#16 How to innovate in a crowded market, with Grayson DiFonzo, Founder Buddy Love Clothing

Hey guys.

Welcome back to Boutique Chat. You're listening to episode number 16 with a woman who is a definite go getter in this industry. Get ready to meet the CEO and founder of Buddy Love clothing, Grayson DeFonzo.

Let's talk about your business strategy and the juicy details of what actually works from mainstream fashion to fashion on Main street and the entire ecosystem behind it. How do we scale your company and do it with the balance and the happiness that we all seek? Let's hear from those insiders, experts and strategists that actually make it happen. I'm your host, Ashley Alderson from the.

Boutique Hub and I can't wait to chat. Hey guys, welcome back to the show. This week. I can't wait to have this conversation with you because I think it's so important for both boutique owners and those of you who are budding or wholesale brands and designers listening to the show. Things that we need to talk about. So we all know that the wholesale industry today is changing and it's changing fast from what used to be dominated by traveling reps and multi line reps and showrooms and also strictly apparel market booth use and setup today is now intermixed with E commerce and direct to consumer sales and wholesale marketplaces. And there are so many ways for brands and designers who have their own lines to market their product, not just to consumers, but to boutique owners. And then they also have that big question, are they also going to go for the big box stores? So today we're going to have a conversation just about this marketplace and how it's changing. And we're going to do it with one brand who's managed to burst onto this scene and transition from a showroom owner to creating her very own unique wholesale line as colorful and as exciting as the Caribbean. You got to hear this story. Buddy Love and their founder, Grayson DeFonzo started from a need and a want to truly build something that her boutique clients would love. She wanted something different that hadn't been done before in this marketplace. So she began to create bold, flowy fabrics, bold prints, unique textures and unique color combinations, all in an effort to share this lifestyle that was stemming from her favorite vacation spot. Pretty cool right now. You might also be wondering why the name Buddy Love? Well, if you've been to their booth in Las Vegas or their showroom in Dallas, you may just have met the man himself, as I did this past February in Las Vegas at the magic show where he was dressed up as Elvis. So hopefully you'll get that same experience soon. Today we're going to chat with Grayson about what it's like to build this unique apparel brand that stands apart from the rest of the crowd. How she stays ahead of copycats because, yes, that's happening a lot in wholesale today, and how she remains authentic and why these boutiques are asking for her by name. And honestly, I think this advice is great for both boutiques and for brands because it just speaks to the value of creating a unique brand that is all about you and your customer and what it means to do business together. We're also going to be covering the wholesale market today and why Instagram is a really important piece for both retail and wholesale. I can't wait for you guys to meet Grayson here today. But also, if you are one of the lucky ones who snagged tickets to the 2018 Boutique Summit in Dallas, we're going to be hosting our VIP mentor session and cocktail party at Buddy Loves Wholesale Studios, just minutes from Dallas Market Center. So I can't wait to go and see this space. I hear it's pretty awesome and I think you guys are going to enjoy this meetup and this hangout as well. All right, guys, without further ado, let's get to chatting. Let's meet Grayson.

Hey guys. You are in for such a real treat this week as we visit with a brand that I love to continue to watch, to grow and flourish not as a fast fashion line, but as a family owned and operated based in Texas apparel company that is definitely a perfect boutique industry fit. You've probably seen this line and their adorable showroom always busy, by the way, in Dallas or encountered them in Atlanta or at Magic as we did during the last show. And if you haven't heard of Buddy Love yet, you're about to because this is definitely company to watch. So guys, please help me welcome Grayson Defonzo, the founder and designer at Buddy Love Apparel, to the show. Hey girl.

Hey everybody. I'm so excited. This is awesome.

You are one busy woman. You have been globetrotting around the world doing some great Buddy Love photo shoots. So I'm glad that our schedule's finally connected.

Yes, we just have been to Tulum and Hong Kong and headed to south beach next week to do another photo shoot for a couple things for the summer. So I'm super excited.

Oh my gosh. I live vicariously through your Insta stories. Meanwhile, there was like two foot of snow on the ground in Wisconsin. So you just keep it up and we'll live through you. Right?

I know. Well, we just booked a trip to Colorado this Summer, we're actually going to Breckenridge in July because we've been having problems in Texas doing our fall holiday photo shoots because it's so hot. So, like last year we had RVs with AC coolers, waters, people walking around with fans for the models. But this year we're doing so much fur and faux fur and coats and stuff like that, we're like, there's no way we can do it in the Texas heat. So we just booked a week in Breckenridge for the whole Buddy Love Babe crew to go up there and do photo shoots.

Oh, my gosh. I love it. If you need someone to come and just carry the water around for anyone, let me know.

I know. I'm like, this is an awesome perk to the job.

Perfect. Well, we have so much to talk about today. You and I have been talking kind of offline a little bit just about the company and the growth that you guys have had. So much that's changing in our industry today. So I know we're going to be here for a little bit to chat, but to put everything into perspective before we start to tell your story, I'd love for you to talk about where Buddy Love is today, how people can find you and just kind of give them an experience of this rapid growth rate that you guys are experiencing in the business.

Yes. Okay. So right now I would say we are sold in a little bit over 2,000 boutiques across the U.S. if you go to our website, you can, we also have a boutique finder and you can type in like your zip code and you can find somebody who is carrying it near you. And then you can also buy anything through our website, which is just buddylove.com. yeah. So we're, we're out there and you.

Guys have a new showroom in Dallas. A new warehouse in Dallas, which we're going to get to experience at the Boutique Summit very soon. You guys are hosting our VIP event before the summit and co sponsoring that with Makeup Junkie Bags, another Texas based company. I'm pretty excited about that because people are going to get to experience you firsthand.

Yeah, we're super excited. We moved into this warehouse about a year and a half ago, and we do everything in house here. So I have my office with my design room. And then we have what we call the Babe cave, which is where we have creative meetings and, you know, we pick and ship and fulfill all orders from here as well. And then the front of the warehouse, we kind of built out like a boutique. So all of our e commerce product is laid out nicely, almost like a boutique in the front. And that's where we have stylists come, bloggers come to pick out what they need for their shoot or what they want to wear. And then we also hold some special events. Like, if you have a charity or you want to host a party, we can do it there. And then we can also donate a portion of our profits from that night to whatever charity we're working with. Yeah. And we're based down in the design district here in Dallas, which is really up and coming, and it's a really cool spot. And we have food trucks come, and we get a lot of, like, we have an alcohol sponsor, and we have usually treats, and, you know, a couple other businesses, you know, will come and participate. I'm all about the more the merrier. So, you know, helping each other's businesses is awesome. Like, we're next to a couple of breweries, and they're going to bring some samples of their beer over or, you know, we're next to a baker, and she's bringing some of her treats. So just to kind of help everybody get the word out.

Absolutely. So let's talk about before, buddy Love, because you have quite a long history in working in fashion before you started this line. Tell us about that and just kind of how you came to the point where you decided from being in showrooms and then having your own showroom to starting your own line. Where did that come from?

Oh, gosh. Okay. So I've been in the fashion business forever. I did my college internship in New York City with Nicole Miller, and I was dead set to move there after graduation. And then I lived there for the summer, and I realized, oh, it's not very much fun if you're poor. Like, I had no money at all, so it was going to be quite the challenge. So I nixed in New York, but I loved doing my internship there. And then once I graduated, they had a work visa program for students, so I decided that I would get a work visa and I moved to London and I walked up and down the doors, the streets or Bond street and asked everybody for a job there and just took my resume and I ended up working for Charles Jourdaan and Kurt Geiger, two shoe designers there. So everywhere I kind of moved all over the world. I needed. I felt the need to explore. I'm from a small town, so I wanted to get out and see what was out there. And then from London, gosh, I moved everywhere. I moved to the Caribbean My best friend was getting married on the island of St. John and I didn't have a job yet, so I said, I'll come with you. So she's like, yes, come with me. Help me plan my wedding. So I stayed there for 10 days and I loved it. And there was a lot of people just like me who had just graduated from college but weren't like ready for a real job yet. So I didn't get back on the plane to come home after the wedding. I was like, okay, I think I'm going to move here. So I still wanted to stay in the fashion business. So I ended up running White House black market on St. Thomas and down in the USVI for a little over two years. And then you kind of get island fever. And so I decided to move back to Texas. And I was either going to start, I got hired at the downtown Neiman's selling shoes. And then I got a call that day from a showroom that said, hey, I need help working Dallas market. Would you be interested? And I was like, sure, that sounds awesome. So I went and worked market and then I loved it. And I've been doing it every year now for like almost 10, 15 years.

Awesome. And so when you started, you started working in other people's showrooms?

Yes.

Eventually you had your own showroom. Right. So how did that transition go from your own showroom?

It was awesome. I mean, working in another showroom, I learned so much. It was amazing. And it was a big multi line showroom. So I met people from all over. You know, I was repping brands from Canada and from France and New York and la. And I made a lot of connections there and met a lot of people and I traveled to all the shows. You know, we would do coterie, intermezzo, magic, Atlanta, everything. So I did that for a long time. And I was a road rep for a long time. So working with boutiques, you know, going literally from door to door. And then after I got married, I decided that, you know, it was time to go and do it for myself. And I loved what I did so much. So I was like, let's just do it, let's do it. And you know, I figured out I didn't have any money, but my husband and I scraped together enough money to pay the DMC to pay the market center two months worth of rent. And I was like, if I can get these two months paid for, if I can get some brands and go on the road and start selling and start getting commission checks, we'll be able to make it. So I tried it and I took my husband's. I had a little VW and so I took my husband's 4Runner out on the road, like every day. And I would travel everywhere with these lines and try and get orders. And finally it just started to work and it started happening. And so I went from like a tiny little showroom with two lines to a huge multi line showroom. I mean, at some points, we would wrap up to 15 lines at a time.

Awesome.

Yeah. So it was just. I learned a lot, a lot, a lot about the business and about brands and clothing lines and how it all works. And so that's how I got the idea to just kind of go ahead and again do it my own and start my own clothing line.

So that had to be. I mean, I'm sure you had the itch for a while that you wanted to do something on your own. And, you know, just hearing conversations in the industry today, I get asked this question all the time about people starting their own line. Where did you even begin? I mean, you had the connections and you'd scrape together cash at this point from having your own successful showroom. How did you make that first step into designing your own pieces?

Well, I had been thinking about it for a long time, and you know, I would say first and foremost, my love of fashion, you know, is like, I would say I was stylist. You know, I was always coming up with ideas and outfits to wear. And when I was in college, I mean, we didn't even have designer jeans yet. You know, there was no seven jeans. There were no chi hair straighteners. There was no nothing. You know, like, so we were. I was like doing it on my own. Oh, if I take this skirt and I sew it like this, or I'm gonna cut the sleeves off of this and I'm gonna make it this way. You know, I was just always trying to do that. And then, you know, also my friends, I would just dress all my friends. Or anytime I go over to anybody's closet, I'm like, oh, you put this with this with this. And still to this day, my girlfriends are always like, okay, does this work? You know, sending me mirror selfies. And I'm like, yes or no. Put that with that. You know, So I would say it came from that. Like, I just have been surrounded by that. And I love dressing people. I love people making look good look. I would say, like, I thrive at market. I thrive when we have events here because I love to dress people. I can take a look at your body and say, this is perfect for you. This is this. And grab you like a stack of 20 things. And a lot of times you're like, no, I don't think that'll work. And then you go back and put it on, they're like, oh, my gosh, this is the best thing I've ever put on, you know, so I can really help somebody dress for their body. And I feel like I keep that in mind definitely when I'm designing. So I feel like it started from, you know, it's always kind of been there. And then I just decided I want to try it for myself. And so my husband and I were on vacation and we just decided, you know, we went to Italy, we maybe had a little bit too much wine, and we decided, hey, we're going to do it. We're going to go for it. And we did. And our first collection was really small, but I had a chain boutique at that time and I had a really good relationship with them. And she said, I will buy it if you build it. If you do it, I will buy it. And I was like, okay, I've got that, I've got that. I know I've got some customers. And really with the showroom, people were already coming there. Even though we were a multi line showroom for other brands, they were coming and saying, oh, I want to see Buddy Love. Where's the Buddy Love line? Where's the Buddy Love line? For a year before I had even started it. So I'm like, okay. People already think that they're looking for it. You know, they want it. Let's just, let's just try it out.

Awesome. So when you took that leap, I mean, that had to be a pretty scary thing to do. Did you ever feel like, man, I've been repping other people's lines and there's almost comfort in that versus it being your own baby.

Yes, yes, definitely. I mean, there's so much. There's a lot of whole. There's a whole nother set of worries at that point, but really it's just been a learning experience. Like since I started day one, I would tell people, I mean, I am learning something new still every single day between, you know, pattern makers and getting things sewn and getting things mass produced and getting my label put on it and making sure the right care labels on it and oh my gosh, I didn't know what I was doing at all the very first time. You know, we've come a really long way, but I felt like Buddy Love also was born out of, you know, like, we had a lot of lines in our room, but nothing was, like, speaking to me. Like, oh, my gosh, this is so amazing. You know, I feel like Buddy Love was born out of a need for something. You know, I felt like it was just a lot of fast fashion, nothing that was like, really unique. So I was like, I think that I can do it and make it different than everything else that I see, you know, because in a lot of the brands that you buy at markets, you'll see the same prints or the same cuts or the same thing everywhere. And it just started to get stale for me. And I'm sure it did for buyers. And as a seller, I'd be like, okay, well, I have a multi line showroom. I'm seeing kind of the same thing even in my own showroom, you know, So I was like, I feel like I need to bring something new and different to the table.

When you did that, what was that first reaction, the first debut? People gravitate toward the brand and the colors and the fits and the fabrics immediately because they were so different.

People did, you know, I was so blessed, slash shocked, so happy, you know, but we were really bright. So if you know anything about Buddy Love, you know, we are known for our prints. And when I talk to a lot of the buyers, you know, when I try and get feedback and actually I get to talk to a lot more when I'm in Atlanta or something because Dallas, I'm so busy working customers all the time, they say that Buddy Love is their first stop for prints. So they always come to us. Because right now, I would say I design up to, you know, 90% of the prints that are on our line. They're all custom designed. So you can. Even if it's a snake, it's a custom snake that you can only get at Buddy Love. And we are now actively trying to trademark most of our prints. So you can see that, like anything that you get on Buddy Love, you're not going to find anywhere else. Not on Temporaries, not on the 15th floor and nowhere. So I think that was a big thing for the buyers. And then also, you know, I love print. My inspiration is like my husband. I love the Caribbean. We try and take our girls down there every chance we get. We go to the Cayman Islands every year for their birthdays and just tropical sunsets, beach. I would say all of that is totally my inspiration. And you can totally tell that when you see our prints. We're very print driven, very tropical Very bright. I mean, some people are like, oh, my gosh, this is so bright. I'm like, isn't it great? And they're like, I don't know. You know, we haven't done a New York show yet, and people keep trying to get us to. And I'm like, I don't know, we might be too bright for up there, but you never know. So, yeah, I think the uniqueness of our prints is what got people into it. Plus our customer service. Like, I'd been going on the road as a rep for 10 years, so I had a really good relationship with our buyers. You know, it's important to have those relationships. You know, you're driving to Louisiana in a huge mobile showroom. It's not easy, you know, spending the night with some of them, having coffee or dinner or lunch with some of them. I mean, those were just normal parts of my day. And they were so loyal to me because I had been so loyal to them. And really, I'm so thankful for those buyers because without them, we wouldn't be anywhere, man.

I think you just hammered the point home that so many people asked today about attending markets in person and why that relationship there is so important. Because you can't replace that relationship online.

No, that's what I tell my girls, that it's all about the relationship. And even more now because people have such easy access to things online and stuff. You know, I still feel like we're gonna be okay and we're gonna make it because we take that time. Like, oh, did your buyer just have a baby? Okay, let's send them an arrangement. Let's send them, you know, an edible arrangement for their birthday or, you know, if it's somebody that you're. I told my road reps, which I don't have to do anymore, thank goodness. But, you know, if there's somebody who is special to you or, you know, maybe they didn't even buy a lot, but they were awesome and you just really enjoy them and you like going to see them, you know, send them a thank you note, buy them a coffee, let's bring them some koozies or whatever. You know, it's really all about relationships.

Absolutely. You mentioned a minute ago talking about trademarking your prints, and I would imagine with a brand like yours that's created so much momentum and so much energy that you've had a lot of people come in behind you and kind of in the grand scheme of fashion, as it happens, try to recreate what you've done with Buddy Love would You say that's been one of your biggest challenges in building the line to what it is today. And how do you actively pursue people or what's kind of your mindset as you do pursue people that do try to copy what's happening?

Well, okay, so definitely, I noticed that happening a lot. And that is why, you know, we're working on copywriting, which is actually a lot harder than you think it is. So we are actively doing that. Like, not all of our prints are trademarked, so if it's not, people will go out and copy for sure. I've seen it a lot, and I go. And I've asked my fabric makers, my pattern makers. I'm like, who. Who did you sell this to? You know, you're not supposed to. They know, you know, I do a lot of business with them, that they're not supposed to sell it to another person. But anybody can take a picture of my stuff and take it to somebody else and have them do it. So definitely, that is why we're starting this. But, you know, I don't ever let it bother me, really, because I did it first, I did it better, hopefully. You know, we were there, we did it, we struck. We made that trend. We had people go crazy for it. You know, it's not like I'm the last one to the game, and by the time you see it a hundred times and on a million different lines, you know, it kind of loses its specialness. So at least I know I did it first. And, you know, I never dwell on who's trying to copy me. You know, it's just like it'll. You know, as long as I'm doing what I'm supposed to be doing, I'm trying not to worry about what the other people are doing. You know what I mean?

Absolutely. So well said, because you can let that steal your joy and steal your thunder all day long if you'll let it. But good for you. No one is going to do it as good as you've done it. And just like you said, with customer service, that's something you can't copy. Do you think you and I were kind of talking about this before we got started on the podcast today? Buddy Love, as everyone knows it, is Buddy Love, but there's also been some other lines that you've had within Buddy Love along the way, and you were telling me about the transition of those lines, which I think is an amazing story just in the structure of how you've built the brand. Can you talk about that progression of how the Brand has created these other lines and come back to Buddy Love.

Yes.

Okay.

So we thought, oh, this is amazing. We're doing so great with Buddy Love. Let me start another line, you know, and so people can come to my showroom and buy Buddy Love plus something else, you know? So our first line that we started was Izzy and Lola, which some of you probably have heard of or remember. And really, that's where I started kind of my embroidery. Like, we started doing Mexican dresses and tops and just more specialty, detailed items than Buddy Love. And it did really well. And then we also started Smell the Roses. Same thing, kind of more solids, you know, Buddy Love is very print driven. And Smell the Roses was more solids and sweaters and stuff like that. And it worked for a while, but people just came back to Buddy Love. Buddy Love. Buddy Love. I mean, the hardest thing in this business is to build a brand. And to build a brand that's recognizable and is just amazing. You know, it's more than I could have ever hoped for. And, you know, what happened was people loved Buddy Love so much, they didn't even care if the other brands were cute. So one market, I switched places and I put Izzy and Lola on one rack where Buddy Love usually is. I had it labeled properly. I put Izzy and Lola above it. And then I moved Buddy Love to where I usually have Izzy and Lola. And people went through the Izzy and Lola rack and they were like, oh, my gosh, I love it. Oh, my gosh, I love it. And they bought, like, every single piece. And I was like, okay, good. That's so awesome. Thank you so much. Okay, let's go look at Buddy Love now. And they're like, wait, what? This isn't Buddy Love. And I was like, no, this is Izzy and Lola. And they're like, oh, no, nevermind, cancel it. I don't want that. I only want Buddy Love. And I'm like, but you just loved it. And they were like, oh, no, no. I'm here for Buddy Love. It's what my customers want. It's that recognizable heart. It's that logo. It's that tag. It's the hang tag. It's what my customers want. And I'm like, okay, I'm going to listen to the customers. It's what they want. So we have actively phased out Izzy and Lola and Smell the Roses. This summer is our last season with Smell the Roses. And then we are. Everything's going to be Buddy Love. Buddy Love all the time. Which is awesome. Which is awesome. It's like what you Dream of, but I had to learn the hard way, you know? And so. But that also makes our Buddy Love offering is growing like crazy. So we have Buddy Love, which is all of our prints, and then we're doing Buddy Love Basics, which is like, sweaters and, gosh, like, a lot of solids, a lot of cozy, cozy fabrics. And then we also have our T shirt line, so we do graphic tees, we do sweatshirts. We're launching our own jewelry collection, which we just got in a bunch of stuff today, and it's awesome. So jewelry. And then this summer, actually, like, in a week or two, we're launching swimwear and Athleisure, which is a huge thing for us. I've been working on that for a really long time, so I'm super excited. So Buddy Love is not shrinking. Even though we're losing those two lines, we are growing even more, and we're just going to make it all Buddy Love all the time. I love it.

What would your advice be to someone who's listening, who has a brand they're designing, and they're like, man, I want to have a household name like Buddy Love and that kind of demand for my line. What do you think the key is to building a brand like that?

I think it is all about personality. Your we are a real story. And so I think that's why we've done so good. In these times of fast fashion, when you go to market and you go down to the temporary floor, you go to some of the showrooms, you know, it's just a bunch of brands that have a bunch of bodies and the same prints and the same color, and nothing's really that unique. And there's not a real story there. And Buddy Love, you know, Buddy is my husband. You know, I named the business after him. It actually came to be because my husband and I, we've known each other since fifth grade. We were in the same homeroom class. So I've known him forever, and he would always come over when all my girlfriends were over. And my parents, My dad actually started calling him Buddy Love whenever he come in the room. And so my parents just called him Buddy Love forever. And when I kind of. When I tried to figure out what to call my company, I was like, grayson, I don't know. That's weird. I don't want to name it after me. I don't know if it has that ring. And I just kept coming back to Buddy Love, and he was like, no, are you crazy? And then it just kind of, like, I just couldn't see anything else but that. And I was like. And, well, the other option was shades of gray. And that was before that ever happened. So I'm glad I didn't go with that.

That would have taken, like, a real interesting twist in your company history.

Exactly like that website. Yeah. So I. My name is Grayson. My favorite color, everything, like, in my house that I design is gray. So I was like, it's either shades of gray or Buddy Love. Good thing we went with Buddy Love.

I love it. I had a chance to meet Buddy. He was dressed up as Elvis Corre in Vegas.

We are a real family. There is a real Buddy. You know, I design every piece where a husband and wife team. His office is right next door to mine. I feel like the social aspect of it and really we're trying to get better at that. We don't even. I don't even tell my story that much. I. You know, my people are like, you need to be up front more, you know, so I'm trying to do that myself, too. The Buddy Love culture, the babe crew, the people that we have here. I'm so proud of my employees and the people that work here. Nobody's ever quit. You know, I love all my girls here so much. It's such an important thing because it's my business. I have to walk in the door here every single day, and I don't want anything or anybody to give me any reason to not be happy to be here. And that's really been the key. And so then social media, you know, has become such a big part of all businesses. And you were asking me earlier about that, and like I said, if you would have asked me two years ago if I would have ever hired a social media person, I would have, like, laughed in your face. No way. You know, I only hire people who can sell, sell, sell, sell on the market. I mean, on the sales floor, at market or on the road. You know, that's the bottom line. And I hired somebody to run our social media a little over a year ago. And it used to be just everybody had the login and, oh, we'd take a cute picture and somebody would post it one night. You know, there was no consistency. There was no real message being sent. And since we hired Rachel, you know, I would say that things have really taken off for us, too. And you can tell. You can tell from when we went to mom and pop. You can tell from when we went to mom and pop, photo shoots, doing our own hair and makeup and photography to a real makeup artist and Photography and social media and having a clear image, I think that that has helped like, a ton.

Absolutely. So well said, because that's what's happening in the industry today, and social media allows that to happen a lot of the times. Comparison is the thief of joy, right?

Exactly. So, like, we have a brain. We had a brainstorming session, like, what is awesome about Texas? Which there are so many things, obviously, but we were like, okay, ACL is in Austin, and it's amazing. Let's do that. We want to take a river float in New Braunfels, which is my hometown, where I'm from, Float the river, do that. You know, take our pictures down there. Go to Green hall, the oldest dance hall in Texas. Do the Hill country, do Fredericksburg Winery. You know, that's going to be our goal in the next, you know, two years, is really exploring Texas. The festivals here, the cool little things, Luke and Bach, things that make us unique because we are proud Texans and that we do. Everything from here is awesome.

Absolutely. So with that and these photo shoots that you're doing, just the way that you've uploaded up, leveled your brand, would you say Instagram is really like your marketing go to and working with influencers to collaborate along the way, or what's the best way you reach your customers socially?

Oh, Instagram for sure. Doing Instagram and also having the Instagram, not just be like, we don't hire models all the time, like, from an agency. We. We actually have never done that. We. It's usually all in house, either staff me. Sometimes I do it, you know, friends, interns, friends of friends, my sister, somebody else's sisters, cousin, whatever, you know, we try and make it real. So you will see, you know, and our boutiques love that. And, like, our main road reps are Bri and Morgan. And they'll be like, oh, my gosh, there's our wrap. Oh, look. Oh, look how cute Morgan looks. Look how great Bri looks in this, you know? You know, it's fun. You're like, oh, that's a real person that I know. You know, she comes to see me at my store, or, oh, I just wrote an order with her at market, you know, or people come in and be like, oh, my gosh, that's you. That's really. You guys. Wait, y' all are all here? Y' all are all real people who really work here. And I'm like, yeah, it's awesome. And I love that people recognize that. And it just makes it more real, you know, to people and relatable. Yes.

Having an authentic side of the brand.

Yes. And then bloggers, definitely. We do a lot with now too. I would say try it, keep trying. Now they reach out to us a lot. Some of them still want crazy amounts of money. You know, like you keep reaching out, keep trying to find people. Sometimes, you know, if it's like $500 a post, I'll politely decline. But you know, you still. I still send everybody a package, you know, they're always looking for something. So say if there's a really big blogger that I want to work with, but they're too expensive, I'll still send them an awesome blogger box so they'll see it. And you know, they always need content too. They're always looking for stuff. So maybe they'll post it, maybe they won't, but at least they'll be aware of it. So if you can find someone in your city or your town or someone who you think has your style and is kind of on the same wavelength as you, but they don't have a ton of followers, it doesn't matter, send it to them. They're going to be so much more grateful. You know, feedback and people wanting to know about it. They're more relatable. Sometimes people don't feel as awkward asking them questions. Where did you get it? What size are you? How did you do that? So, you know, we give bloggers everywhere, you know, from 500 followers to 500,000, you know, absolutely real people.

So is that, do you ever use.

That strategy with boutiques as well?

And I kind of want to ask that as I think about the overall wholesale industry today, because we've talked about your showrooms and road reps, but the face of wholesale is changing. So how do you best connect with new boutiques that you're going to get carried in?

We are on new order, so technically you don't have to be seen on the road to come in. You know, you apply through our computer and then we look you up and make sure that you're good to go in your area. You know, we're pretty good. We try to be really good about cross referencing, making sure not everybody on your street has it, you know, that way. And then if you are interested, you know, your rep. Each girl who works here is assigned a state. So I can't keep up with everything anymore. But you know, they are really good at keeping on top of their state and their customers and building a relationship with those people. So if you are interested and you apply, we look up the state and then we forward your information onto whoever is going to be working with you. And so they pick up the phone call, then you start to set an appointment. Then hopefully you'll meet up someday at market or something like that and really build that relationship. And hopefully, you know, you'll see him at Magic or Atlanta or, you know, somewhere along the way.

Do you think that your lead generation is both via market, but also because of the brand you've built on social media? Like that digital strategy turns in person, meetup turns new store that's carrying buddy love.

Yes. 100%. 100%. So that is awesome. It makes me so happy when somebody comes into my Sherm and says that. I'm like, oh, my gosh, it's working. It works.

We did it.

We did it. Oh, my gosh, that's really exciting. We love that. I mean, that means we're doing our job. And a lot of we do get a lot of that. And a lot of that is to, you know, just the end consumer being like, oh my gosh. Going to their favorite boutique in town and saying, my gosh, do you carry Buddy Love? Oh, my gosh, I love Buddy Love. And for any boutique owner out there, I would encourage you to ask your top customers, hey, what are some of your favorite brands? Who do you follow on Instagram? What do you want us to start carrying? What are you looking for? You know, always asking, you know, I don't even know everything anymore. You know, I'm always asking people for, you know, their input or what do you think is going to be hot this year? Or what is it? So definitely putting it out there on social media. And we have a lot of new customers apply every day now, which is amazing.

You and I were kind of talking before we started this interview just about how fast the face of wholesaling is changing. Where do you see this all going in the next, say, two to five years? Do you think the way that wholesale companies connect with boutiques and, and also sell direct to consumer. Do you think that's going to be changing a lot?

Yeah, it's going to be changing. I can already see a change in markets and stuff like that. What is super important for me as a wholesaler is getting good line sheets, good photographs, getting it out there. You know, every time I'm late to the game, you know, I have my store saying, where are the line sheets? Where the line sheets? Where are the line sheets? My dollars are already spent. My dollars are booking up. You know, I need you to get your line sheets out here asap. And so for Me, I know that I need to do that. And so it's super important to have good line sheets, and a lot of people don't, so it's a lot of work. We're actually doing a photo shoot right now, today, our warehouse for our game day collection. So it's just a lot of work that you don't think about, but getting all those online as soon as possible for the customers to place their orders and plan their budgets and know what's coming in. So getting photographs, putting them online. We use new order, which I'm sure a lot of boutique owners are familiar with, because you can just go and log in and see our line sheets and place your order right there from your phone or your laptop or your iPad or whatever. It's awesome. It's new for us this year, but it's been amazing. And so you can just kind of log in and see the line sheets whenever you want to. And so that is huge. And people really heavily rely on that now, and they'll come to at least, you know, so Dallas market is five times a year. I wouldn't say, you know, everybody's coming to all five, but they feel confident enough that if they miss one, you know, my product, you know, my quality, you can do it online, you know?

Absolutely. So let's talk about you more than Buddy Love. I'd love to know, because you're spending all this time designing these pieces, Right. If you didn't own Buddy Love, what would you be doing?

Oh, my gosh. I would say interior design. I. It's all the same. You know, it's art, and it'd be.

50 shades of green, right? Yes.

I mean, I love. I mean, I have a furniture buying problem. You'll see when you come to the warehouse. It's like, oh, I just bought this really cool set of egg chairs. I'm like, why? Where are they gonna go? There's literally not any room. So they're, like, in a garage. But, you know, I feel like it's all kind of, like, within the design. I. My husband and I just remodeled a house that we didn't really mean to. We bought it, and then I ended up gutting the entire thing. And, like, I just loved that so much.

Perfect. So not too. Not too far off from that. Who is your fashion icon? Yes.

Okay. So I would definitely say Rachel Zoe. I don't know if that's, like, so cliche. I love her. I think she's amazing. She went from stylist, like, to designer, and she's done an Amazing job. And I feel like that's how I feel like people who are good designers have a little bit of that stylist in them. You know, this will look great. This will feel great. This will fit a bunch of different body types. And she did a great job with that and balancing it and having a TV show, and she has two kids and just trying to figure it all out and traveling a lot. And I just feel like I relate to her a lot. She's definitely my role model in the fashion industry, I would say, for sure.

Oh, man, she's so good. She's so many people's role model. I love that answer.

Do you think that.

And this is not necessarily about you, but just kind of thinking about Rachel Zoe and what you said about designers. Do you think that there's a lot of people today that want to get into wholesale and maybe they want to become designers, but maybe are missing that key element of you truly have to be obsessed with fit style, and how these pieces are going to look on somebody's body type? Do you think that's kind of a missing factor?

I think it could be. Like, it's funny, when I get prints or swatches or a piece of yarn delivered to my office, the girls are like, I have no idea how your brain works that way off of this one tiny little string, you're gonna design, like, three pieces of something or, you know, like a little tiny swatch that's a CAD drawing that looks. Looks terrible on a little piece of paper. And I can envision it from start to finish from a tiny little square. You know, I think a lot of people, I think that's what you have to have to make it. Because the girls come in the office, and they're like, oh, my gosh. Or, are you sure that's gonna be cute? Or, I have no idea what you're doing. And then they're like, whoa. When it all comes out and you see it all together, it makes sense. Fit is a huge thing. And I think that's also why body love is done so well, because usually each print that I do will come in at least three body types, three body styles. And so, you know, I have two kids, so I've got to wear something that I can run around and chase kids in. And then my mom, she's in her 60s, and she loves all of our stuff. She wears it all, too. So she were somebody in their twenties would wear it as a mini dress. My mom, who's in her 60s, wears it as a tunic with a pair of white skinny jeans underneath it. So it's just kind of that keeping all different body types and shapes in mind when I make those pieces that I think have done well. Like, I rarely make things with a zipper. I'm like branching out, trying it this year because it seems to be some of the trend on some of the items. But like things that I know, like, oh, you know, when you're buying online or as a boutique, you're like, oh no, do I go here or here? That's so much harder when something's like a set fit with a zip and all that stuff. So we try and make things as easy as possible. And really like a lot of times a large could wear a medium or a medium could wear a large. Or if you think, you know, you wouldn't fit into anything, you can definitely fit into a large here. So, you know, just trying to keep all that in mind is a lot. But you know, it's worked really well for us.

Absolutely. And benefited. So many different types of boutiques that have carried you. Not just one set demographic, but all age demographics.

Definitely. Like we, you know, we're known for cactus prints and we love that. And some of our stores, like, can't get enough of it. And some of them, you know, when are in different states are like, oh my gosh, cactus, who would wear that? And I'm like, oh my gosh, everybody, you know? Or yeah, like when they want us to go to the New York show, I'm like, are people really gonna go for that? So we'll see, we'll see. But definitely, you know, that's. I design prints that I really like, you know, so I'm into it. So I figure somebody else has gotta like it too.

Absolutely.

Where do you go to feed your mind as a business owner? I know you and buddy are in this business together, both leading the company. Where do you go to fuel up and get inspired?

I would definitely say back to our. The Caribbean. I would definitely say that our favorite place is Seven Mile beach in the Cayman Islands. Both of our daughters birthdays are in June, so we go every June for 10 days. And that's just kind of where we go. And I get so many design ideas there, but also I actually get to talk to my husband there. Not at an office with a glass of wine, watching a sunset. And I feel like we really brainstorm there or talk about hopes and dreams or big ideas that we could do next. You know, I feel like you don't, I personally, you don't really have those huge conversations in an office on a day to day thing, we're like, oh my gosh, where's this box? Where's this going? Ship this out, pay this. You know, you're focused on your daily duties. But for us to get away and kind of do that and come up with hopes, dreams, goals, that's really been awesome for us. And also too, I go to LA a lot for work. I have an office there and there's so many awesome places within two hours of la. So a lot of times we'll try and add on an extra night here and there. Like we just did Huntington beach with the girls, you know, I. He flew them out to meet me after a work week. We just did Disneyland for the first time. We like previously we went out to Santa Barbara, which is like less than two hours from la and just going there, I feel like getting away, the two of us not in our office is really important. He always asks what do I need? And I think I need quality time with you. That's not in our warehouse.

Absolutely. So you bring up a good point when you say that. And this is a question I love to ask women who are on the show, especially mothers who are on the show because there's so much talk about balance and I think social media can be such a highlight reel, right? You see everyone else's life and it looks so perfect. How do you achieve that balance in your life? And how do you be both a mom and a great entrepreneur?

I would say I don't balance it. It's a struggle every day. You just do the best you can. But I have an amazing team here. So I was just in China and Hong Kong for nine days and I didn't have a single worry about my office. You know, that's awesome. That's worth its weight in gold to not have any worry at all. And at home I have an amazing support team too. I have somebody who helps out my family every day. You know, when I'm running around or doing a school pickup. And that's amazing to me. So like really finding people in my life who can help me and who are amazing. Surround yourself with good people. Doesn't matter if you are a mom or not a mom. And when I'm home, like I'm really home. Like I will try if I'm. If there's a week where I'm in Dallas, I will work as hard as I can, get all my stuff done. I'll try and leave at 4 o' clock every day or I'll try and take a Friday off, and we'll just do play DOH and slime and watercolor all weekend long, and I won't think about it. You know what I mean? So when I'm there, I'm really there, you know? And then also, I try and have them, too. Like, we do big Buddy Love parties, and that's, like, their favorite thing. Lolibet and Gigi, my two little ones, they're two and four. Like, every time we have a Buddy Love party, they're like, oh, I want to come. I want to come. And they think they're like, the queen of the show, and they ride their scooters around the warehouse, and they eat all the cookies, and they just think that they're the queen.

Perfect. Getting them started early. So, last question before we wrap up our time together today. We've talked a lot about just how far the company's come and just how your personal story is so intertwined with this brand. I'd love to know, as you look into the future and your kids are grown. Lola and Gigi are grown. They've got kids of their own. And let's say you and Buddy are sitting on the porch somewhere drinking a glass of wine in the Caribbean, right? And you're talking about the progression of your life in this company. I'd love to know what's the lasting legacy that you want to leave? What's the thing that you want people to remember most about you as a person and about this company and what it meant to other people?

I would say I hope that I made an impact on people's lives that were worked here. Everybody who works here, I love dearly. I hope that I mentor them and help them to be a success. You know, if they want to stay at Buddy Love forever, please do. If they want to try it out on their own, I will support you. You know, I try and think every day. Or if there's a hard decision, is it, am I doing what's right? Am I doing what's right? Is it hard? I don't care. I just want to make sure I'm trying to do the right decisions along the way. I don't know that we were a real family, and we really did it, and we were good to people, and we tried to help people along the way. My husband and I, we're really involved down here in Dallas in the design district, trying to help other people. You know, I just moved my printing from China to a print shop around the corner. You know, I met this guy. He's super nice. He has A lot of T shirt presses. And so I pulled that and I gave it to him. You know, I have a media company that I met a couple blocks down and they come to our parties, film our stuff and do that. And then I've hooked them up with each other. So building a sense of community and helping others I think is important to us. Like, if I can do this, if I can make Buddy Love happen, if I can build this brand and make this huge company, which is shocking, you know, let me help other people, Let me share my advice. Let me, you know, help people along the way.

What would your parting words of advice be for someone who's listening? Whether it's a boutique owner or a new startup brand, designer, manufacturer, someone who's wanting to make their mark in fashion and start a business like you have, what would your, your parting words of success be for them?

If you want to start your own clothing label, work for a clothing designer, work in a showroom, surround yourself with that. You need to learn as much as possible about it before you just go off and do it. You know, I was in the business for over 10 years before I started my own label and I learned so much and I met the right people. It's about connections. It's about, oh, I met this person who has a factory or I met this person who has a showroom in New York or LA or something like that, submersing yourself in anything that has to do with that business. And also, you know, listening to podcasts about it, following people on social media. Is there a brand that you really like? Are they doing really good? Why? What's so great about it? How can you do that for yourself? How are you going to make yourself have that it and that sparkle and be drawn to what you're trying to do, you know, really figure out what is going to make you different than the rest.

So good. Well, Grayson, thank you so much for spending your time with us today and sharing your story about this brand and this mission and just the fact that you guys are such a unique, family owned, operated, Texas based company, it's so cool to watch your guys growth and success and I can't wait to come see the warehouse in person.

Yes. Well, thank you so much. This was awesome. I really appreciate it.

Hey guys, thanks so much for listening to this episode. I hope you love getting to meet Grayson and if you're coming to Dallas, I am so excited to get to visit with her more in person. I also want to give a thank you this week to our listener of the week. Dayona917 who said I love listening to this series. It rejuvenates my motivation and gives me hundreds of ideas I can apply immediately. Since applying some of these techniques, I've already seen a dramatic growth in sales at my boutique. Hey Dayona, thanks so much for not only listening to the show but taking the time to leave us a rating and review that means a ton to our team because your feedback is so important as we continue to grow this show. And I tell you what, we've got some big things planned, some big guests, and some solo episodes right around the corner that you're not going to to want to miss. If you did miss out, however, on coming to the Boutique summit in 2018 in Dallas, Texas, I do want to share one quick link with you because this offer is only going to be up for the next couple of weeks and that is to access the digital recordings of the 2018 Boutique Summit. We have a video crew come in and video each and every speaker that's with us in Dallas. Plus we collect all of their slideshows and handouts and downloads and we make those accessible to you guys at home because we know we have limited space at the event. I know your guys schedules are so busy so if you want to take a peek and grab a spot to watch these digital recordings, follow this link. The BoutiqueSummit.com TBS18 Again, that's TheBoutiqueSummit.com TBS 18 to get access to those digital recordings. And as always, if you want more information on joining our movement of the Boutique Boss at the Boutique Hub, you can join us@the boutiquehub.com join alright guys, I am off to a crazy week ahead as the Boutique Hub begins to prep these last minute details for Dallas, which for me means a ton of speech, writing production notes, last minute decor, and making sure to keep all of you guys up to date with all the perks that are coming to Dallas. From brand discounts from our members to events to meetups to extras that are happening on the side of the Boutique Hub Summit as well as sneak peeks into some awesome swag that's going in your swag bag that's already en route to Dallas. There's so much to organize in the next couple weeks, but it is all going to be worth it. All right you guys, cheers to a great week ahead. I can't wait to hear from you in the meantime over on Instagram and I'll be back next Tuesday with an episode you are not going to want to miss.

Hey guys, thank you so much for listening to this episode. We hope that you loved it. Don't forget to hit subscribe and leave a rating and review down below for a chance to be one of our featured listeners each and every week. For more information on our spirit of community over competition and how to access complete complete show notes and bonus downloads from our guests, head on over to the boutiquehub.com and join the community. We'll see you next week.