Back to School & NYFW
Back to School & NYFW
"This helped me understand what it means to be a woman entrepreneur and a working mom. She wasn’t always the one who dropped me off or picked me up at school, but she tried to do as much as she could"
For the past few weeks, I've been juggling the responsibilities of being a mom, looking after Dylan and his friends, and taking care of our new dog, all while continuing to manage my company and promote my book (book promotion never seems to end, much like running a brand). We welcomed the most delightful addition to our family – a sweet dog named Rocky Rose. It's a special name for us because my son Dylan's middle name is Reid, in honor of my Grandma Rose, who passed away over a decade ago. Now, our beloved dog Rocky also shares the middle name Rose.
Yesterday marked a significant moment as Dylan Reid Igel headed back to school, beginning a new grade. I'm filled with a whirlwind of emotions as I watch him embark on this new chapter. I'm excited to witness his growth and all the amazing experiences that await him.
My Son is almost nine years old. Looking back at who I was around his age through the eyes of my book Embracing The Calm In Chaos is quite surreal,
“By the time I was seven, I was selling things like bracelets and charm necklaces to my classmates out of catalogs I assembled with Polaroids of all the items. I had access to these pieces because my mom was both an entrepreneur and a physician assistant. She created a lumbar support called “The Back Machine,” which was manufactured in Taiwan. She would travel there for work and come back with these accessories and other trinkets, like erasers and canteens, that were also being made in the same factory. What’s crazy is that I still have those erasers and canteens and even a little bag with all my charm necklaces in it. My mom was a ball of energy and a definite source of inspiration for me. I watched her run a business, fly overseas to inspect her products, and compete in marathons and triathlons while managing a household and taking my sister and me to 6:00 a.m. swim classes. This helped me understand what it means to be a woman entrepreneur and a working mom. She wasn’t always the one who dropped me off or picked me up at school, but she tried to do as much as she could, and she did it with grace and without breaking down—I must have inherited my calm nature from her. I also shadowed my mom at trade shows where she sold her Back Machine. Her industry was different from the fashion world in that she had only one style number, one colorway, one size, and one price point, which made for a very simple model. (If only I could keep my business that simple.) But at those trade shows, I studied the etiquette of how to operate a booth and sell to the customer who’s buying your product.” Chapter 1, DON’T BE AFRAID TO EVOLVE, Pages 3 & 4.
INCREDIBLE HUMANS WHO ARE FEATURED IN MY BOOK
MEET: @christinamrice I am so grateful for our past collaborations and so proud of everything you have built. Christina Rice is the chief experience officer @omnoire and graces my book #EMBRACINGTHECALMINTHECHAOS in Chapter 9 called “BE THE BOSS. ”Being the boss can be a daunting prospect, but you have to lead with confidence and leave emotion out of it. She is quoted on page 85 and her full interview with me in the book is on pages 175-178. You can also hear the full interview in my audiobook too!
I asked Christina this question in our interview as Christina was the head of my NYFW front of the house for my first solo show with Natasha Bedingfield. When we did our first New York Fashion Week show together, things got a little wonky. How did you stay in control and manage your team? “I still have PTSD from that event! I remember how hard we’d worked leading up to that fashion show. I think we were awake until about 4:00 a.m. most nights and then would hit the ground running at 7:00 a.m. We had a system in place and were prepared for the show to run very smoothly, and then it all blew up. I was having my own internal meltdown, but I also knew that I had to be there for my team. One thing I instill in everybody I work with is that there’s
always a solution. You have to take a breath and a moment and then get on with it. Nothing ever goes perfectly, so you need to have a treasure chest of quick fixes at all times, whether it’s a custom service issue, a tech breakdown, or simply dealing with individuals who are having their own meltdowns. You have to put your emotions
aside, strategize, and focus. In the end, we put on a great show, in
large part thanks to you!”
BOOK:
✓ Where to buy #EMBRACINGTHECALMINTHECHAOS
✓ Where to leave a review for #EMBRACINGTHECALMINTHECHAOS
✓ THANK YOU!
NYFW MUSE
THANK YOU!
Thanks to your support, my book continues to rank in the top 20 on Amazon in Fashion and Business six months after its release. As a first-time author, this means the world to me.
I want to emphasize that I'm committed to promoting my book as diligently as I do my brand, BOY MEETS GIRL. Your feedback about what you love in the book and how it's helping you "Keep Calm in the Chaos" is truly heartwarming and inspiring. Thank you!
XO,
STACY IGEL