It's still totally crazy to me that people from Madewell came to my little studio in Nashville, dressed me up for a photoshoot, and interviewed me.
I remember first visiting the Madewell store in Soho almost a decade ago, and feeling like I was surrounded by coolness.
I was connected to Madewell when a woman who worked there fell in love with my hats, when she tried them on at a pop up shop I participated in in Brooklyn last fall. The Callaway put on Greetings from Nashville at the Wythe Hotel, and invited a bunch of local brands to participate. Vogue.com covered the pop-up and you can see my hats in the background(!)
When Madewell was opening their new Nashville store in 12th S, they reached out about featuring some Nashville makers as a cross-promotion, but it grew into something bigger.
I became part of their first class of Hometown Heroes. Madewell has a huge reach, so it is very cool they're now using that power to lift up small makers across the country.
They partnered with Nest, a nonprofit organization focused on supporting craftspeople to generate workforce inclusivity. I'm so proud to be a part of this group!
The hats I made for them sold out within a couple hours of being featured on their Instagram. It was a very re-afirming feeling. I know there's an audience for them in my community, but to see them catch on on a wider scale was very exciting.
I'm currently working on adding new colors and sizes. Keep an eye out for more coming soon!
You can read Madewell's interview with me here.