If you were to ask me what the hardest part of being a creative business owner is, I wouldn’t say cash flow or marketing our clothes or finding trustworthy and quality manufacturers. The hardest part would be executing the creative idea I’ve had in my head or sketched out in my book for months or watching the idea come to life by someone else because I had failed to act on it faster.

A few things attribute to this. It’s the perfectionist in me, because I want my idea to be displayed exactly and as perfectly as I imagined it. And so the thought (or fear) of it being any different, paralyses me from even taking any action in the first place. You know when you’re in a supermarket and you have so many choices that you then don’t choose anything? Then it’s the ‘all or nothing’ mindset, the fact that I’ve conditioned myself to believe we need the bells and whistles, the best studio set up or all the funds to start. That all my ducks need to be in a row - rather than just in the same pond. The other factor is being impatient, because the process to see it out takes longer than I envisioned, so we abandon it instead of finishing what we started.

This has effected us many ways:

1. Loss of momentum, building out a campaign, creating noise and hype then not being able to consistency turnover new idea, designs and content.
2. Shaken confidence from a lack of consistent action, we don't see new results and so we don't see new measures of our success.
3. Being behind the curve when seasonal trends pick up.

In ‘Big Magic’ by Elizabeth Gilbert, a book I read years ago during uni, Gilbert describes a creative idea and a living, breathing arbitrary being. And so, if you fail to act on it, it will more or less find a new owner. She writes:

“The idea had grown tired of waiting and it had left me. What was the idea suppose to do, sit around indefinitely while I ignored it? Maybe. Sometimes they do wait. But others won’t, because each idea has a different nature. Would you sit around in a box for two years while your collaborator blew you off? Probably not. If inspiration is allowed to unexpectedly enter you, it is also allowed to unexpectedly exit you”

It’s almost funny in that aspect to think that my ideas are so precious and original that it has to be ME that does it perfectly for it to exist. I’m designing clothes and making content, I’m not saving the world here, therefore, what’s actually on the line to stop me from just trying? It’s a bit self absorbed right? But by nature, that’s what we are. Characters of our own little world. I also want to note that within the clothing industry and in the creative world, drawing inspiration from something and the lines between IP and originality can blurry.

Our design ethos is that we reimagined classics that already exist, inspired by 90’s nostalgia, often sportswear and reimagined in our own lens, and lived experiences as creatives in Auckland. It’s inherently inspired, so there’s that, which I think is a bigger conversation for another time.

I guess what I’ve learnt is that the world still turns, whether I mull over something or not but that any action is better than no action. It’s only through constant repetition (and refinement) will we then be able to sharpen our ability to execute an idea and thus our brand.