What It Took to Get Here

TODAY IS MARCH 3RD, WHICH MEANS OUR DEBUT COLLECTION SANGRIA IS HERE. LAUNCHING THIS BUSINESS HAS BEEN THE MOST DEFINING JOURNEY OF MY LIFE.

DURING THE FORMATIVE PHASE, IT LIVED QUIETLY IN THE MARGINS OF MY NOTES — IN ROUGH SKETCHES, MEASUREMENTS, FABRIC SWATCHES, SPEC SHEETS, AND LATE-NIGHT DESIGN TWEAKS THAT NO ONE ELSE SAW. WHAT STARTED AS AN IDEA SLOWLY BECAME AN OBSESSION, THEN A MISSION, AND NOW… A REALITY. WATCHING IT COME TO LIFE HAS BEEN THE SINGLE GREATEST HIGHLIGHT OF MY LIFE.

THIS BUSINESS ISN’T JUST A BRAND. IT ISN’T JUST A PRODUCT LINE. IT’S A PIECE OF ME.

BEHIND EVERY PIECE IS A STORY. FABRICS WERE TESTED, REJECTED, ORDERED, AND OBSESSED OVER. I’VE LEARNED MORE THAN I EVER IMAGINED — ABOUT SOURCING, PRODUCTION TIMELINES, MATERIAL BEHAVIOR, MANUFACTURING CONSTRAINTS, AND MOST OF ALL, ABOUT MYSELF. I’VE LEARNED HOW TO ADVOCATE FOR MY VISION. I’VE LEARNED HOW TO PIVOT. I’VE LEARNED HOW TO KEEP GOING WHEN EVERYTHING IN ME WANTED TO PAUSE.

BECAUSE THE TRUTH IS, THIS JOURNEY HAS NOT BEEN GLAMOROUS.

THERE WERE SETBACKS THAT FELT IMPOSSIBLE AT THE TIME — PRODUCTION DELAYS, MISCOMMUNICATIONS, SAMPLES THAT DIDN’T REFLECT THE COUNTLESS HOURS POURED INTO THEM. THERE WERE MOMENTS I QUESTIONED WHETHER I WAS CUT OUT FOR THIS AT ALL. AND THERE WERE MOMENTS THAT PUSHED ME PHYSICALLY AS WELL AS EMOTIONALLY — MOMENTS THAT QUITE LITERALLY LANDED ME IN THE HOSPITAL.

BUT EVEN THEN, I DIDN’T STOP DREAMING ABOUT IT.

I WOULD LIE THERE THINKING ABOUT ADJUSTMENTS, IMPROVEMENTS, RELAUNCH PLANS, NEW SKETCHES. BECAUSE WHEN SOMETHING MEANS THIS MUCH TO YOU, IT DOESN’T TURN OFF JUST BECAUSE LIFE GETS HARD. IF ANYTHING, THE CHALLENGES MADE THE VISION CLEARER. THEY FORCED ME TO REFINE, TO TOUGHEN UP, TO BECOME MORE RESILIENT THAN I EVER THOUGHT POSSIBLE.

GOING THROUGH HELL AND BACK DURING PRODUCTION CHANGED ME. IT TAUGHT ME PATIENCE WHEN TIMELINES FELL APART. IT TAUGHT ME HUMILITY WHEN I HAD TO ASK QUESTIONS I THOUGHT I SHOULD ALREADY KNOW THE ANSWERS TO. IT TAUGHT ME STRENGTH WHEN I HAD TO MAKE HARD DECISIONS. AND IT TAUGHT ME GRATITUDE — FOR EVERY PERSON WHO SUPPORTED ME, BELIEVED IN ME, AND REMINDED ME WHY I STARTED.

THERE IS SOMETHING SURREAL ABOUT HOLDING THE FINAL PRODUCT IN YOUR HANDS AFTER IMAGINING IT. AFTER OBSESSING OVER SPEC SHEETS. AFTER MAKING ADJUSTMENTS. AFTER SOURCING THE EXACT FABRIC THAT FEELS JUST RIGHT. AFTER REDESIGNING, REFINING, REBUILDING.

TO SEE IT EXIST OUTSIDE OF MY MIND IS OVERWHELMING IN THE BEST WAY.

THIS BUSINESS REPRESENTS GROWTH. IT REPRESENTS RISK. IT REPRESENTS RESILIENCE. IT REPRESENTS EVERY TEAR, EVERY BREAKTHROUGH, EVERY LESSON LEARNED ALONG THE WAY. IT IS PROOF THAT AN IDEA — EVEN ONE THAT FEELS TOO BIG OR TOO SCARY — CAN BECOME TANGIBLE WITH ENOUGH HEART AND PERSISTENCE BEHIND IT.

IF THERE’S ONE THING THIS JOURNEY HAS TAUGHT ME, IT’S THAT THE ROAD TO BUILDING SOMETHING MEANINGFUL IS FAR FROM SMOOTH. IT WILL STRETCH YOU. IT WILL TEST YOU. IT WILL HUMBLE YOU. BUT IT WILL ALSO TRANSFORM YOU.

AND TODAY, AS I LAUNCH THIS BUSINESS INTO THE WORLD, I FEEL PROUD — NOT JUST OF THE PRODUCT, BUT OF THE PERSON I BECAME WHILE BUILDING IT.

THIS IS MORE THAN A LAUNCH.

IT’S THE BEGINNING OF EVERYTHING I’VE WORKED FOR.