Gosh, this post has been a LONG time in the making. But well worth the wait.
The good & bad thing about owning your own business and living the #entrepreneurlife is that you get to wear many hats (more on this to come). And on of the balances is managing and selling your current collection while investing time and resources into new products and designs to stay current for the future.
Now, the timeline for doing so can be a little crazier than you think in the lifestyle product world. And it changes drastically when you shift from apparel to technology to real estate and beyond. But, by crazy I generally mean we are shooting our holiday items this time of year, to be ready to pitch & sell starting in July for the upcoming holiday season. But, that’s just a mainstream timeline of course. I had one large retailer tell me this past January that they had just wrapped up the holiday buying already for the year. Finding your own timeline and groove is all part of the process.
For the last nearly two years, I’ve been seeking resources, talking to manufacturing partners, sourcing fabrics and embellishment details, crunching numbers and doing some major R&D. I knew in my heart that I wanted to bring my manufacturing here, and by here I don’t just mean “made in the USA”, I mean back to the South. I have spent summers traveling the tiny towns and back roads of North Carolina since my childhood and unknowingly watched the decline of factories, mills and the likes closing their doors and boarding their windows. I naively thought sourcing resources for production in the South would be a fairly straight & narrow path, yet that hasn’t been the case. It’s been a challenge and I’ve called in some favors along the way to some of the greatest makers & entrepreneurs already doing business here in our neck of the woods.
I started this journey with our Southern Artisan Collection, partnering with Southern makers who specialize in their own craft – from ceramics to woodwork to art – and I can honestly say every minute of designing, collaborating, meeting with and sourcing these folks has been such a true joy.
Taking the adventure a step further, I was finally ready to embark on our Made in the South Collection. The process has been fabulously educational & rewarding. The designs, I am honestly in love with and are such a true fit for where we are headed with the heirloomed brand. The quality, as always, is fabulous. I’m overjoyed.
I don’t know how this collection will be received. It surely makes me nervous, but more than anything, optimistic. I appreciate your support in helping bring these new pieces and this new process to life and would love your feedback along the way!
Our Made in the South Collection is now available for pre-order on the website – so click over and look around at the new pieces, along with our Made in the South Look Book to learn a little more about the inspiration behind the designs.
Xx
