuddles with my cat and small arguments with Alexa I could never win (because apparently her only answer these days is “Hmmm, I don’t know the answer to that one”) . Long passed are the days when I assumed a life of a night owl. In fact they are so far gone that even the thought of leaving my house after 7pm feels me with dread. I need to reapply my make up, figure out an outfit, I’m cold and sometimes so tired that when I open my mouth words I meant to say are not coming out of it. Honestly I’m just tired of stupid conversations that don’t lead anywhere, draining my energy and I much rather prefer the comfort of my home where I could actually learn something useful. Have I become antisocial? Am I depressed? Or is this just a normal flow of life?

The longer I contemplate these questions, the more obvious the answers seem to me. I have come to the conclusion that I’ve replaced the temptations that came with the quiet hours of the night with the comforting promise of the mornings. Funny thing about it is that few years ago I would have sworn that my creativity blooms at night. It was after all, the time of day when I got my wildest ideas, when I could just sit still and not feel quilty about it. In fact it was the only time of the day when my scrambled brain didn’t jump from one thing to another, became laser focused and linear and the train of thought was running like a Eurostar express. And maybe this idea of me being more creative at night still has some truth to it because ever since I traded nights for days, I do find myself feeling quite drained that even a random passing thought that shows just a tiny bit of glimpse of playfulness and originality comes as a shocking surprise to me. These current intruders used to be my most cherished friends and when they came, they came in droves. But now, I consider myself grateful if they even grace me with an occasional appearance every once in a blue moon.

It does make me wonder: In this brand new world I’ve created where mornings are my new designated productive companions and nights simply chaperons to unwind with, have I paid the ultimate price? In an effort to sync with my team and increase productivity, have I dulled the only thing I had going for me? And just like that, an identity crisis creeps in. Who am I realy if not a creative? Have I traded that part of me for the practicality of running a business? Have I lost the spark? And more importantly, is it worth it? And even now, as I’m writing this at 11pm, the state of flow I’m in is puzzling really. I’m tired but also afraid that if I stop writing this now, who knows when I’m going to get a moment of clarity like this again. I’m curious, is it just me or is this type of trade taking its toll on creatives turned entrepreneurs?

I know that I should take a break and yet whenever I decide to do so, countless of emails, messages accompanied by lovely random thoughts of doom and gloom slap me in the face so hard, that I’m afraid if I stop for even just a minute, the world I fought so hard to build will come crashing down like a house of cards. I’ve been here before, but it seems like this neverending loop has found a way to suck me in yet again with its raspy voice that just would not stop reminding me that time is passing by and every minute spent on rest is a minute lost. So I keep running the hampster wheel hoping that this time around if I adjust my pace accordingly, I won’t be crushed by it. Just like that Emile Sandé song goes, so did my state of mind this month.

I guess it's funnier from where you're standing
'Cause from over here I missed the joke
Clear the way for my crash landing
I've done it again
Another number for your notes

I'd be smiling if I wasn't so desperate
I'd be patient if I had the time
I could stop and answer all of your questions
As soon as I find out how I can move from
The back of the line

Emotions be damned, but it’s that time of the month for me, so you know, since it feels like I’m on a rollercoaster these days I thought why not take you along with me. But as much as I enjoy these intense nauseating rides (because, hello, never a dull moment) over time it does tend to add up, so sometimes the best thing to do when you find yourself in a situation like this is to take a step back and slow down. Easier said than done, huh?

As you’ve probably learned by now, this balancing act of mine is a bit broken and as I’m still struggling to maintain that peak of productivity while trying not to burn down the whole house, I’m slowing down the only way I know how. By laser focusing at the issue at hand, while ignoring all the small fires around hoping they won’t escalate into an all consuming one. This month, that issue was our rebrand in all its glorious beastliness.

And here we finaly arrive at the part of this story where I get to impart on you some entrepreneurial wisdom. As always, you’re welcome.

Branding is a very complex matter. Sometimes it feels like a very real living and breathing beast with a life of its own and oftentimes is a reflection or an extension of a founder’s own personality. After all in order for anything to have a voice, it needs to begin with a set of values and those values are almost always intrinsically human. Of course it stems also from the target audience you want to attract, in which case it’s a reflection of their values as human beings. In short, if you as a founder haven’t done the deep soul searching work of the complexity of what makes you human, working on branding will feel like a nearly impossiblly tedious task. And as much as I hate putting people in boxes, the reality is you need to find your own box of belonging. In some cases that would be multiple boxes, in others just one, but until you eliminate those you do not wish to belong to, you my friend are at a risk of developing a schizo identity like I did. Thankfully that part’s over now. Moving on.

In case you have a budget to hire a branding agency, it’s an entirely different story, but if you don’t than that deep look in the mirror is an inevitable chore you just have to do. And that’s just my humble opinion which in my case worked like a charm. By the time we started working on the rebrand, luckly I had all my ducks in a row from years of prior experience. So this time around, my team and I worked on setting up the foundations in the right direction. The entire process started with me and my best pal MilaNote, referencing brands I found exciting, charming and unique and landing only on silhouettes I would wear myself. So I dived deep into the product offering that we had from previous years and only kept the silhouettes I knew I myself would wear. This was a part of the product development phase back in January and February which you can read more about here.

When that was done, Elena and I started working on the communication part, both visual and verbal. We set down to brainstorm where we wanted to move towards. We discussed in details what our ideal customer looks like, where she lives, what type of lifestyle she leads, the places she shops and travels to and above all else the aesthetic that surrounds her. After figuring out these details we began working on creating the visual story and landed on clean and minimalistic approach, focusing on telling the fabric’s tale more intimately. What that meant was creating intimate shots of the materials themselves, fortified by using a sensory language around it. For anyone looking to explore this lane, Elena found this website which contains more than 700 sensory words that helped us tremendously in framing the language in terms of copy. The idea was to get our customers experience the color through their screens and feel as if they can almost touch the fabric and feel it under their fingertips. Our idea was to create as much of a close emotional bond as humanly possible.

While developing the visual branding, our aim was to create a crisp feel around it. The pieces of the collection play more on the feminine side of a woman which is why while styling them we used shoes that would bring a bit of an edge to certain pieces and more casual flair to others. That being said, if I’m being totaly honest, I do believe we made few mistakes along the way, one of them being the make up and perhaps the styling was also lacking a more unified tone. But, meh, you live, you learn and they you iterate. Just kidding, you correct of course.

Being a 90s child and growing up with the evolution of tech, until this day it still remains one of the things that facinates me the most. I love gadgets and experimenting with new technology. Perhaps I’ve inherited that from my dad. Growing up I remember, he went through a period when he was buying the latest tech. Needless to say this came in handy when Elena mentioned she wanted to find an old camcorder and a polaroid camera to achieve this grainy 90s vibe to try and recapture the joy of simpler, happier times. Millenials, looking at you here. And that’s how we nailed the visual part of the rebranding.

Now for this rebrand it was also important to us to create a story around it and for this purpose we wanted to hire an art director. Found one and then after two meetings that span 2 months we lost one. She canceled at the last minute, which was a bit frustrating and added an additional layer to my stress and anxiety, but oh well, the show must go on and so we’re currently in the pursuit for one who would take on this role. If you know someone who could do this, feel free to send me their portfolio.

That being said, if I’m being truly honest, this whole rebranding thing took me back 11 years ago to that moment of uncertainty I faced when launching the label. After all, it would take a while for our customers to get used to our new concept and gain their respect to start seeing the label as something worth investing in. While I’m aware it will take some time, I truly hope that it will happen sooner, rather than later.

Okay then, back to me. Back in January, I was chosen for the Global Good Fund Fellowship I applied for last year. The organization’s aim is accelerating the impact of high-potential, emerging social enterprise leaders. It’s a 12-month hybrid leadership program for social entrepreneurs around the world. Each Fellow is paired up with a dedicated professional executive coach and a dedicated C-suite executive who serves as a business mentor and is given a $10,000 to spend on their leadership development. As part of the program, there’s an annual summit gathering all the players from impact investors to social entrepreneurs taking place in Nairobi, Kenya and I’m truly excited to meet their lovely team and exchange experiences with former and current fellows.

This is where I met my lovely leadership coach, Julia Karpeisky, a seasoned coach with a formidable background. Among other things, she was a Russian interpreter at the highest levels of business and government that included President Bush in the Oval Office, chairmen of all major oil companies and the President of the World Bank. She has rubbed shoulders with the best of them and I couldn’t be more greatful to have had the privilege of crossing paths with her in this lifetime.

Our sessions are a bit unconventional yet profoundly impactful. She helped me dive deep into better understanding my life’s purpose and made me realize that most of the time, my decisions are based on emotions, because at the heart of everything I do is always the fundamental need to create meaningful connection and support for those in need. From there on spurred the vision of where I see my company going during my lifetime which was, drumroll please “To help millions of women”. Humble, I know. :) She said every decision you make from now on, it will have to be towards your vision. If the outcome doesn’t serve the vision, that’s your answer to move on and find a solution that does. Seems pretty obvious doesn’t it? Except in business, it’s not that simple.

She often points out to how a meaningful interaction could get you to where you want to be, despite the fact that at the moment might seem impossible. Her story encouraged me to set a personal intention: “One day I will say the right thing to the right person.” which I kinda stole from her. It’s very rare these days for me to find time to concentrate on my own development with so many things I’m working on and doing, which is why her focus on personal feelings over rigid formats even though a bit strange at first, especially for someone like me who tends to shy away from personal disclosures opened up new avenues for growth, teaching me how to ask the right questions to get the most of my intuition and embrace the full spectrum of leadership development.

As I was listening to this podcast episode on Jo Malone, there was a part in it where she specifically talks about opportunity which made me think how life can be funny sometimes.

I believe that this glorious fragment of fleeting fire we call life, when you strip it down to its essence, you’ll arrive at the conclusion that human achievements are nothing more than the perfect storm of opportunities and your readiness to make something out of each one. And for a very long time in my life on Earth, these two were sort of missing each other. But this year it seems different. It feels different. Like maybe I’m finaly at the right place, at the right time, knowing the right thing to say will come at the right moment. Last year I would have killed for an opportunity like this and this year I actually have it. I’m truly thankful for it, as I am painfully aware that not everyone gets it.

And then bam, all of a sudden, on the 16h of March our entire nation woke up to the tragic news of a fire that broke down at a nightclub during the performance of one of the most famous music bands in Macedonia, a tragedy that claimed the lives of almost an entire generation of high schoolers that happened in a small town just a 100km from the capital, known for its rice fields and a population of around 24.000. When something like this happens, it tends to put things in perspective. And for me, it took me back to that really heavy feeling of helplessness for a while, thinking about how in the world we managed to put ourselves into this situation as a nation and what’s my contribution in it. Ever since, I can’t stop thinking about just how little value we give to human life around here. It’s a constant struggling thought that oftentimes clouds my judgement. Hope, however little, came when people living in Kocani mobilized themselves to help their fellow citizens by starting the SuportKocani website where people could donate to every family directly to their bank accounts. And this tragedy ended as tragedies here often do with few days of mourning and no claim of responsibility as of yet.

And just like that March was over and with it any hope on my side that this country will get better. I guess we’ll just have to wait and see, but the stark reality as of now is not very promising. As we hit yet another rock bottom, my only question is “How low is low enough?”

I do appologize leaving you with this bitter end. I promise April will be more hopeful, unless Trump wakes up on the wrong foot yet again and decides to unleash yet another horror that sinks my stocks. In which case, prepare for a snarky and bleak old me again.

You know how I always like to say sharing is caring, so if you know someone who finds this random thoughts and opinions of mine fascinating or even worth while reading, I give you permission to share this with them. You’re welcome 😉 yet again.

In all seriousness though, I know time these days is a precious currency, so thank your reading.

Hasta la vista lovelies from my Salad Brain.