The Designer Days- A Brand is Born.

When creating a new path for yourself leads you to very clear and helpful information that your approach is wrong, then it’s always best to pivot. Here’s my story…

{This happened years ago. Like 2013.} A few years into my time on the eCommerce and Influencer Marketing team at prAna, I started to feel a deep desire to work in a more creative department. At first, this desire was fueled by envy for anyone working on any creative team at the company. From my point of view, I would see them drift in around 9-9:30 am after seemingly having enjoyed a morning yoga class or surf session (whereas my workday began at 6am after a 1 hour commute). They would sit down at their desks unrushed, calm, and could ease into their mornings. Their desks were filled with fabric swatches, clothing patterns, and even samples of designs soon to come. I yearned for the flexibility they had, the projects they got to work on, the software they used and the level of creativity they would swim in throughout each workday.

So I decided I would inquire with the head of design about creating an internal career path program that would eventually land me an ever-so-coveted position on a creative team.

Unfortunately, I had no formal education in any type of design (at that time) but had experience in designing, sewing and selling leather bags mostly for myself but occasionally a friend or colleague would want a special order and I would find a way to make it. During that time, YouTube was not a place you went for self-learning. I had spent countless hours scouring blogs for any information on how source leather, construct bags, dye leather and sew leather. At that time I was also not a mother so my evenings and twilight hours were mine for the making. It was time well spent.

Ok so back to my attempts at trying to land a creative role at prAna. Apparently, formal education was needed and although I had samples and finished product to show, it did not cut the mustard. So the best thing they could offer at the time was that I “volunteer” during my off hours to learn by shadowing and assisting in any projects the design team had. I guess this was so that I could maybe one day work as an assitant? I honestly to this day do not know what the game plan was from the higher-ups. Granted I was already working 40 hours per week with a 2-hour commute each day so I was already practically living at the office. Or at least it felt like it. I gave it a good effort but unfortunately, nothing came of it. After weeks and weeks of cutting fabric and measuring garment samples, it became clear a different approach was necessary to showcase all of my skills and be seen as worthy of any creative role within the company.

So I decided to turn my twilight hobby of making my own leather bags into a full-blown brand. With my background and knowledge in eCommerce I was able to quickly launch a site and almost immediately I started selling '(and not just to friends and colleagues anymore). Things from there took off like fire and quickly had a thriving accessories brand with metrics to show and a product that was desired by repeat customers and big brand retailers.

Even though I made all this happen, I still yearned to be recognized at my day job. I wanted to do all the things I was doing for my own brand, but there and with them. I showed them everything and so did it work? Did my idea of launching my own brand eventually land me on the design team at prAna. No. Nope. Not at all. Perhaps it was in the showing of all the experience I had gained that maybe they realized I was too entreprenuerial to sit comfortably on a corporate design team for long.

The cool thing that I realized is that I ended up creating my own ideal design role with no rules and no limitations. I was able to learn all those cool things the designers were doing and applying it in my own small business. I learned their software, I had fabric swatches all over my desk (in my home workshop) and I had unleashed a part of me that I did not know needed to be unleashed- the project person, the lifelong learner, the eternal creative looking for a fun way to play with creative energy. This was the experience that started a wonderful new chapter in my life and while I am no longer making leather bags nor coveting a corporate design role anywhere, I am still launching new projects, exploring creative ideas and constantly learning new skills.

And while I will continue to share different stages of this path as a designer on my blog, the lesson here is that if you need more creatively, create it. If you need more career-wise, find out what it is and make the steps towards it. If many people are putting assumptions on you that you may not be ready or not a good fit, don’t listen.