This month, I was delighted to reconnect with a dear friend and colleague, Mandy Kordal of Kordal Studio. You can read our previous interview here but I wanted to check back in with Mandy. A lot has happened since we last spoke, including the opening of a brick-and-mortar shop in Green Point, Brooklyn. I was delighted to hear that she’s doing well despite all the challenges thrown her way in recent months. During our conversation, she shared what has been working for her, how she coped during the worst times last year, how she pivoted to adapt, and where she’s been going to stay inspired.

This month, AOW connects with Laura Siegel of Laura Siegel Collection, a designer of artisanal apparel. Laura shares her honest feedback on how she’s navigated one of the trickiest sectors of the industry, managing quality control, design limitations, and consumer demand to build a strong and growing brand.

This month, AOW is delighted to interview Lauren Brandstetter, the founder of Mar Y Sol, a company that works with artisan communities in Madagascar. Mar Y Sol’s focus and business ethos have made them a company that AOW admires—they have created an ethical brand that truly walks the walk. Their competitive edge is design that stays fresh each season, keeping them ahead of the natural fiber trend craze. To start, Laurel tells us a bit about herself and how she first dove into this field, and how she stays ahead of her competition while staying true to her brand and mission.

AOW connected with Emily Green of Emilime, a company that has been innovating in knitwear since 2009. Her pieces feature an exploration in texture and stitches, using primarily alpaca wool. A luxurious, soft and hypoallergenic yarn, alpaca is known as "The Fiber of the Gods." All the pieces are handmade by artisan entrepreneurs in Peru. Emily has done it all. She moved to Peru, started a Lima-based manufacturing company, built a wholesale arm of the business before selling direct to the consumer and developing private-label products for larger retailers. She’s done all that while remaining committed to ethical production and sustainable sourcing.

I co-founded Momentum in June of 2007 and was mentored early on as to the importance of inventory management systems. I had implemented some great systems, but as the business grew it was too much to rely on my instincts and memory to keep thousands of SKU’s and quantities in order. I modified and expanded the systems to help make my inventory control systems work for me, rather than constantly playing catch up to keep the system afloat. Pretty quickly I realized the logistical and financial benefits of staying on top of my inventory. It saved me a tremendous amount of time and helped me optimize sales by keeping the right quantities of good-selling products in the shop and making sure I never ran out. I was also able to move low-performing items out of the shop quickly before they started to drag the shop down.

AOW Handmade Interview with Kirsten Dickerson of Raven & Lily: Finding Balance in the Ever-Changing Retail Industry