We’re excited to introduce you to the always interesting and insightful Mason Burns. We hope you’ll enjoy our conversation with Mason below.
Mason, so great to have you with us and we want to jump right into a really important question. In recent years, it’s become so clear that we’re living through a time where so many folks are lacking self-confidence and self-esteem. So, we’d love to hear about your journey and how you developed your self-confidence and self-esteem.
This is a big one for me specifically because it is something I am most proud of myself for overcoming. It’s also not something I directly worked toward but it was a byproduct of working on myself in other areas.
Whenever I talk to other creatives this topic comes up a lot. It’s hard to do your own thing and feel confident in it. The sum of all your hard work is a reflection of yourself. When things are good, it’s the best feeling in the world. When things are rough, there’s no way to separate yourself from what you do creatively.
My confidence and self esteem came from being authentic to who I am and adjusting my idea of what success is. Almost all of my designs represent a memory of something I grew up with or grew up admiring. When I first started designing I felt like I was blindly trying to come up with “good ideas”. They weren’t founded in anything meaningful to me and so I questioned them and never felt happy with the outcome. Once I started to design based on nostalgia and my own life experiences I quit questioning what I was doing and just did. The success side of things didn’t start to click until more recently. As a business you need to make money to keep going. As a brand you need to be unique and connect with your customers on some level. But I don’t think you should place your idea of success in either of those. I looked around at all the things I had made and realized success to me was being able to create something from nothing. The ability to create a garment from scratch as well as create a world that people can step into.
Understanding that I was successful in the ways that meant the most to me is what gave me the confidence. The confidence is then what sells people on my brand and supports the business. I believe these are key building blocks that have to fall in place in a certain order. Once those blocks are secured you have something that will last.
Thanks, so before we move on maybe you can share a bit more about yourself?
The biggest part of Lorraine that I would like people to know about is the custom program. I love to see the gears turning in customers heads when I tell them that a product can be customized in about any way they want. Everything is made in LA and most of it being made by me in my shop downtown. Customers can try on a piece and have the same thing made in a different fabric that I source for them. Or if there are some small alterations they need to make it fit their lifestyle I can tailor it to their wishes.
If you had to pick three qualities that are most important to develop, which three would you say matter most?
1. Don’t compare yourself to others in your field, just try to grow everyday. 2. It’s and industry powered by people, get out from behind your computer screen and visit suppliers in person.
3. Say yes even when you don’t know how to do something. I love an opportunity that forces me to grow, and you’d be surprised at what you’re capable of.
Don’t fear failure, become good friends with it. I don’t think you learn nearly as much just doing things you feel confident in succeeding in. The confidence comes from knowing all the ways not to do something.
Is there a particular challenge you are currently facing?
I think I face the same challenge that every small brand faces in my industry. Consumer knowledge is the biggest obstacle in fashion retail today. The less people know the harder it is to make a decision. That decision is then usually made by whoever puts an ad in front of their face the most, which is not often a sustainable brand or choice. An educated consumer is the best thing we can ask for as small brands. They know what they want and they recognize a quality product when they see one.
Contact Info:
- Website: https://www.lorrainebyname.com
- Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/lorraine.by.name/
Image Credits
Baz https://www.instagram.com/baz/
