Yes, a nightmare for most women is the thought of shopping for a bathing suit. Actually, it’s usually more like a hunt – hunting for one that you not only would wear, but would make you feel good wearing it. That hunt led Melanie Travis to Founder and CEO of Andie Swim. It had nothing to do with the garment industry or wanting to start a swimwear line. What it did have to do with was the frustration of trying to find one for a company retreat. The tiny dressing rooms, the lack of variety, her exasperating online experience all turned a lightbulb on for Melanie.
The Creation
The lightbulb turned into the creation of Andie Swimwear, a collection of bathing suits that women can feel good in,. The swimsuits are classic, high quality and affordable without the anxiety of trying them on in a tiny dressing rooms. A direct-to-consumer shopping experience. And the experience is empowering.
‘Made for life’s sunniest moments, so you can spend less time thinking about your swimsuit and more time making memories.’ – Andie Swim. Andie Swim just made the Lead’s 2020 FOREMOST 50 list of high-growth D2C brands that are reinventing the future of fashion and retail. https://the-lead.co/the-foremost-50-2020/
This week Melanie and I will chat about:
The hunt and the inspiration for finding the “perfect suit”
The beginning of her Crowdfunding Campaign
The start of the first collection
The Mykonos and it’s sellout
E-commerce, technology and and the consumer
The at-home-try-on shopping experience
Why the D2C (Direct-to-consumer) model
Perfect fit – how does this work
Funding process
Letting experts in without fear
Some advice for others starting out
Covid and swimwear
What’s next
Caroline McBride: Author ‘Four Seasons at Angelino’s’, Director of Public Relations & Business Development Serafina Restaurant Group, Romantic Lover of Escapades
Caroline McBride’s debut novel, Four Seasons at Angelino’s, is a modern day relationship story. It has all of the ingredients that are necessary for making the culinary wonder that we call love:: women’s empowerment, communication, chemistry and more.
In life as in cooking, following recipes doesn’t always give the results that we are looking for. A tweak here or there can add spice in our life. That’s never been truer than in the times we are currently living in. So this week I’ve decided to lighten things up a bit and talk about romance, finding the one and all of the ingredients that go into it.
Caroline McBride and her protagonist Charlotte, take us on a whirlwind escape through Japan, India, France, and Russia and of course, New York City. We follow the recipe for trying to find the one.
Caroline was encouraged by someone very dear to her before he passed away. She was encouraged to venture into writing fiction as a creative outlet influenced by her work experiences and personal escapades around the world.
A conversation with Caroline McBride. We talk about everything…
Public Relations and restaurants
Travel and escapades
Inspiration and drive
Journey into writing
Empowering women
Finding the one
Communicating
Confidence
Ingredients
Caroline Alexa McBride is the Director of Public Relations and Business Development for Serafina Restaurant Group. She spent the past decade marketing, branding and launching restaurants across the globe, as well as consulting for private clients.
Caroline Alexa McBride grew up in sunny Southern California. She remained there for college to earn her B.A. in Political Science at Loyola Marymount University. Caroline holds an M.A. in International Relations from the Universiteit van Amsterdam in The Netherlands where she studied as a Rotary International Ambassadorial Scholar.
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Gillian Anderson is starting a mental health revolution. Abby was just 15 when she succumbed to suicide. Abby is Gillian’s daughter.
The rate of young people between the ages of 15 and 24 in the United States who have died by suicide, has sharply risen in the past couple of years. Suicide is thought to be the second leading cause of death for Americans between 10 and 34.
Gillian’s mission now is to get rid of the stigma and shame of depression and anxiety. How did Gillian stay strong enough to make sure that Abby’s friends understood that Abby suffered from an illness? She founded My Friend Abby whose mission is to empower youth and young adults to actively create peer to peer connections. And to make sure that the stigma and shame surrounding mental illness is eliminated.
Before founding My Friend Abby, Gillian worked as Development Director for WSHU Public Radio.
