I feel incredibly lucky to have experienced the phenomena “shopping for the shops”. I know I really could frame this a bit more professionally…like B2B wholesale purchasing or something…but I always felt like I had uncovered a secret way to shop like a manic without feeling incredibly guilty.
Because I sold a lot more than fashion, actually I sold mainly home-décor, or did I..?
I guess it was an undefined mix or things that I fell in love with!
My wholesale-trips were mostly to Paris and London. And on my very first trip to London I came across a brand selling scarfs and kimonos with gorgeous prints of maps on it. This brand started by two sisters from Sheffield, England just started their business and it was so fresh and different then anything I saw, that it made me consider selling fashion. Up till then my focus was on gifts and home.
I admit it took me another year to gather the confidence to purchase from them, I had to think about a way to display them, and I felt like I needed to research other brands, maybe a bit more local. When I decided to take the chance, I focused on a few designs and cuts. The brand obviously had images of the items… but truthfully I felt like I needed more and better pictures to show my crowd the bold move to sell kimonos. These kimonos may have been designed to wear as night gowns… or inside wear… but I intended to convince all the visitors of my shop that these were too beautiful too stay inside with!
When my very first order arrived I took one of each home and laid them all out on my bed. I called Lola to share my excitement and i must admit this would be one of my favorite moments. To see her reaction, to hear her opinion and to hopefully share our enthusiasm. She would always speak her mind and present me the unfiltered truth about every single one of them. We would talk about how you would wear them and what you could do with the scarfs.
Together we immediately started planning a fotoshoot, it was one of the first times Lola was my model. This very successful shoot and the big succes of the kimonos in my store resulted in many many more fotoshoots, which were always a crazy combination of us arguing and laughing at the same time.
The brand is called One Hundred Stars - I think the name is perfect and they became one of my best selling products for years. The thing i was so impressed with was that they were able to keep a perfect balance between their classic designs and some truly amazing innovative styles.
Their prints were stunning every season and yes I kept a lot of them for myself, but I still regret not taking home some of them. Please check out their latest collection, or don’t, because you will fall in love with them.
After noticing the success of adding fashion to my store I went hunting for more. I was selling a few french brands like Mapoesie, Inoui editions (i might have to dedicate a whole blog to this brand!) and AFC, Ateliers Francais de Confection. The last one was a brand I discovered in Merci, one of the stops I would always have to make when I was in Paris. I bought a skirt that was so simple but so perfect, that I just wrote them and asked if I could sell their clothes in my store. I ended up selling their jackets and blouses, and i am so happy i kept one of the jackets for myself, it is the perfect jacket for south Spain winters.
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