Ivy & Tweed Lifestyle: Our Manifesto
Starting something new is invigorating. The excitement coupled with anticipation. Lessons learned in the past, with new experiences to be gained. Ideas flooding in, and hands busy at work. Freshly inspired and eager to share. This part of business excites me. A world full of possibilities and unlimited potential.
On the other hand, I’m no stranger to the danger of business. Feeling so sure of an idea, but not yielding results. Pushing, striving, succeeding, chasing, giving more, and loosing your “why” somewhere in the midst of growth. Fear of failure. Fear of success. Comparison. Simultaneously feeling overwhelmed with inspiration, and somehow completely uninspired to create anything original. It’s messy, I know.
I’m not a business expert by any means. But I’ve been on a learning journey for quite some time and I feel, more than anything, this journey has taught me a great deal about myself, and my values.
So as I enter this new and exciting endeavor to running a little Lifestyle Shop, I bring with me a very important list of promises, to my family, myself, and my business. I feel so strongly that I need to share this with you, because perhaps it’s a little unorthodox in the business world, but I believe it to be paramount to my ability to thrive in this season. And even more, I feel that many of you will truly understand, and what a joy it is to be supported with understanding.
Our Manifesto
FAMILY FIRST, ALWAYS Before emails, and orders, and too late work nights. I’ve set some really strict boundaries on using my phone/computer outside of “work hours”. This will not set me on the “fast path to success”, but thats not what we’re looking for.
QUALITY/ ETHICS I’ve always recognized that with knowledge comes responsibility. And once you learn something, it’s difficult to go on acting as if you didn’t know. I very much feel that way about the fashion world. The more I learn about fast fashion, the more it makes me cringe to put my money toward it.
With that, I’ve made a commitment to use high quality, all natural fibers (organic when possible), up-cycle with remnants that fit my quality standard, and to source items from fair trade and ethically run companies.
PACE, NOT RACE I’ve run the race to make it big in the past. I ended up burnt out and lost for direction. This time around, I’m setting my expectations for an attainable pace. My vision/brand are rooted in classic, timeless elements. These are things I feel will not go out of style, even if they do go out of trend. I won’t be the first to put my stuff on the market, but I don’t need to be. I need to be present, and focused on my commitment to quality over quantity. Everything will come in its time.
GENEROSITY At the end of the day, the heartbeat of this business to leave a legacy of generosity. To have something to offer, more than just a paycheck to my family and a product to the customers (though those are very important too). We aren’t sure what form this is going to take on initially, but we are absolutely committed to giving back with what we are given—and boy do we have some big dreams of what that could look like in the future!
So here’s to a new chapter of learning balance in business AND motherhood. May it be a most joy filled journey. Thank you so much for being a part of it!