I found these photos on my phone from 2017 when I just started working on Mien again after taking a year off to take care of my newborn. I was excited for this first photoshoot in my home studio, taken by my friend @rebekkahcefai, who’s now Mien’s brand photographer. The studio was still sparsely filled, just a few patterns on the rack, and I was steaming a piece that had been sold online. Now, we have a storefront, and I have a team of women I love helping me with anything I need. It wasn’t easy at the beginning, I’ve cried and I’ve doubted myself from time to time. How far we have come in almost three years...
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I did everything myself back then: designing, managing production, marketing, graphic design, packing, shipping, customer service, office admin, you name it - I even pick up and drop off production between factories in L.A. myself in my trusty Subaru - and still do, just now with less lifting since I’m very pregnant and the nice people at the factories always come out to help me. I could hire someone to do the running around but truthfully, I love being there myself to see each of my designs come to life from sample development, to knitting, to cutting, sewing, dyeing then have them in my hands. Every piece you purchase from Mien has been driven around by me in my car and personally handed to our factory partners who tell me that they love the fact that a clothing brand owner is doing the grunt work herself and because of this, they go the extra mile for us, and because they know I will do the same for them. ✨
Some things for Mien I will likely never let go of, no matter how busy we get. Designing, that’s a certainty and it’s my favorite part of this small business. Sample and production I will always be there for because how well we finesse the patterns and create the garments is tied to our quality and that’s priority. Everything else is the team effort of five amazing women. From a solo act to now being part of a cast that I’m proud to call the Mien family. Things do get better even when you wonder why you’re killing yourself trying when you still see no glimmer of light at the end of the tunnel. It’s there, just keep going. I still do.
xxLisa