"Truly love what you are attempting to launch and work on" with Mallorie Dunn

Mallorie Dunn is an NYC based fashion designer, business owner, and professor. After graduating from the Fashion Institute of Technology and Pratt Institute she had many corporate design jobs before deciding to switch to a life of freelance work. Through the freedom a freelance schedule allows her – she was able to launch her line, SmartGlamour, in Spring 2014. She is also an adjunct professor for Parsons/Open Campus at The New School and teaches virtual online sewing and sketching courses.

Can you tell our readers about your background?

All of my childhood, I was interested in fashion - which to me was clothing + personal style. I never thought you could have a career around it - so I thought I’d be a math teacher. Upon entering high school, I learned they offered a fashion design course. I was so excited and jumped straight in! I then went to the Fashion Institute of Technology in NYC, studying Fashion Design. Unfortunately, the environment of the school and the trajectory they put you onto turned me off - and after receiving my AAS degree, I transferred to Pratt Institute in Brooklyn and received my BFA in Art and Design Education. While pursuing that degree, I began to miss making and designing clothing - so after graduation, and a year of careful thought - I hopped back into fashion, working multiple corporate design jobs in the Juniors sector. I was then put off once again - by the very high stress, zero creativity, and completely unethical production practices. I switched to a life of freelance work - and during that time, I launched my company – SmartGlamour.

What inspired you to start your business?
SmartGlamour came to me as a way to correct all of the problems I had with the fashion industry - and also with how society at large negatively affects women + feminine folks’ body image and confidence. I was also well aware of the disparities within the fashion industry when it came to sizing and accessibility to ethical clothing.

SmartGlamour addresses these issues and then some by offering clothing in sizes XXS-15X and beyond, having all clothing be customizable - for both fit and design wants + needs, ethically hand making our clothing, having it be made to order - reducing waste, recycling any of the fabric waste we do create, hiring models that accurately reflect and represent the actual population - this means every size, shape, height, weight, age, ability, gender, and ethnicity - without ever photoshopping or airbrushing them - and accurately depicting the percentages of the population who are plus size (67-72% of American women + femmes.) 

Where is your business based?

We are based in NYC, NY, USA.

How did you start your business? What were the first steps you took?

The first step I took was inviting a group of about 10 women who inspire and motivate me to grab some wine and snacks - I described what I had in mind for the company and asked for feedback and questions. I then launched an IndieGoGo campaign and raised $4K to launch the website, create and shoot the first collection, and host a launch event and runway show. For the first year of the business - I was still doing freelance work. As SmartGlamour grew, I took fewer and fewer jobs - until SmartGlamour was my only source of income.

What has been the most effective way of raising awareness for your business? 

150% social media and press coverage. When I started the business, I didn’t have any funding for advertisements - so building a brand and community on social media was crucial. I also began creating and promoting campaigns (like #SameSizeDifferentEyes, #InYourSize, and #ImFlattered) which got us coverage in publications like Bustle, Seventeen, Cosmo, HuffPost, Refinery29, HelloGiggles, and more. Also - by hosting biannual inclusive runway shows, we were able to receive great video coverage and press from folks like Mic, UpWorthy, Bustle, PBS, and more.

What have been your biggest challenges and how did you overcome them?

My biggest challenge has been that I truly run the entirety of the company on my own - and due to this fact, I have a lot of work to do - some of which I could just be working on day in and day out if I did not stop myself. Over the past few years, I have had to learn to set boundaries for myself, prioritize rest, ensure I am doing activities for fun, for myself, to relax - and asking for help when I need it. As an anxious person and a recovering perfectionist - it is work reminding myself to also care for me, and not solely for others.

How do you stay focused?
This is the part that has never been an issue for me - if anything, I am too focused. I feel very, very passionately about accessibility and inclusivity in general, but also specifically within fashion. I also love making things with my hands, being creative, and problem-solving. These are things I think about all day every day - so focusing on them for work is never a problem.

How do you differentiate your business from the competition?
Quite frankly - there are no other businesses doing exactly what I am doing. There are some businesses that focus on customizations, some who focus on environmental issues, some that focus on basic style staples, some that focus on accurate representation via imagery - but really none that are doing all of those things at once. I am not too worried about competing companies - I want there to be more sustainable, accessible, affordable options for folks of all shapes and sizes, not less.

What has been your most effective marketing strategy to grow your business?
For SmartGlamour and myself - this is the same question/answer to raising awareness. Social media and press + campaigns have been the best way to market our business. SmartGlamour is a small business that was founded on a message - and staying true to that message constantly, no matter what we are posting or selling, is what has curated an online community, a community of our models, a community of our customers. It’s what gets us press coverage - it’s what sets us apart.

What's your best piece of advice for aspiring and new entrepreneurs?
My best piece of advice is to really, truly love what you are attempting to launch and work on - because it is going to envelop your life. Don’t become an entrepreneur just for the sake of being an entrepreneur - work on something you are truly passionate about and invested in.

What's your favorite app, blog, and book? Why?

I feel like I probably use the same apps everyone else does - all the go tos for social media, mail, messaging, etc. For editing photos and videos - I use VideoShop, PicPlayPost, CutStory, Pic Stitch, etc. For inspiration, I use Pinterest. For shopping small virtually (specifically during Covid) - I use Etsy. Organization - the notes app on the iPhone. Payments - Venmo, PayPal, and CashApp.
I don’t really read blogs - most things I am reading and consuming online are either social media posts or news articles.

And unfortunately, I haven’t made time for a good book in quite some time - years even. The closest thing is listening to podcasts - and I specifically listen to entertainment-based podcasts, it gives my brain a break and lifts my spirits while I work. I am a huge fan of drag - so I listen to multiple drag related podcasts - Sibling Rivalry, Race Chaser, Alright Mary, The Chop, etc. I also like funny, interesting conversations so I listen to - Why Won’t You Date Me, You Made It Weird, Unqualified, 3 Questions, The Read, etc.

What's your favorite business tool or resource? Why?

Perhaps OpenOffice and my Adobe Suite? Those are definitely the tools I use the most. I keep things organized in OpenOffice Calc - and I use Illustrator and Photoshop daily. I also run my website via WordPress + WooCommerce - so I suppose those platforms as well. Social media - Instagram, Facebook - although I have gripes with them both, they are invaluable.

Who is your business role model? Why? 

I don’t really have a business role model. I didn’t start SmartGlamour because I am interested in “business” or being a “boss.” I want to make clothes and I want to help people - and I also want to be able to make a living - so I combined the three. The folks I look up to in this world are social leaders, activists, writers, thought-provoking people - like Ijeoma Oluo, Lindy West, AOC, Indya Moore, Ashlee Marie Preston, Rachel Cargle, and endless other content creators who are trying to make the world a more equitable place for all.

How do you balance work and life? 

My husband is the best help with this. I thoroughly enjoy him - so I want to make time for him, to sit and laugh and eat and talk with him. I also, especially during Covid, have been scheduling video chats with my friends - which is another great way to dedicate a chunk of time to having fun and being social. 

What’s your favorite way to decompress? 

Painting my nails while enjoying a glass of wine. I do my own gel nails at home - and it is a great way to get myself to stop working on anything else.

What do you have planned for the next six months? 

Unfortunately, this is a pretty tough question now that we are in the middle of a seemingly never-ending pandemic. In April, I pivoted to mask making. I haven’t done a photoshoot since March - and will not do one until vaccines are available. Folks’ safety is more important than clothing - hands down. In this production downtime - I have been working on boosting our SEO and planning a bit of a relaunch + visual branding overhaul that will come out at some point in the upcoming months when the world’s future looks a bit more clear.

How can our readers connect with you?

You can follow us on Instagram - @smart_glamour, Facebook - /smartglamour, Twitter - @smartglamour, YouTube - /smartglamour, Pinterest - /smartglamour - and our website is www.smartglamour.com.

"Strategy, process, and tactics are as important as the creative process and combining both keeps the ball rolling in the right direction" with Christina Liedtke

Christina Liedtke is the Founder and Creative Director of ASTOURI™, a multifunctional, multi-seasonal, multi-benefit community, and travel-friendly women’s ready-to-wear brand. Christina is also Founder and Creative Director of her custom couture brand Christiana J. Paul™. With over 10+ years in fashion design and 15+ years in beauty care working for fortune 500 beauty care brands across several roles, her synchronized creative, artistic, and business savvy ability to design, build, and grow brands is world-renowned. Christina’s innovative approach pushes the limits in design and imagination. www.astouri.com and www.christianajpaul.com

What inspired you to start your business?

The inspiration behind ASTOURI™ is the gap in ‘community’ apparel for women. We, as women, are all a part of communities and yet, there is nothing stylish in apparel and accessories being offered to us. For example, the standard “I heart New York” T-shirt, bag, or any other garment is not stylish and has no consumer value. These types of garments are all over cities in tourist shops, airport retail, and other places. Yet, I could not find one brand offering STYLISH community apparel for women that also offered consumer value. So, I simultaneously combined ‘community’ prints with multi-functional, multi-seasonal, and multi-value apparel and accessories to create ASTOURI™ with a mission to offer women not only clothing but a complimentary community conversation.

Where is your business based?

My business is based in New York, New York. 

How did you start your business? What were the first steps you took?

When I started ASTOURI™, I started with one garment, our multi-functional skirts. I test printed a handful of materials that would print and scale well, including having multiple benefits, machine-wash friendly, multi-seasonality, etc. I launched with three different city prints (NYC, Detroit, and Los Angeles) and began selling the skirts to friends and family. Eventually, sales grew enough through referrals to be able to slowly expand the portfolio to other garments. Simultaneously, I started a website, social media channels, and selling in different markets. 

When this business started it had a different name, different focus, and different energy about it. As I started selling in different markets and conducting focus groups, I obtained constructive feedback about the brand and products which helped ASTOURI™ get to where it is today. 

The other important step was resourcing and finding the right fabric suppliers, print, and production partners. I wanted to make sure we are conscious and circular in our operational ecosystem and Made in America.

What has been the most effective way of raising awareness for your business?

The most effective way that I raise awareness about ASTOURI™ is through community markets and pop-ups. Community is the heart of everything we do, so connecting with the local consumers and having authentic live conversations is really important to building a community around ASTOURI™. Additionally, it allows the consumers to remember the brand, allow us to hear live feedback, experience real-time reactions, and gather consumer information to keep the conversation going digitally. As the brand continues to grow in distribution, I continue to focus on local markets because of how effective they are in growing our consumer base while driving sales.

What have been your biggest challenges and how did you overcome them?

One of the biggest challenges is how to stay resourceful while growing ASTOURI™. As with all small businesses, managing resources and output is a vital part of managing the P&L. Some of the key successes in overcoming this has been utilizing as many effective third party resources to stay organized, delegate work appropriately, stay focused on short term gains while working towards the long term, and balancing speed and decisions.

How do you stay focused?

Staying focused can sometimes be a challenge between meetings, conference calls, and multiple demands happening at once, however, the most important action that I take on a daily, weekly, and monthly basis with myself and my team is staying organized through a focused agenda on what needs to be accomplished each day and the goals that need to be reached in the future. I learned very early on in my career that strategy, process, and tactics are as important as the creative process, and combining both keeps the ball rolling in the right direction.

How do you differentiate your business from the competition?

ASTOURI™ is differentiated from the competition through consciousness curation from our back end and operations to the prints we use and patterns we select. The biggest differentiating point is the female empowered community is at the heart of everything we do. ASTOURI™ is female-founded and operated, made in the USA, and gives back to the community. Additionally, all of the prints are licensed and we partner with local photography partners to offer exclusive iconic prints that resonate with the community.

What has been your most effective marketing strategy to grow your business?

The most effective marketing strategy that I continue to integrate into ASTOURI™ is our customer referrals. Some of our VIP customers are very integrated into their communities through their jobs, networks, and events they attend. If one of our VIP customers wears one of our garments to an event, we get a lot of customer engagement, brand conversations, and orders. As a part of our marketing efforts, we have started integrated ‘personal’ VIP promotions to drive brand rewards and connections. 

What's your best piece of advice for aspiring and new entrepreneurs?

There are two pieces of advice that I have for aspiring and new entrepreneurs, the first is to find something you love doing every day and that you can continue to do for a long time. You live and breathe your company every moment. It is will power every day to believe in yourself, what you are putting out there, and keep doing it over and over until it grows. If you don’t believe in it every day, nobody else will either. Repetition and practice are the best virtues.

The second piece of advice is to put something out there that is consumer-centric, whether it is a service, product, or anything else. Finding a niche that creates a consumer demand that wasn’t present in the market is the unicorn. Consumer centricity in design, branding, and mission is connecting with the consumer authentically and memorably. Creating dynamic stories with your brand is the foundation for growth and brand love.

What's your favorite app, blog, and book? Why?

My favorite app is Insight Timer. A very important part of keeping my creativity energy thriving and leading effectively, keeping myself going, and keeping the business organized for constant action is by taking quiet time everyday to decompress. Insight timer is a meditation resource that I love with different music, courses, and meditators. Out of all the meditation apps, this one is my favorite.

My favorite blog is Business of Fashion. This is not really a blog as much as an industry news site, however, it keeps me updated on what is going on with the fashion industry and is an incredible source of creativity in both business and design.

My favorite book is ‘Women who run with Wolves’.  This book was recommended to me by an incredible yoga teacher, meditator, and healer. It holds a very special place with me and should be read at least once by all women. The dynamic and multi-faceted attributes we have as women, our strength, intuition, love, connections, and stories are delivered via this book and the folklore and stories this book offers. It changed so many of my perspectives as a woman.

What's your favorite business tool or resource? Why?

My favorite business tool is Planoly. This tool is great to be able to organize content across all of our social media sites, our e-mail blasts, and other channels in a very thorough, consumer-centric way and not miss a beat on our brand DNA and sales funnels. It is a great time saver across the team and really allows for effective sales and marketing planning.

 Who is your business role model? Why?

There are so many amazing women who are leading amazing organizations and continuing to pivot the conversation on the influential power we have as women, so it is very hard to pick one, however, I very much admire Reese Witherspoon. She is such a powerhouse and continues to not only produce influential and authentic content from movies to books, but also continually evolves the roles of women from an equitable and inclusive way to live bolder, emotionally connected, and full lives in not only our careers but for our beings.

How do you balance work and life?

Honestly, as an entrepreneur, I am not sure there is a lot of distinction between work and life. When you love what you do and thrive on growth, we as entrepreneurs are constantly engaged. However, with that said, I do try to be smart about my time and holding space for myself and for my relationships. This is as important as running a successful company. Having my own company can equate to many long days and nights, however, finding time for meditation, exercise, and my relationships is important to stay present for myself and my loved ones. There comes a time every day to put down the work and phone, relax, reflect, and be present with others. Some days that doesn’t happen, but I work towards that goal because of its importance and prioritization.

What’s your favorite way to decompress?

My favorite way to decompress is through yoga and meditation on a daily basis. I usually start my day off with a good 75 min yoga class to get my breath flowing evenly and get my body moving in a balanced way and then finish the day with a soothing meditation. It is really important to start my day and end my day on the same note. Starting off the day and ending the day peacefully allows for a lot more calmness throughout the day and keeps me conscious even on the busiest of days. Additionally, I enjoy getting away for long weekends, reading books, and being with friends. 

What do you have planned for the next six months?

Given the current situation around the pandemic and the global disruptive effects it has had on the economy and industries, we are looking at making strategic changes to our designing and marketing efforts. Our current timeless portfolio pertains more to travel, nightlife, and ‘going out’ attire. Our strategic design plan is to keep the brand DNA and mission on par around multi-functionality and community, however, pivot to more leisurewear. Additionally, we are looking at new marketing efforts to engage the consumer. With retailers shut and markets closed, the new digital consumer engagement plan is centered around escalating the brand to the consumer via her home through several technologies.

How can our readers connect with you?

My readers can connect with me via websites www.astouri.com, www.christianajpaul.com or IG @astouri_style and @christianajpaul

Q&A with Mariah Caver, Amor Swim

Mariah Caver designer of Amor Freedom, hails from Atlanta, GA. She began designing at an early age and it has now blossomed into an eco-friendly luxury clothing line. Amor Freedom has just recently released the Amor Swim Collection providing swimwear for women of all shape and sizes to feel beautiful available at AMORSWIM.COM. 

Can you tell our readers about your background?

My Name is Mariah Caver, and I am a lover of fashion. My love for fashion started at a very young age I would style my dolls' clothes; by the time I got to middle school, I would go to the Dollar store and buy the sewing pack which came with the thread needles colors, measuring tape, and soft ball to make different outfits and things for myself.

What inspired you to start your business?

The inspiration behind starting my business came from me wanting to give back to the world in a way that was relatable for me and people like me. That was fashion for me. Fashion is a way to express yourself ! Style is a reflection of your attitude and personality. So being able to create clothes that allow the women to look and feel AMAZING is my inspiration. #Womenempowerment

Where is your business based?

We are online currently based in Atlanta, and are looking to expand to MIA and LA... but we ship worldwide.

How did you start your business? What were the first steps you took?

The first step I took during the process of starting my business was the sketches of course, and from there, I allowed the name of my line to fall into my lap, then I hit the ground running with production, and the rest was history. 

What has been the most effective way of raising awareness for your business?

The most effective way of raising awareness for my clothing line has definitely been instagram.

What have been your biggest challenges and how did you overcome them?

Finding the eco-friendly fabric that feels amazing and still looks great. 

How do you stay focused?

The passion I have for design and being able to produce a product that can help with pushing a socially conscious world through fashion.

How do you differentiate your business from the competition?

The fabric AmorSwim uses is Eco-friendly , all the fabrics we use are made with recycled bottles.

What has been your most effective marketing strategy to grow your business?

I would definitely say the most effective strategy would be Instagram; it’s an amazing tool to use to reach people all over the world.

What's your best piece of advice for aspiring and new entrepreneurs?

Nobody will see your vision but you, so follow your heart and your dreams and make it happen no matter what people say.

What's your favorite app, blog, and book? Why?

My favorite app would have to be my google app, my favorite blog is definitely Pinterest, and my favorite book is tied between "Think and Grow Rich" and the "48 Laws of Power".

What's your favorite business tool or resource? Why?

My mother and father would be my favorite business tools lol I ask them EVERYTHING when it comes to the right business moves.

Who is your business role model? Why?

Jay-Z is definitely my business role model. He didn’t allow the world to box him in and limit him to just being an artist.

What do you have planned for the next six months?

The other half of Amor Freedom will be launching which is the Freedom streetwear for women and men. So definitely be on the lookout for that.

How can our readers connect with you?

You guys can go to the website for the swimwear at AmorSwim.com and for the apparel you can go to AmorFreedom.com.

My social media account is @rriahb_ AmorSwim and social media account is @Amor_freedom AMOR.

Website: Amorswim.com