Purchasing clothing from handmade shops on Instagram has quickly become the norm this year. As the interest in baby & toddler fashion continues to grow, us mothers, fathers, friends + family continue to buy. We get to experience beautifully hand-made, well thought out clothing pieces & keep our kiddos dressed from head-to-toe in the hippest, coolest clothes on the market. All wonderful, this I know, but I thought it would be equally as great to get to know the faces BEHIND the Companies that have grown and accomplished so much. With that being said, I'd like to introduce to you all, my newest blog series titled "Masterminds behind the lines"
+ This blog series will consist of a collection of Q&A's answered by the owner(s) themselves. This month, Rad and Rebellious had the pleasure of interviewing the incredible faces behind @ELECTRICCOLLECTIVE // below are their answers - Enjoy!
Krista (left), Rowan (middle), Blake (right)
"I'm Krista, half of Electric Collective. My little family includes Blake and our son, Rowan, who will be 1 in August. We live in the suburbs right outside of Nashville, TN where we love to go thrifting, drink coffee, and go to Target a lot.
Q: What urged you to start a business?
A: There were a lot of reasons, really. To start, I am staying home with Rowan right now so I really wanted to feel like I was contributing financially without sacrificing my time with him. Plus Blake and I have always wanted to open our own business that would allow us to have a creative profession. The concept of Electric Collective has really evolved with our lives, that's what's so great about it to me.
Q: Where does the name "Electric Collective" stem from?
A: Well, Blake and I work together on all of the designs. It usually starts with me saying, "You know what would be a cool shirt?" And then he magically creates an image. Just kidding, he works really hard on the designs, but it seems like magic to me because I can't draw as effortlessly as he can.
Q: What keeps you motivated?
A: Rowan. I want to be an example to him that he can make a career out of something that he loves. I never want him to feel pressured to live a life that doesn't satisfy him.
Q: Which female leader(s) do you admire most, and why?
A: I think about Susan Petersen a lot when making business decisions. She's pretty much the perfect example of "making it" with a small, handmade business.
Q: How has mentorship made a difference in your professional and personal life?
A: My mom owned her own business for the majority of my life. The concept of a female boss was never anything but normal to me because of that. It also made me more confident in my ability to start this business. Plus, growing up she always encouraged me to have little businesses selling handmade jewlery and things like that. I'm lucky to have such a strong female role model in my life.
Q: What advice can you offer those seeking to establish their own business?
A: It's not for everyone. It's really tough and if you aren't in it 110% you will constantly be finding reasons to give it up. I think people really need to know that it's what they want.
Q: What have the highlights and challenges been during the tenure as a new business owner?
A: One highlight is definitely seeing customer photos. For us, our product is personal. It's our art. So to see it in other states, other countries, even, it's pretty rewarding. The biggest challenge is managing time, for sure.
Q: How do you maintain a work/life balance?
A: Balancing things is sort of a joke. When you're the owner of a small company, you're also the human resources, graphic designer, office cleaning lady, printer repair man, coffee making intern, and you do anything else that happens to need to be done that day. Plus, I'm a stay at home mom. So I make a lot of lists, I drink a lot of decaf coffee, and I just do the best I can. Prioritizing is key. You have to be able to admit that some days you aren't going to be able to do it all and part of being a food business owner is deciding which things can wait until tomorrow.
Q: How have your previous employment experiences aided your position as the owner of Electric Collective?
A: In college I worked as an assistant for my art professor. It was my favorite job. I loved doing all of the organizing and office work, but I loved even more working on art projects. I don't know that the experience made me better at what I'm doing now, but it definitely made me want a creative career that much more.
Q: What are three things you turn to, to help you unwind after a busy day?
A: Blake, coffee, Portlandia.
Q: How many cups of coffee do you consume to get through a work day?
A: Ha, I have been trying to only drink one cup a day because I'm still breastfeeding, but I just got the new Dunkin' Donuts creamer and having it in iced coffee is my new favorite thing. So good.
Q: Most importantly, what are your hopes for the future of Electric Collective?
A: My goal is for us to grow to the point where we can no longer operate from our home. I would love to have a brick and mortar store and a studio. I think a short term goal is for us to move from "made to order" to "ready to ship". "
I thoroughly enjoyed interviewing Krista & Blake from Electric Collective and hope this post has shed some light on the masterminds behind this line.
+ Stay updated with Electric Collective here: http://instagram.com/electriccollective
+ Shop Electric Collective here & enter code: "JONAH" for 10% OFF your entire purchase: http://electriccollective.bigcartel.com/
And as always// thank you for visiting the Rad and Rebellious xx
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