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After moving to Paris almost 5 years ago, my perspective on fashion, design and above all, business changed. Here, I share my daily banterings, learnings and sounds from the city I love. Let it be your guide to inspire you and your business ideas. |
January |
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"How to See" is a series where we examine the art of the word "start" - like a painting at a museum.
What do we see? What do we think of? Is it a blank canvas? An empty mannequin? A cold sewing machine? Inspiration? Anxiety? A decision? I'm interviewing 21 designers and artists from all over the world about what it means to them. You'll be surprised what comes up. Perhaps it will give us constructive insight on starting our (fashion) own design projects in a way where they stick, help us create action, or form specific steps for each of us to "just do it." |
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I remember I was dating this tech guy in San Francisco. Wait, envision the very stereotypical 20 something silicon valley tech guy with millions in funding for his startup, driving a 80K car with a reminder app on his phone to "call mom" every month. He opened the car doorI just came back from the 5th pattern maker I hired, flinging my latest bag re-design, side to side, as the exclamation point. His response was a shaking head and eyes extra round, "all this...ok, but why don't you just..."start"? My eyes matched his. This is the start, right? Filling in the blanks, with a nervous run on sentence, "I have to get the final specs...fabric...and what do you know anyway..."
What I didn't realize was that creating a product is not the start of designing my business. See stories like this and more articles here.
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Recent Articles |
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As I reflected on the year, feelings of being an imposter seeped through where I didn't know I stuffed it...anxiety lingered and I needed a quick meditation session (and Calavados) to help me realize the real truth. Since I can't be there with you today to help with either one of those solutions, I put together a list of ...
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In another life I would definitely have tried being an ice skater like @jeremicesk8er. At this point in my life however, I don’t wanna spend $50k in schooling and 10K hours of practice to try and ice dance to a song advertising my services. Let sites like Fiverr be your excuse...
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Designer Guidance 12/14/20
The Most Unfair List of Real Understandings From a Designer’s Reflections |
Wanting to design things does not make you a designer, it makes you a person who is creative...
Wanting to make money and be your own boss does not make you an entrepreneur. It makes you a person who just likes to work independently... Wanting to develop your own collection or brand doesn’t mean you need special education... |
Design an Idea Class |
I had such a hard time changing from pharmacy to fashion,
moving from San Francisco to Paris, figuring out my first collection,
I needed help to untangle it all. Consultants, counselors, best friends are not always there and journaling only goes so far. I took learnings from mentors, structure from B school, artistic process and a couple dashes of the unusual to create this class for creative thinkers to structure your ideas, get clearer on your creations and business planning.
moving from San Francisco to Paris, figuring out my first collection,
I needed help to untangle it all. Consultants, counselors, best friends are not always there and journaling only goes so far. I took learnings from mentors, structure from B school, artistic process and a couple dashes of the unusual to create this class for creative thinkers to structure your ideas, get clearer on your creations and business planning.
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Book |
Covid taught me many things, but to not procrastinate is top on the list.
Life's too short right?! So, I'm writing a memoir,
an ode to an independent (fashion) designer
with a multi-draft deadline, the first of which is May 1.
Life's too short right?! So, I'm writing a memoir,
an ode to an independent (fashion) designer
with a multi-draft deadline, the first of which is May 1.
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You know how sometimes you have cravings? Usually mine come in the form of Tyrrell's potato chips but around February of last year, I had this intense need to... share. Ok, it's not a crazy revelation where the seas parted. I'm not about the crappy day at the factory nor "tips and tricks" to solving whatnot, sharing my design life, the crazy and absurd in France, Africa and US, diving in deep into process and helping people figure out the tough stuff around (fashion) design and a creative life ... in a quirky way. 'Cause, you know sometimes I dream of fish but most of the time I leave the illogical logical stuff to Instagram posts.
I'd love to share snippets of the book at various periods with you. It's always nice to have company on this sort of journey. You'll get behind the scenes perspectives I don't talk about on the blog and personal learnings I only share with mentees. Become a member to receive them. |