The Good Wife and Co.

Tell us about your label, The Good Wife and Co., and what the name means?

Those words - TGW & CO says it all! Adversity in my life nurtured the incubation of this name to "its" profoundness. I am immensely proud of what this name eludes to (and yes Alicia Florrick from the television show is one of my favourite characters!). Strong women with values that have carried them through life and their success achieved in whatever form that may be career, family or all of this.

What do you love about working with silk and cashmere?

I always maintained - as I personally went looking for - beautiful organic fabrics at an affordable price provides inspiration. Just to think our 100% cashmere bathrobe in blush pink is manufactured from the fur of the Kasmiri goat and our 100% silk chemises, the silk comes from the worm!

What do you enjoy about selling online and being able to do markets as well?

I love the diversity these two platforms provide. Online sales during the past 4 years - men have surpassed women in sales.. Face to face selling - so far have only been to women (although many times it is the man who stops to look at my stand with their female partner)!

Describe The Good Wife and Co. design aesthetic...

We love simplicity and we love allowing the woven fabrics used to be the highlight. We construct our garments with the minimal amount of hardware - our chemises have adjustable straps which are metallic rather than plastic which breaks easily. Our cashmere products have no adornment other than belts and ties. There is no buttons, sequence or other embellishments other than what is necessary. Our silks have only lace or none at all - our colours speak for themselves.

What can market-folk expect to find at the September 12 event?

Vibrant colours, well constructed garments and products that are not easy to find at this price point. If you want silk and cashmere sleepwear - we happily provide.

MY FAVE THINGS

Fave item you have made: 100% Cashmere Travel set - designed by me - born from travel experience whereby I was always carrying Pashminas in my carry on to drape over my daughter and myself for warmth during the flight.

Item in your studio/office: I hang all my silk chemises on my wall and everyday I am amazed at the colours.

Your role model/s: My mother and grandmother - industrious and hardworking women. My grandmother could not read or write but still owned and ran a grocery store - never turning anyone away who didn't have money but needed bread.

Fave fashion piece you own: the one piece that started it all for me - a 100% silk slip with lace by the bust area and hem - purchased from my first part time job when I was 20 years old studying at university. I still have it.

Country you have visited: Recently, India - looking for cotton fabric suppliers - for designs I am working on for summer sleepwear.

The Mister Brand.

Tell us about your business, The Mister Brand, and how you got involved in male grooming products?

A woman in a mans world? I am asked this a lot! Just like the amalgamation of ingredients to make The Mister Brand products so too is the combination of having a background in design, living on a remote, self sufficient farm (NZ), a huge appreciation of all things natural and an enormous love for my husband with sensitive skin…shhhh, don’t tell anyone. It is all these ingredients in my life that when combined gave rise to The Mister Brand in 2013.

What do you hope to achieve over the coming year for your business?

My goal over the coming year is to increase the awareness of The Mister Brand without compromising the quality and integrity, which to me would defeat the purpose of what we are about. I feel very strongly about the ingredients that are used and the processes involved in the manufacturing The Mister Brand’s products. One of the things that I love about making and selling men’s grooming products is the education, or re education with guys and their grooming regime.

How do you source the high quality ingredients used in your products?

This has been a challenging aspect that I have had to learn through trial and error but I have found my sources for ingredients and the companies that I deal with are open, stand by their products, how and where they are harvested. I choose not to work with some ingredients based on my own ethics such as palm oil and stay well clear of synthetic ingredients.

What does your typical day involve?

I start my day off with COFFEE!! Sit at my computer and get through as many emails as I possibly can before 10am. Head to my studio, between manufacturing products I am balancing the tasks of social media, packing orders, ordering ingredients and packaging, working on future product concepts. I find that it is a mad rush up until 3pm which is when I try to get home so I can greet my kids after school, have a cup of tea and chat to see how their day has been, check emails, and crack back into it by hitting the post office to mail out orders, grab from my studio what I might need over night for packaging, head home, make dinner, make sure the kids are up to date with their homework, find some programme to have on while sitting around packaging up products…strangely relaxing!

What can market-folk expect to find at the September 12 event?

I like to think that The Mister Brand caters for everyone, be it bearded or shaven, we even have plenty of women that love our products. Using beard oil for their hair, the moisturiser is rocking it for both men and women as too is our charcoal facial soaps. We have handsomely handcrafted razors and brushes matched up with our handcrafted soaps and brews if you are into shaving like your Grandpa! But if your Grandpa happened to be bearded and you want to take after him, we’ll look after you with our Beard Primer, beard oils or balm.

MY FAVE THINGS

Guilty Pleasure I have a borderline healthy love of good wine and good company…but give me a chainsaw and point me in the direction of some wood that needs clearing up…oh yeah, now that is what I’m talking about!!

Your role model/s: If I was to think of someone I admired not just for the fashion legacy but also for the elegance and eloquence, it would be Coco Chanel. “My life didn’t please me, so I created my life”, I love this quote as it is a reminder that we are ultimately in charge of our lives.

Meal to have cooked for you: Boeuf Bourguignon, slow cooked, falling apart, a good hearty winter feast!

Country you have visited: Just like the T-shirts say…I love New York! and can’t wait to get to New Orleans!

Fave product you have made: I think that the Beard Primer would have to be my favourite product at the moment and we get so much good feedback from happy customers. It is one of those products that you really need to try to see the benefits, and you realise what a huge difference it makes to cleansing the face and beard area, and then by following up with a beard oil… magic!