Juggling a fashion brand launch as a SAHM
Share
Here's where things are at as of May 2026...
My personal strategy is to work hard during my kids' nap. It's a strange and uncommon blessing that my two kids (daughter 3.5, son 2) still love taking naps. But not so strange when I think about what utter night owls they are! They got that from both their mother and father. ;) So, it all evens out in the wash.
But seriously, I love the challenge of taking every second I can to make Real Atelier Co.'s launch day become a reality. Want to know what the hardest part about getting my brand off the ground has been, so far?
The hardest part about starting a fashion brand so far hasn't been growth on Instagram, or even making the design. It hasn't been finding my cut and sew factory. It's actually been sourcing the fabric that has been taking the longest. It has made me into a fabric detective to find in real life exactly what I've envisioned for so long in my mind.
I've learned that brands like mine find a small but reliable "trial run" fabric source, then find a bigger, better quality and more customized wholesale fabric source for actual production. Once the brand has become a success, then founders turn to working with a fabric production facility to custom-make our very own signature fabrics, in just the quantities we need to minimize waste.
I'm happy to say that I've found great suppliers for all three steps-- I have a perfect prototype fabric from Denmark that has been sent over to our cut and sew factory in LA and is being turned into our first sample dress as we speak.
I'm currently dialoging over email to flesh out in detail the exact fabric type and colors that I'll be ordering from a really amazing, ethical fabric source in China, whom I met at the Functional Fabric Fair. They are a God-send, giving Real Atelier Co. the opportunity to produce our dresses out of premium, quality Tencel fabric, with a luxe enzyme wash for softness and durability. They can even dye our fabric in just the shades we want, and at minimums that are low enough for a small brand like mine to get started.
I also made a connection at the Functional Fabric Fair with Lenzing itself (the parent company owner of the brand and trade marked fabric, Tencel). They opened the way for me to be able to custom produce our own fabrics for Real Atelier Co. in the future, once we're an established brand and have successfully made and sold multiple garments (cause we'll expand beyond dresses in the future!)
I'm excited and grateful to get my first samples back in June, and by the Fall, we should be starting production!