In episode 59, Natalia Pavanelli brings us into her poetic exploration of the whimsy of little moments through her romantic, cottagecore brand Wandwoods. Her storytelling, industry experience, and purpose weave a captivating tale in this episode about chasing dreams and the realities of fashion entrepreneurship.
“I am a Brazillian-Canadian fashion designer with a passion for prints, beauty and old-times-everything. As a child I would move around the world with my parents, collecting new stories, cultures and languages from the old world. As an adult, I continued to live abroad, and worked in France, Brazil and finally, moving to Canada at 27. My favourite thing is to express beauty creating shapes and graphics that make you dream of a simpler world, full of magic and poetry. My ultimate life goal is to help people feel like their true-whimsical-self, bringing joy into their lives and creating beauty.”
“After 11 years working in the Fashion Industry, in several fields, I decided to launch my own identity through this brand, creating prairie-like fashion with a pinch of “whimsy”. The sustainability factor was crucial for me, as I used to be a terrible fast-fashion shopper. I wanted to contribute to the slow-fashion movement, with my fantasy language. Wandwoods is almost 1 year old and heading into its 3rd collection drop.”
In this episode, you’ll learn:
- What the cottagecore aesthetic and mindset is
- How Natalia creates a compelling story through her brand and collection
- How Natalia found her community
- Why launching her own brand was so much more vulnerable than designing collections for her industry job
- The mistakes Natalia thought her 12 years of industry experience would help her avoid, but didn’t
- When to stay grounded and when to be open-minded with what you want
- What parts of Wandwoods Natalia does herself versus hires contractors, consultants, and experts to do
People and resources mentioned in this episode:
- Wandwoods website
- Wandwoods email
- Wandwoods Instagram
- Natalia’s LinkedIn
- A Quiet Wild – photographer/content creator
- Factory45 sustainable fashion brand accelerator
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