Today we’d like to introduce you to Margo Fery.
Hi Margo, can you start by introducing yourself? We’d love to learn more about how you got to where you are today?
As long as I can remember, I’ve always loved handbags. My grandparents took a photo of me when I started walking with my “first purse”. It was a small purse, light pink canvas with white pipping and a few flowers on the front flap. There are quite a few photos with me and that first bag. As I grew older, I still adored purses but also started to really love sports. Growing up, I played soccer, volleyball and basketball. When I moved into high school, I focused more on volleyball and basketball. The high school I attended was private, so I was in inform Monday-Friday. While uniforms do have their pluses, they also have their drawbacks. I found myself coming back to handbags as a way to express myself and still bring my style with my uniform. This is when I really fell forward and started collecting. I had applied to be on my local Nordstrom’s “Fashion board”, which met once a month to talk about fashion and styling. I felt right at home when talking about what was new in the B.P. section and how to style.
During high school, it was the perfect blend of fashion and sports, two sectors that I love today. I went on to college and still maintained my passion with both, but this time I was supporter on the sidelines-being able to enjoy my time as a full-time college student. During college, I had a hard time figuring out what I wanted to major in. I knew that I still loved fashion but enjoyed sports-I enjoyed talking to people about sports, what was going on and loved filling out a bracket for March Madness. When the time came to decide, I deferred to become a Mass Communication major giving me the flexibility to go on numerous paths after college. For a year or so, I loved the idea of becoming a sports broadcaster. The idea of being able to travel, meet people, talk sports and be able to style myself each week was exciting. It wasn’t until I interned at a local news station that I found I wasn’t as passionate as I thought I would be. That lead me back to Nordstrom after college for the first year allowing myself to figure out if there was another way to be in sports or to pursue something in fashion. This was around the time I started to collect designer bags. Having a discount definitely helped fuel that next purchase!
I started brainstorming of new ways to pursue a career with always coming back to the idea of working in sports. It then lead me to start looking into professional teams. Through informational interviews, I knew that is what I wanted to do over the next few years. I landed a job with the Utah Jazz as a sales coordinator, which was a blast. I was able to interact with multiple departments, meet fans and help coordinate events with the sales staff. It was something I knew I wanted to keep doing at least for a few years. After the Jazz I went to the Blazers and then the Spurs. During the few years I was in sports, I loved it and knew I wanted to connect my next journey with it but wasn’t sure how that would play out. I had always played around with the idea of owning my own company and living in Austin. During college, I would come home on breaks and tell them about an idea I had or how Austin was the “it” place for young people to be. Fall of 2015, I decided to take a leap and move to Austin. I had just landed a job with Stitch Fix, at the time was still a smaller start-up. I thought that it would be the perfect place for me to learn and gain knowledge to eventually start something on my own. During my time at SF, I had met someone and started to date pretty seriously. He suggested one day that I come work for him to gain more exposure in the start up world. It was really great at first but became challenging at times. While I was working for my boyfriend at the time (don’t worry-he is now my fiancé!), was when an idea blossomed.
We had gone to a University of Texas football game and I was turned away for not having a clear handbag. This is right around the time when major teams were introducing a “clear bag policy.” I looked around frustrated at the options and went home to see what was available online. Clear handbags were either $200+ or inexpensive and would break on the second wear. The light bulb immediately went on-I have a love of handbags and sports, this is the perfect avenue for me. I went to work that week sketching and coming up with a plan to launch my own clear handbags. While designing them, I wanted the bags to meet requirements of major events and venues but also show that clear bags can be stylish to wear every day. The bags needed to be transitional, versatile and sustainable.
I launched Margo Paige in October 2019, just a few months before the pandemic hit. The first few months were thrilling-seeing all the orders come in, but then when everything came to a screeching halt, so did my sales. It wasn’t until a month or two after the pandemic started it started to go up and down with sales based on the information we were receiving and what was open. While as anyone can imagine, it hasn’t been easy, but lucky to have come this far without closing shop. During the pandemic, I spent more time working on how to become a more sustainable business model and pivoting along the way. I’m thrilled where I’m headed and there is much more to come later this year. I’ve been working on a relaunch that is targeted for around June. If I could give one piece of advice to anyone, if you have an idea, take the leap. The biggest success is launching, you already beat out so many people-everyone has an idea, but not many pursue. Choose to shock everyone.
Can you talk to us a bit about the challenges and lessons you’ve learned along the way. Looking back would you say it’s been easy or smooth in retrospect?
Oh gosh, it has not been smooth at all! I launched Margo Paige three months before the pandemic hit. My business caters towards individuals who attend large events. It was a complete devastation when it hit. I’m very fortunate that I was able to survive-our bags aren’t just designed for large events, although that’s what people automatically assume when they see a clear handbag. They are designed for multi-function, longevity and align with sustainable ethos. Shifting the mindset of the masses has been a challenge! My hope is that more people can find a way to bring more function and sustainability into their closets.
As you know, we’re big fans of Margo Paige. For our readers who might not be as familiar what can you tell them about the brand?
Our flagship product, the clear handbag, was designed around elements like transparency, multi-function, and longevity. Our business is too.
We believe in authentic transparency in handbags, in our lifestyle, and in our supply chain. Margo Paige creates sustainable products that allow customers and ourselves to align our lifestyles and our ethos. Margo Paige practices environmental and social sustainability all the way from design to doorstep in our product line. You shouldn’t have to sacrifice style for sustainability or vice versa.
Through sustainable design, ethical materials sourcing, fair labor manufacturers, and slow growth, we’re creating the fashion industry that we want to be a part of.
We envision a future in which authentic transparency is the standard in our lifestyles and the fashion industry. We envision our product line inspiring customers to live unedited and let others in. We envision product lines that prioritize social and environmental sustainability by supporting our people all the way through our value chain and leaving as little waste and negative impact on the environment as possible.
We envision joining the ranks of other businesses that are holding people and planet in higher esteem than profit, and we envision being a part of a movement of responsible businesses that revolutionize the fashion industry.
Are there any books, apps, podcasts or blogs that help you do your best?
For business, the HubSpot blog has been a great resource. Signing up for their daily newsletter has been a great reminder of how to challenge myself and how to better operate. It’s a great go to for anyone that is running a small business looking for guidance-and it’s free! Shoe Dog by Phil Knight has been another guiding light of how similar my experience to manufacturing abroad has been. It’s a testament to know that everyone has the ups and downs and how to best make decisions on the information at hand. Personally, I’ve found that staying informed in the world and have daily meditation has helped me do my best. Before mediating, I’m always catching up on my newsletters. I like to stay informed by theSkimm and Newsette. It’s helpful to know the temperature of what’s going on culturally for business purposes and what others are facing. The Newesette throws in more fun reads and exploration on the environment and products, which I’ve enjoyed. Once I’m done reading, I like to practice some form of gratitude or mediation. Both allow me to focus and root myself into the day. It keeps me calm when something might take a turn and to focus back on the good that I have in my life daily.
Pricing:
- $59-$86.99
Contact Info:
- Email: hello@margopaige.com
- Website: www.margopaige.com
- Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/margo_paige/
- Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/margopaigehandbags/
- Other: https://www.pinterest.com/margo_paige/_shop/
Image Credits
Darryl Diggs
