We’re excited to introduce you to the always interesting and insightful Ginger “Gigi” Damon. We hope you’ll enjoy our conversation with Ginger “Gigi” below.
Ginger “Gigi”, so good to have you with us today. We’ve always been impressed with folks who have a very clear sense of purpose and so maybe we can jump right in and talk about how you found your purpose?
Finding my purpose coincided with another topic: “ability to take risks” I equate my purpose with taking risks. When I was a young girl I was told ” you have experience, use it”. These wise words stayed with me thru all of my endeavors. They also became the stepping stones that paved the way for me to find my purpose. Naturally, I never feared failure I feared not doing. The thought of not “telling” my story thru my actions and experiences was unsettling to me. The bigger my thoughts/goals/ambitions were the more natural it was to follow them. I would think of Thomas Edison and how he seemingly failed 1000 times yet his response was ” I didn’t fail 1000 times. The light bulb was an invention that took 1000 steps” That to me sums up the risks it takes to discover your purpose. My purpose takes 1000 steps to achieve the desired results.
Let’s take a small detour – maybe you can share a bit about yourself before we dive back into some of the other questions we had for you?
Hi, I am Ginger Damon founder and designer of GIGI MONTROSE MOTO COUTURE. My background as designer came by way of working as a hairstylist in the film and fashion industry. This shaped my insight on how I began a technical apparel company. Having had the many opportunities to learn from top couture designers as they built and constructed their new collections to grace Paris runways. I have designed hair and makeup for Actors, Musicians, Royalty and High Profile Personalities and Business people. My work and collaborations have been on magazine covers, TV shows, and Academy Award winning movies.
My focus with Gigi Montrose is to solve problems and provide quality protective products that caters to a new emerging market. As previously mentioned, I have experience, so use it. The background of experience and knowledge I have thru living my life and being curious lead me on some paths that may not have made sense at the time but, today those exploration were valuable learning opportunities that helped me to look at things differently. One of the hardest things to do is to question the status quo. and how to create quality products that reflects the values and inspire the consumer.
The building blocks for Gigi Montrose Moto Couture came from the best parts of my life’s experiences. I built the company off of my values and beliefs. I place importance on the things that truly matter. It is exciting to add a new perspective on a culture and redesign it with a more modern influence. We are designing for the individual and their lifestyle. We are elevating the culture with premium protective technology and the comfort of classic street wear.
Our clientele has expanded so, we are launching a men’s line soon. We cant wait to share our new products with you!
Looking back, what do you think were the three qualities, skills, or areas of knowledge that were most impactful in your journey? What advice do you have for folks who are early in their journey in terms of how they can best develop or improve on these?
The three qualities? I feel it is more about the people who influenced me. They nurtured my natural tenacity, curiosity and creative rebellion. They showed me how to strive for excellence, they were examples of dedication and commitment. They were people who attained success and encouraged me to reach for my highest personal goals. They let me fall and supported me to get back on my feet. The qualities I got from them are: grace, grit and resilience.
My suggestion to those early in their journey is; welcome failure. It is the best learning opportunity, It kept me striving for solutions. Every failure (seemingly) became the hope I was getting closer to a better outcome or success. It’s those 1000 steps Edison took.
Before we go, any advice you can share with people who are feeling overwhelmed?
The stress and demands of owning a business can be very daunting and overwhelming at times. I find taking a moment to reconnect with my core soul and purpose helps tremendously. Sometimes that looks like revisiting the pure essence of my curiosity and playfulness, being in awe of nature and being still and sometimes its connecting with a good friend and saying “I’m overwhelmed and exhausted, I don’t know what to do” sometimes I just need my energy refocused and having a good friend point out what I have done and or accomplished helps change my perspective. Its important to be human and reconnect with who you are. I am not always my business and I have to take care of myself in order to do good work.
Contact Info:
- Website: www.gigimontrose.com
- Instagram: @gigimontrose
- Facebook: Gigi Montrose
- Linkedin: GingerDamon
- Twitter: @gigimontrose
- Other: Vimeo: Gigi Montrose
Image Credits
Eric Zimmerman Larry Levin
