A little over five years ago, I was in the process of making my fashion design dreams come true. I had designed several repeating patterns for the streetwear brand called Berried Alive I was running with my husband Charlie. And then the pandemic happened. It felt like the dream I had been so positive was about to come true was swept out from under me. People kept using the term “unprecedented times” to describe that feeling where none of us knew what was going to happen or if things would ever go back to normal. I know unprecedented times can and will happen without any warning, and I truly know that there isn’t a “right” time to start a business. Starting a new business is hard and scary no matter what year it is. I’ve learned to not only accept the limitations but make the most of them, and now I can pivot like a champion. I’m not letting the word ‘almost’ feel hopeless this time.

Nobody would ever say that my path to becoming a fashion designer was a straight one, but you could easily say it has been a circular one. Long before taking detours to study psychology, biology, creative writing, work in the insurance industry, and play bass guitar, I was designing clothes. Fashion was the first genuine interest I recall having as a child. I since developed a lot of other interests and have taken time to study them, or just taken jobs in other fields because I needed work. But every detour has been necessary so I could gain maturity, collect experiences to draw from, and learn the value of patience and persistence. These are all advantages I bring with me to House of Caswell.

For all you fellow color lovers (chromatophiles?) out there, I want to talk a bit about the color I've chosen to represent the House of Caswell brand on the website and any other branded materials going forward. The official Pantone color is called Lavendula, 15-3620, and I've chosen Snowfall and Black Beauty as accent colors.

My favorite genre of books is the fashion brand founding story. I’ve listened to every book Audible has to offer in this genre, from high fashion brands like Chanel and McQueen, pop cultural sensations like Dapper Dan and Juicy Couture, streetwear like The Hundreds and Eckō, and sportswear like Vans and Nike. This is by no means an exhaustive list, because Audible has tons of books like these to fill my earbuds with a fashion-centered story and a cautionary tale about growing too quickly or the perils of taking the company public. I have learned something useful from every one of these founding stories, and learned a ton about fashion history over the past 100+ years as well, much of which I plan to reference in House of Caswell collections.