Meet Julie Mollo

We were lucky to catch up with Julie Mollo recently and have shared our conversation below.

Hi Julie, great to have you with us today and excited to have you share your wisdom with our readers. Over the years, after speaking with countless do-ers, makers, builders, entrepreneurs, artists and more we’ve noticed that the ability to take risks is central to almost all stories of triumph and so we’re really interested in hearing about your journey with risk and how you developed your risk-taking ability.
My entrepreneurial journey could be described by one phrase that I have continually lived by: “you have nothing to lose”. Make the call, send the email, introduce yourself to someone! I was 20 and on summer break from college, I emailed Katy Perry’s manager via MySpace and sent him a link to my website saying that I thought Katy would love my clothes!  At the time, I thought that not getting a reply would likely be the worst thing that could happen, but, if they did see it and did reply, everything could happen! And that’s exactly what did! This was the first major risk I had to take in my professional journey and by doing so, it gave me the confidence to want to try again and again!

Thanks, so before we move on maybe you can share a bit more about yourself?
My brand began when I was a junior in college designing clothes for both on and offstage for pop star Katy Perry! From there my business began in my dorm room – designing and creating custom clothing for pop stars rockstars party girls & prom queens all around the world! 8 years into my career, I created a line of glitter vinyl accessories inspired by my early work in stagewear and my business took off from there! I’ve been a full time bag lady for almost 8 years and have been able to expand my accessories into lifestyle goods and keep my business primarily handmade. Customized clutches are our specialty and beyond customizing clutches direct to consumer with first names for the perfect gifts and with words for organizing everything, we love to partner with other companies across all industries for unique collaborations that strengthen both brands! We’ve been lucky to recently partner with the iconic Original Magic Wand for a collection of handbags and storage bags inspired by their massively popular vibrators that will be launching soon at The Museum of Sex in NYC! We design, manufacture & ship everything out of our sparkle studio in Gowanus, Brooklyn!

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?
Confidence – you need to have no shame and complete belief in yourself in whatever you’re doing or pitching. If you don’t believe in it, no one will. Clarity – what are you building, what are you creating? What is the vision for the future?
Creativity – this does not mean that you have to be an artist to be successful, creativity comes in all forms – how to be scrappy when the time calls for it, creatively navigating conversations or situations!

I have owned and operated my business for 16 years now and have seen it through so many different financial periods, because I have the knowledge of the past, I can say for sure that when i had these 3 C’s all working together seamlessly, sales were up and business was great. When on some shaky years I lost some confidence or clarity, the business suffered. I can look at my entire journey and say those 3 words were the ones that greatly supported my business!

What’s been one of your main areas of growth this year?
In the last year I have focused on partnerships and have loved working with other brands to create a co branded line of fun for all! Stepping outside of my comfort zone and working in industries that I am constantly discovering is so fun – it allows me to play in a non-seasonal, super personal and super creative way! I love finding out more about my own brand through others!

Contact Info:

Image Credits
Meredith Truax photography MeredithTruax.com Brand map by Julie Mollo.

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