Today we’d like to introduce you to Colette Feldman and Michelle Possin.
Thanks for sharing your story with us Colette and Michelle. So, let’s start at the beginning and we can move on from there.
We started the company about 10 years ago selling headbands. During the whole gossip girl era when headbands were really in style. We were doing well, selling at stores like Henri Bendels and Anthropologie but after a couple of years in business, we realized that we were not wearing headbands anymore. We wanted to sell and design another product that we as owners of the company would be excited about and wear all the time. At that point, we developed the bracelets/hair ties. At first, we were designing and selling both, but when we say the reaction the bracelet/hair ties had, we stopped selling the headbands and developed the bracelet/hair tie line that we have today. Now, we have a full line of more than 300 SKU’s and sell all over the USA and abroad.
Great, so let’s dig a little deeper into the story – has it been an easy path overall and if not, what were the challenges you’ve had to overcome?
Well, like any company, it has had its ups and downs. I think for us it has been very important to trust our decisions and our intuitions at big crossroads, which have been the moments that have made the company grow.
Please tell us about By Lilla LLC – what should we know?
We make bracelets that double as hair ties.
Basically, you know that hair tie that most woman and a lot of men wear around their wrist, yes, that ugly one…. well, we just upgraded it!
We believe in empowering women and giving them equal pay for equal work. We are a women-owned business, where 90% of our workforce is female. Many of us have our own children or are planning to start their own family, so we know all the personal obligations that come with being a woman! We support each other, grow together and are constantly learning from one another. This is what makes us stronger as an organization—and makes us feel so much more like a close group of friends.
Also, Colette and I are both Colombian-born, Miami-raised. Honoring our Colombian heritage and giving back to our community is so important to us. All By Lilla hair ties are handmade in our studio in Bogotá with materials sourced from all around Colombia. We are a majority-female company, committed to giving Latin American women the opportunity to earn a fair salary in a country where the gap in pay equality is way too high. For many of these strong women, crafting By Lilla hair ties gives them a chance to earn a second salary and achieve financial independence and empowerment.
We are most proud of how far we have come
How do you define success?
A growing business, a workspace where your employees are happy, and a place that you want to go to daily… that is to our success.
Contact Info:
- Website: www.bylilla.com
- Phone: 305-204-9468
- Email: [email protected]
- Instagram: bylilla
Image Credit:
photos…. lifestyle cartagena – WCP Collective (http://www.wcpcollective.com)
Photos – product – Arturo Alcala (https://www.instagram.com/arturoalcalaa/)
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