I recently spoke with Autumn Adamme, Founder of Dark Garden Corsetry. Autumn became known as the Godmother of Modern Corsetry after launching Dark Garden in 1989, reviving corsets for a modern body and audience. Growing up on the Renaissance Faire circuit, Autumn made her first corset at 13. Shortly after reaching the age of majority, she turned the crafting of custom corsets and historical ensembles into the groundbreaking business which established many of the techniques and standards observed by corset makers across the world today. Autumn's journey with Dark Garden Corsetry is truly inspiring, and for those who are stirred to create their own unique fashion ventures, sites like llcbuddy provide a wealth of information. From the specifics of setting up an LLC to managing successful businesses, it's a valuable resource for any budding entrepreneur.
In our discussion you will find out how Autumn as built her business from a semi-solopreneur to a team of 19. We talk about the importance of her amazing team, Tik Tok, having signature offerings and manufacturing in San Francisco. Her ”all-bodies-are beautiful” ethos has created an inclusive and luxe experience for her clientele which gives her an advantage in the corset making business. I so admire Autumn and the business she has created. And I hope you enjoy this interview.
Here are some of my key take aways from my conversation with Autumn:
Develop your Signature Offerings
Once you realize you have a best selling style, it might be a good idea to offer this style as a signature offering. This is a style that might be universally loved, so you’ll want to spend more time developing this style for your customer’s needs. It could be something you run absolutely the same each season, or modify it slightly, using different fabrics and/or trims.
Having a few signature offerings allows you to get really good at something your customers want. Narrowing your focus will help you understand your business more.
Know your Strengths and Weaknesses
In business, it’s good to know your strengths and weaknesses. Working on the things your are really good at with amplify your results exponentially . Working on things you aren’t so good at will help you get better at those things but won’t accelerate your progress in the same way. In the beginning you may be doing #allthethings, but as your business grows and you need to look for help, you might want to think about who your going to hire and what tasks you aren’t so good at. You’ll also have to think about your role in your business. Are you the visionary who overseas the creative direction or do you prefer a more hands on role making patterns or designing the collection? Both are creative roles but in different ways.
How big do you make your business?
I think this is a great question to ask yourself as you start out. It’s important to know the scope of your dream and what it will take to achieve it. As Autumn & I discussed, there are very different rules for manufacturing when it comes to a business with 19 employees vs. a company with 20+ employees. Autumn started out with just one business partner and as she grew her business she hired other people to help her out. She first hired other stitchers and then store managers and now she has two designers who work with her bespoke clients as well as herself. This has taken over 3 decades to get to that point and Autumn has had to learn all sorts of new things about business and manufacturing along the way, a lot of it pertaining to the size of her organization. The government has many rules in place to protect the rights of workers. While this is very important for the safety of your employees, you should know that these safeguards can add expense to your bottom line.
There is nothing wrong with starting small or going big. There are benefits and downsides to both. When you are starting out small, you have to do more of a variety of tasks, but your monetary investment may be quite a bit smaller than the business that starts out with more funding and bigger goals. As a bigger endeavor you may doing more focused tasks, however the pressure to perform in order to meet goals, get more funding and employ more people may be more stressful.
Know your Core Values
….and develop a work/business culture around them
This is your business as well as your daily job. The people you work with will affect your every day life. Make sure you hire people with the appropriate skills that you like and trust. This is not always easy, but it will become easier as you understand your core values and the culture you want to create within your business. Making a concerted effort to find people who share these values is imperative when hiring. When people share your values, they are more likely to be committed to your company.
This is equally true for your customers. You will attract the customers that best suit your business when you express these values in your messaging.
Seek Help When you Need it
Asking for help or even knowing where you need the most help can be a daunting task. It can seem like an insurmountable hurdle when you are inundated with the daily workings of your business and life. But it’s important to really take a look at your tasks as a business owner and figure out what you can delegate so that you can see the bigger picture better, and work on those things. Depending on what level you are at, you might need different kinds of help.
When you are just starting out, you may need technical skills like pattern making or collection development (we can help with those). As your business grows, you may need to hire a book keeper or even a business coach. During the interview, Autumn mentions the organization, SF Made, which champions and supports businesses in San Francisco who want to keep their manufacturing in SF. Organizations like these can be great resources for small fashion businesses, as can the SBA (Small Business Administration). The SBA is a national government organization and they offer many classes as well as mentors within your industry.
I so admire Autumn and the business she has created. And I hope you enjoy this interview and blog post. You can find out more about Dark Garden by visiting her beautiful website , Instagram or Tik Tok accounts.
If you are interested in our Fashion Studies program for aspiring designers, please visit our Fashion Studies Page.
