Early on in our business, our team was setup at our first national wholesale trade show, hoping to catch the eye of small shops and large national companies who would be interested in carrying our products. We made friends with other vendors setup near us and the woman set up next to us who sold handmade apparel from Nepal left a lasting impression. Over the show we became fast friends, she had been in business for several years and shared so much advice as we were just starting out.
One bit of advice has stuck with us, “What you’re doing in one year will be completely different from what you’re doing today.” Our founder Mandy didn’t fully comprehend this at the time but looking back she realized how correct Nancy was. It’s crucial to continue evolving your business as the market shifts and even though we couldn’t fully appreciate this years ago, it’s helped us to keep a flexible mindset and be willing to pivot on any aspect of our brand when we see an opportunity.
Finding our voice to stand out among other brands was important to us. If we had the ability to snap our fingers and begin anew with what we’ve learned, we’d put a much bigger emphasis on telling the story of our artisans. Our customers have told us that knowing the tiny details makes a big difference and helps them feel a connection to our artisan partners. In the past few years, we’ve dedicated our communications to share the stories we hear firsthand on our artisan visits and to bring them to our followers through the use of beautiful photography and video.
