I’ve been quiet for a while because, well, not much has been happening. I’ve decided MR will take a hiatus for ’23.
When I started this brand, my mentality was: “I want to make clothes; let’s just see if anyone wants to buy them.” It was low-stakes. We were fresh into the pandemic and my day job was slow. I had saved money to start this project, but the culture quickly swallowed me: It became clear that, in order to achieve long term viability, I would need to have a wider assortment of styles, higher quantities, post more, gift more, be recognized by certain taste-makers and influencers, be featured in various publications, make a certain amount of sales, etc etc etc.
On top of that, my day job really took off, and one only has so much bandwidth.
Fall 2022 was my best work yet, and y’all showed up for it. I sold out of just about everything. Even a $375 sweater I was sure I would regret producing. Heck, I even made a PROFIT during my second year in business. This is incredibly rare, especially in fashion.
The endless hurdles will probably only be understandable to those in the industry: the vendors, the shoots, the fulfillment, the marketing. The highs are high — this business is addicting and euphoric — but the lows are incredibly low and deeply stressful.
I keep asking myself: Why am I doing this? What do I want? Who needs these clothes? What is my impact?
I was incredibly moved by an old episode of The Cutting Room Floor podcast with Mara Hoffman (the GOAT, my literal idol) where she asked herself: Am I doing this just to have my name on the back neck of a shirt?
This is a bit steam-of-consciousness, and if you made it this far, I love you. All of this is to say, I’ve become overwhelmed. And I’ve heard all about how cutting things off NOW would be crazy, as has been advised by virtually all my friends and family. But I need to do what’s right for me, my future and my mental health.
So, thank you all for being here. Hoping to regroup and be back in action in ’24 😘