“Perfect” Isn’t Real
Hello, Dearest!
While we wait for this week to be over, I wanted to bring you a little further into my brain today!
I’m a Virgo, so I’m a critical perfectionist by nature and whether you believe in that stuff or not, it couldn’t be truer for me if I wrote it myself. My Joan Crawford-level neurosis and my deep need for everything to be “just-so” (the way I want the décor on an end table in the living room, or the way I like the mugs facing in the kitchen cupboard even though absolutely no one aside from my fiancé, best friend or I will ever see them). Bless them.
Now, while I will never apologize for my love of elegance and beauty, I do understand that not everything needs to always be picture-perfect and, even further, not everything is always going to work out as planned.
Take for instance our first go at creating a [custom digital print]. Do you ever underestimate your own ambition until it’s too late? I do it constantly and I will never learn. I was on a quest to create something that was specific to the brand, not just in style or silhouette, but on another level. Since I spent so much time in the beginning looking up at the clouds while designing the collection, I had the idea to create a digital cloud print—for the first time. Ever. I had only ever done a “print” before by hand with a permanent fabric marker which was Missed Learning Moment #1. Of course, all this time and a million and one revisions later, we’re somewhere near perfect, but at the moment, we’re still pre-sample. Update to come!
When I finally secured a partner for product development, the wonderful team at The Sewhaus Agency, I had a very different vision and expectation for the direction of the brand as we enter the market. I was still kind of clinging to the Old Way of fashion and fashion retail. Not only is everything very different from how things were when I was last paying attention almost ten years ago, I decided to launch a brand a year into a global pandemic which came with a whole new set of challenges. But, for me, it was now or never.
I had planned to begin the pattern/sample process in July, final collection lookbook shoot at the end of September, sell at west coast Market Weeks in October, fill orders through the winter and be launched by the end of January online and in-store. My timeline may have been a little… imaginary? At any rate, none of that apart from July has gone according to that timeline.
So, I pivoted. I adjusted and I kept moving forward. Market Week was missed, so I adjusted how we’ll launch and operate, which has proven to be the most sustainable option: Made-to-Order. Even though I initially was very averse to the idea of selling direct-to-consumer, it relieved so much stress and made everything a lot more manageable. I have to keep reminding myself that, other than the help I’ve enlisted, I’m running the show solo. I’m no stranger to burning myself out, but I had to take a step back, look at the reality of the situation and realize that everything is being guided and shaped into something wonderful.
Looking back at the initial plan from early last year, a lot of it doesn’t make any sense and a lot of it just flat out didn’t happen as planned, but it’s also nice to see the direction the brand has taken by having to shift and adjust. As with every journey, there will undoubtedly be many peaks and valleys along the way, but when the destination is your happiness, every moment counts.
At this moment, even through all of the delays and mistakes and waiting, I am actually very happy! I’m so excited for the next few weeks or so! Stay on high alert!
xo BvH
