Incubating Success

For the last three days I have felt like a foolish woman in love… constantly checking the phone for the very first text from Edward to say we have arrived in India and we are safe. Finally it arrived at exactly 8pm last night… a text from New Deli. Yep and they are not without causality… it seems a soft drink has been split on his laptop so that may hinder communication but they still have the iPhone so I am hoping for some great images for the blog before they return. And what did they do on their first night in New Delhi? No wonder we mothers worry… Quote “Got drunk in the city centre last night pretty unreal!!!” Really, no wonder he is never far from my thoughts at the moment. It took me 21 years to get him to this space and at times he seems to have such a careless disregard for life and all in the name of having fun. And possibly to make matters worse he's 21 on the 31st of this month! God only knows how they will celebrate. I will keep you updated…
Still on the topic of nurture – a trait that is intrinsic to all women, I have been looking at how I apply this trait in a business sense, after years of intermittent mentoring, which can be incredibly time consuming and very unrewarding, I have decided to take another tact… an in-house nurture program. This is where I incubate new or existing talent with the intention of getting them to a level that they can then go on and run their business sustainably. The first of these projects is my collaboration with Kiri Nathan, an established Auckland designer that has created some fabulous evening wear pieces. The goal is to look at how we get these to market to create a sustainable platform of trade without bastardizing her handwriting. To effect this, we established a time of frame of six months and collaborated on 10 designs that will be made and retailed exclusively by and for us with Kiri taking a % of the sale.
The benefits of the arrangement have been on both sides. For Kiri the incubation in our system has taught her about pattern designing and marketing for a commercial platform without encumbering her with the costs. So there is the luxury of test and trial.
Working with a our established and experienced design and sampling team will and has taught Kiri so much about how to run a successful fashion business and all the while, I have remained in the sidelines guiding her around the business model. We also will have the benefit of introducing her stunning gowns into our retail environment. Working through the logistics of cutting and making these almost bespoke pieces hasn't been without its challenges, so some great lessons for us!
We are now heading towards completion and the inaugural launch which will be in Wellington at Homewood the residence of the British High Commissioner, Vicki Treadell on National Women's Day March 8^th. The whole process has been incredibly rewarding from my end; far in excess of what I was gaining from the mentor process and I can give Kiri her business wings. I just might have made real difference out there…