Young Entrepreneurs: JordanTaylah.com

Taylah signed up for Indie Business a few months ago and we chatted 1:1 online. As we talked, I was fascinated... I really admired her business sense, product development and beautifully designed website (every detail is so clever!). THEN, I found out she was 14 and I felt secretly intimidated to be one of her teachers, she's an impressive young woman and I asked her immediately if I couldfeature her on Freckled Nest :) Taylah and her best friend/business partner Ellie are the kinda girls I always wanted to be growing up... I hope that as you read this interview, you'll realize & discover that ANYTHING'S POSSIBLE if you put your mind to it!!!
*
1. Please introduce yourselves and your company :)

Hi! My name is Taylah Golden, and I own and operate a boutique sleepwear label called Jordan Taylah with my friend Ellie.  We design cute, comfy and quirky pj's, as well as a range of bags, purses, clothing, swimwear, softies, and accessories, which we will be adding to our store through-out this year. Ellie and I met in preschool, where we studied 'The Beautifulness of Ballerinas' and made dancer dolls. We started going to real sewing lessons in grade 7 at a little patchwork store. We made lot of old lady friends, who insisted we call them all 'aunty'. Auntie Phyllis, Auntie Barb, Auntie Shirl... They all rushed in on Saturdays to show us their latest quilt or machine-embroidered design, then stayed to help us turn bag handles. We progressed from patchwork bags to dressmaking, with help from my mum, and began with the pajamas. Oh, and we're 14 years old, from QLD, Australia :)

*
*
2. I was so impressed with the success of your small business when I met you, then I found out you're fourteen and my jaw hit-the-floor!! Please tell us about how your business started and how you made it all happen!

Our business started back in '08, when we were 12. El & I were getting ready to go on school camp- interstate to Canberra! Flying to another state with 80 of your friends is big when your 12. I wanted some nice, new winter pajamas to take with me, but couldn't find anything nice; everything was covered in strange cartoon characters, and buying warm pj's without a collared, button up shirt was impossible.

So off I went o the craft store, where I picked up a few patterns and some cute flannelet. Ellie came over to my house, and we sewed. We were aiming for a pair each if we were lucky, but we ended up with about 4 or 5. They were lovely, but we didn't need that many, so we gave some to our friends. While we were away, more people began to ask where we had gotten them from. We also told our other family and friends, who wanted pj's right away. Those guys were responsible for us having orders less then a week after we made our very first pair :)

The thing that people wonder about the most is probably our label name - Jordan Taylah. What it means, and how we got it.

When we had our little brain wave, we mashed our names together. I am Taylah Golden, and Ellie's full name is Ellie Jordan. After trying every possible combination of our names, that is what we decided we liked best. I get called Jordan more than I get called Taylah, I think, but it's all good. ;)

*

Everything was a bit bigger than we imagined, with friend's friends ordering, even the occasional purchase from someone we didn't know, it was time to sort ourselves out, and make JT look official. I emailed my cousin Bianca, who has a wonderful marketing, web & graphic design business. She whipped up our lovely logo, and designed us a few business card options. In the end, we settled on the blue ad green theme, which has now become sort of like our 'trademark color scheme'.

My uncle is a software engineer, and offered to build my website. Once we got talking to people, we found so many businesses and contacts who were willing to help our dream become a reality, screen printers, photographers, retailers and journalists. It was amazing to find there were so many generous and helpful people in the community, who were interested in a little PJ label like ours.

2009 was a big year for us, we got a brand new website (from Bianca's newest venture, Web123), participated in the Sunshine Coast Fashion Festival, started circuiting the markets, gained most of our retail outlets, and were featured on a national morning television program, The Today Show.

*
*
3. Who are your style icons and where's your favorite places to find inspiration?

In terms of style icons, I have quite a long list that changes regularly. However, a few of my constant favourites include:

*

Nirrimi Hakanson...

Nirrimi is a teenage photographer from here in Queensland too. Her pictures are absolutely stunning, a huge source of inspiration, and one of the main reasons I wanted to get started in photography. She is not even a legal adult, and has shot editorials for Australian magazines, and recently returned from New York. Yep, New York, to shoot for none other than DIESEL.

Her creativity is mind blowing, and her technicality is superb. I think it is even more amazing that she is self taught, I love hearing stories like hers :)

I think she has big things ahead of her! 

*

Of Course, Red Velvet Art, is a massive inspiration....

I stumbled upon Elsie's Blog a few years ago by accident, and it has become a daily source of motivation and eye candy for me. I love hearing little stories about RVA, and want to buy pretty much everything in the store. I would loveLOVElove it if JT became anything like Red Velvet, and I think a lot of indie business owners from all around the world feel the same. 

A Beautiful Mess actually inspired me to start my own blog, team*taylah, which I am so grateful for, as it has allowed me to connect with so many amazing and like-minded people. I love the whole aesthetic of the boutique, and the RVA team are my business & style icons :)

*

I couldn't forget Peter Alexander, the pyjama king...

He started sewing on his mother's kitchen bench, and 20 years later his name is synonymous with boutique sleepwear. And the dachshund branding is so cute!

I often think of new ideas and designs when I am on the train. Trains are my most favorite, and maybe strangest way of being creative. I always draw or collage in my art journal, or list the interesting things that pass by the window, especially flowery fields, abandoned shopfronts, and amazing graffiti. Even the station names are inspiring, I pass Sunshine Station on my trips, and I think that is the best name for a train station ;)

*
*
4. What's your favorite part of having a small business and what do you look forward to in the future?

The thing I love about having a small business is feeling you get when working with others. I feel like there is a real sense of connection between the customer and my brand, which I don't think is particularly possible in a huge, mainstream label. I believe that the story behind a product can be just as special as the product itself, and retailing through my web shop and various market stalls allows me to share that with my customers. I love to feel like your getting a real treasure, and a little piece of a fairytale after buying from an indie designer, and I like to think people who buy Jordan Taylah feel the same.

In terms of the future, this year is particularly exciting for me. I have a huge range in production at the moment, the majority of which will be released in September, after being unveiled in the Sunshine Coast Fashion Festival. As well as over 10 new summer sleepwear designs, I am adding swimwear, clothing and accessories to the store. There is a lot in planning, but I want it to be a big surprise when it comes!

*
*
5. What does your average day look like?

Obviously I have school everyday, so I can't spend all my time making cute stuff. When I get home in the afternoon, I usually have assignments or homework to attend to, as well as sport. In the evening, I respond to emails, add new products to the shop, spend a bit of time making littler things, such as purses or hair accessories, and I try to write a blog post as often as I can. On the weekends, I work in a local craft store for a few hours, where I spend a lot of time imagining the fabrics as bags, or pajamas or other bits and pieces. 

The weekends are usually when I get most of my work done. If I have a specific order to complete I will cut it out, and pack it up with all it's tags. If I have a lot of general stock-building to do, for a market or event, I organize my fabrics an patterns and send it to an industrial cutter. Either way, once my pj's are cut they are sent to Shirley. Shirl is my fantastic sewer, and  one of the best things that have ever happened to Jordan Taylah. I drop bagfuls of fabric to Shirl, and have a chat in the sewing room. She is so sweet, one day I was telling here how I loved typewriters, and a few days later when I came to pick up my order, she had one for me! In return I made her a Heather Bailey turtle. While my boxers are being stitched, I take care of embellishing tops, and making a cute, coordinating drawstring bag for each pair ( Every set of JT pajamas come with a matching bag, for taking to sleepovers, or just storing your pj's in the cutest way ever :] )

Then there is packaging and shipping, once production is complete.

*
*

6. What do you want to be when you "grow up" and how do you plan to get there?

I want to do so much! I would love to pursue photography, as it is something I love and am very passionate about. Of course, I want to continue Jordan Taylah, growing into a label stocked in cute boutiques all over Australia, maybe even overseas. Adding a design degree to my skills is also on my list of things to do, particularly one in visual communications. This will allow me to study graphic design, popular culture, typography, photo media and digital editing, packaging, and psychology of marketing. I think that sounds so interesting, and also helpful for what I want to do. Another dream of mine is to own my own boutique, stocking my own pieces as well as items from other designers, especially locals or people who are 'undiscovered'. I would stock lots of fashion, cute homewares, pretty stationary, photo prints, magazines and books, jewelery and toys. And I want a studio space, so others in the community can connect through art and craft!

*
*

7. What do you have planned for Jordan Taylah in the near future?

This  year brings big things for me. I am currently designing a cute line of dresses for summer 2010, as well as about 20 ranges of pj's to be released through out the year. I am adding a lot to my store, including swimwear from my lovely friend Kristy. I want to find some soft toys and stationary (especially notebooks!) from other independent designers to  fit into the Jordan Taylah family. If you are interested in showing your stuff on my site, please email me and let me know (info@jordantaylah.com)! I am really passionate about giving unearthed brands a chance to get noticed. A big goal for me is expanding my stockists, and finding cute stores to sell my label. And circuiting the markets again! It's a big list, but you've got to dream big! xo, Taylah.

*

Thanks so much Taylah, keep following your dreams!! :]
LA