Im Blakeley! Designer and Owner of the Blakeley Brand.
Im sure youve seen my face a lot! Rightly so, its plastered all over my website ha! I definitely am the face of my Brand, and its a much deserved and well earned title!
I wasnt always so eager to model my own clothing, but I have really come to learn a lot of things over the years! One is authenticity and being comfortable in my own skin! While its always a work in progress, I have learned the more "real" I am about myself, it has a tendency to elicit permission in others to shine bright and not hide who you are and who you are meant to be!
I wont start my story with the boring...my love of fashion brought me to create my own clothing line...thats a given.
In 2013 I was at a place in my life where I needed a BIG change. My husband was working 60+ hours a week, I had been running my airbrush tanning business and was gone every single night! We were over extended, over tired and burnt out. I wanted a change.
My husband and I decided it was time to let go of the things that didnt serve us to make space for the things that did...like more family time, less stress and less obligations.
Just like that we made the decision and moved from our 4000 square foot home to a 1000 sq foot apartment with our 2 boys!
A funny thing happens when your mind and heart are more at ease. Suddenly it allowed room for creativity and a "flow" of life I was so desperately seeking!
I soon started making jewelry at night after my boys were asleep. I loved the creative outlet it gave me.
One day I decided to post my new creations on my facebook page to show off my new hobby. Low and behind that post blew up! Soon, my mom, brothers and anyone who I could get to help would come over at night and help me make bracelets! I started marketing them via Facebook to Boutiques and got in hundreds of them within the first couple weeks!
That was it, my fire was ignited and I KNEW fashion was my home! I started selling on Deal sites first and we were selling everything! Jewelry turned into accessories that then turned into clothes!
My UPS driver would deliver stacks of boxes outside our little apartment door and we would bring them in one by one until we could get them shipped out.
It only took about 6 months before I saved up enough money to put a down payment on our home! I loved feeling that I was making a difference in our lives, and doing something I loved.
After being in business for a year, my husband came home from work one day and I told him I wanted him to quit his job and help me run the business. He told me if I could make the same amount or more for another year, he would quit, and I agreed!
Not even a year later I had doubled my sales and he quit his corporate job to help me with the business.
I felt like I was really good at designing clothes and had a knack for it! Clothing was where I could REALLY feel my passion lied.
In 2017 we shifted our business from deal sites and decided wholesale was the route we wanted to go. I posted my first 8 designs in a Boutique group and it EXPLODED! I got thousands of orders and things really ignited from there!
Ive had so so many ups and downs over the past 4 years. Its been an absolutely wild ride, but one I wouldnt change for anything!
Being able to keep our business not only alive, but absolutely thrive, confirms I am on the right path!
"Follow your heart and clear your head!" Its my motto when things start feeling overwhelming and I just need to get back to basics. Your heart always knows the answer!
I hope I inspire you to follow your heart and follow your dreams. Amazing things happen when you do!
XOXO- Blakeley