The Nuts and Bolts of it - Triple Threat
Hi and welcome back
Travel bans are lifting around Australia and to celebrate we are making a travel kit so you can get on that plane in style - Check it out here.
This week was a little up and down but by the end of it I didn't have an aha moment - I had a 'fuck it' moment. I got sick of over thinking every little thing in my head and in my business and just thought you know what fuck it - lets give it a shot and if it looks shit or doesn't turn out how I thought its ok, learn from it and move the fuck on. (oh yes I have a potty mouth...its taken 3 weeks for it to come out but its out now - plus if anyone can tell me the clean substitute for 'fuck it' that conveys the exact same sentiment please let me know what it is....i'll wait.)
What went right this week
Black Friday...I spent a bit of time thinking about Black Friday sales and whether to participate - I had a story banner all ready to go and almost ran it but in the back of my mind it felt a little bit gross...on one hand I want to be a company that creates good products for a decent price point that will last a while - yet this shopping holiday is floated and I want to run and jump on the train that undervalues products, small business and promotes over consumption? So instead I thought I will just let it go - Im going to concentrate on minimal production and made to order and keeping things at a fair price all year round - my only regret is not using #blackfriday to promote black-owned business I love.
What went wrong this week
Brand Identity - It is one of those evil necessities when you have to ask yourself who you are as a company and what you want to represent - and seeing as I am the only person in this company at the moment you kind of have to take stock of who you want to be as a person...Shouldn't I know this by now? I keep hearing that you have to 'stay on brand' as to not confuse the customer...Maybe we need to stop talking down to customers and believe that they are willing to come along with you on a journey as long as you stay open and honest about why you do what you do...or maybe I am procrastinating about having to define who I am as a brand (vomit)
What I am reading this week
Fashionopolis: Price of Fast Fashion and the Future of Clothes by Dana Thomas. Ouch this was a rough one...I was equally excited by the amount on innovation that is happening in the textile trade and disparaged by the truly enormous mountain of shitty business that is apart of the industry that we all buy in to it..It also made me think how do you balance saying to people - stop over-consuming and using fast fashion - oh but also come buy my stuff.
Agh this was quite the ego check and one that means I am looking at all the copy on my site and beginning the task to rewrite it....the thing I learnt this week is -
'Don't think about what you want to say think about what your customer wants to hear'
This is going to be a tricky one as I have more opinions than hairs on my head and I am very free in handing them out (my opinions not my hairs) , so this will be an exercise in humility and really trying to listen to what other people want. People that know me will actually be scoffing at the fact that this may be an impossible task. While I don't believe the customer is always right I do believe that the customer has a right to be listened to...so I shall shut up and listen
What sustainable/ethical practice have I started
Papier-mâché - well my grand old idea is to keep all the paper I use in my work and create either castes for heads to use at my upcoming market stall to showcase my head wraps (Fitzroy markets December 13 -come on down) and eventually make body casts for clients when I custom make their outfits - right now I am just collecting paper and making a mess
What I am grateful for
Catching up with great people who I haven't seen since March just before we went into the first lockdown...we may have bent the rules a little but getting a great big cuddle from one for the best huggers out there was worth it.
Quote of the week
Sometimes I sound like gravel, and sometimes I sound like coffee and cream. - Nina Simone
Song of the week
Mississippi Goddamn - Nina Simone
Till next we meet - have a great week
Silika