LIVING FASHIONABLY: Fashion is an attitude AND a business. What does it look like when the business and attitude of fashion is combined into a single lifestyle? If you are a fashion professional open to sharing your life with the Clashe community, contact us and we look forward to featuring you in an interview.
Heather Polke, the founder and editor for The Fabulous Finds has played a big part in the retail world. She has created two children’s clothing lines, a handbag line and opened two successful retail stores.
Polke now focuses on creating a buzz for other people, their products, services, and events. The success of The Fabulous Finds has Heather traveling and reviewing Hotels, Restaurants, Night Hot Spots, Events, Food Tours, Fashion Shows, the possibilities are endless. If it’s “Fabulous”, Heather wants to write about it.
Your blog is in the top 100 of all the mom blogs on the web. When people hear the term “blog,” they instantly think of a 20 year old techno-loving person writing about all things digital. You blog doesn’t follow that form; what was it like starting a blog as a mother for mothers? Wasn’t that scary?
Heather: Not scary one bit. I have always worked for myself. I have done a lot of freelance work for companies from merchandising to buying. After I sold my handbags business I knew I wanted to come up with a way to stay home and create another niche for myself. Friends told me about blogging and off I went. I love what I do and this has been an amazing adventure.
Your mission is to find the good in life. There is so much out there. With so much negativity, how do you find the good?
Heather: I was one of those people that was sitting home one day and watched “OPRAH” Yup! I am one of those moms. She had a whole show dedicated to a book called “The Secret” I ran right out and bought a copy. I am not a religious person so I didn’t know if this was going to be far fetched. I went as far as having this book be part of a book club I belonged to.
It teaches you to only think about the positive and that good always out ways the bad. I strongly believe in this. I try to stay positive. I love the feeling I get from it. I try not to complain about the small stuff. Why yell at someone you don’t know (road Rrage) or bitch about having a cold. I smile everyday and I wanted to create this positive blog about Fabulous Products,Events Services etc, to who ever chooses to read it.
With three kids, how do you find the time and energy to blog?
Heather: Well it’s easy, all three of my kids are in school. I am in a situation where my 11 year old daughter has type 1 diabetes and that is the main reason I stay home. I am able to be at her school whenever needed by the nurse. So when my kids are off for the day. I work.
When my kids go to bed I work. I truly am loving every aspect of this. My family does however come first, but I am creating a business and I tend to it everyday. Where do I get the Energy? Venti Starbucks. and Green Tea. At night, maybe a dirty Martini LOL.
Our audience will have designers trying to break into the fashion industry. As a former designer, what were your largest obstacle with getting started?
Heather: I would say having people take me seriously. I would walk from Boutique to Boutique trying to sell what I created. I followed what was out there and ran in another direction. I found that creating something I had passion for is what got me far. I would tell anyone trying to break into this business to stick to their vision and not let anyone steer them in a different direction. Love what you do and you will be successful. That’s has always been my motto.
What were some of the things that you did to make people take you seriously?
Heather: I would say my background. I know things, product information that they are looking for: Media kit, Press kit, etc. This helps. I have covered everything from disclosures to updating my media kit on a regular basis. Understanding my Google tracking and Alexa Ranking, Unique visitors, etc. Information is key for landing better companies.
Is blogging a solution for fashion designers to get started? How much work / effort / time should they invest towards blogging?
Heather: Blogging is a great way for them to test the market with their wares and write about their day to day efforts. I would say “Be true to yourself”. Yes! it takes a lot of time for people to trust you. There are so many blogs out there that focus on the silliest things. I must say I was one of them at first. When starting out don’t worry about followers. They will come, if what you say is true and honest about who you are as a designer. STAY FOCUSED!
How does blogging fit with your overall business strategy?
Heather: Blogging has help immensely. I have been able to work with some amazing companies. I do have an extensive retail background so it has helped me in many ways. I also love the fact that I have come across some amazing people from around the world that I probably would have never encountered if I hadn’t started this venture.
So blogging has been a way for you to collaborate with companies on articles and network with people? How did these relationships get started?
Heather: Blogging has been a great way for me to build my business. Seeing how my business is blog based, having been a buyer and working for myself for over 12 years, I had a ton of information from wholesalers to where the hot spots are etc. I have bought at many shows in NYC: Accessories, Children’s, Fame, NYGF, Toy Fairs etc… I had contacts. I started with them to build my business. I looked around the blogging world and saw that so many women were trying to tackle this.
I have found it takes a whole lot of knowledge to jump right in. This goes back to the question of being taken seriously. I knew I didn’t want to be a follower but rather use my skills and grow my business with knowledge and creativity from past experiences. I love to help out other bloggers get started. Mom-prenuers are my Fav. They remind me of myself when I started having kids, and trying to create things that I could sell. If they have something that’s Fabulous I like to feature them.
Companies now are getting to know me through a network or PR firms. I have had the honor to work with Epson, New Balance, Bosch, Haan, DXG, Kmart/SEARS, Gap Inc., Piperlime, and many more. I have build this up and now companies are coming to me to be part of my site and advertise.
If people wanted to get involved with your blog or business, what can they do to contribute?
Heather: They just have to contact me, visit The Fabulous Finds, or follow me on Twitter. I am open to anything as long as it’s positive and respectful. I am all for it. Bring it on. I am always looking for Events, Travels, Hotels, Services, Products, Spas, Pet, Designers, Debutes, Shows, Restaurants, etc.
Who do you think should be the next person we should talk with to inspire others?
Heather: Laurie. The owner of Tip Junkie she is amazing.
Author Bio
Darryl had a problem. He needed to find clothing that was relevant to him, appropriate for where he was going, popular and affordable. He couldn’t find an answer on Google, Wikipedia, Dictionary.com or Flickr. So he started building Clashe.
