Meet Trailblazer Sarah and Natalie Knowlton

Today we’d like to introduce you to Sarah and Natalie Knowlton.

Sarah and Natalie, please share your story with us. How did you get to where you are today?
We had a transient upbringing— moving all over the world. We lived in many countries including: Singapore, Australia, France, Thailand, Cambodia, Venezuela and, of course, the USA. In constant flight, we started referring to ourselves as “birds.” Our global upbringing led us to form what we call, the WE THE BIRDS philosophy: same but different, we are all birds of a feather.

In 2015, Natalie joined Sarah in Dallas, TX where we set down digital roots by founding WE THE BIRDS. What started as a creative outlet for two sisters, has blossomed into a multi-faceted business combining our talents and interests. Sarah’s professional background (with industry experience in fashion, design, & visual art) complemented by Natalie’s culinary prowess and professional business experience makes us a uniquely dynamic duo.

Great, so let’s dig a little deeper into the story – has it been an easy path overall and if not, what were the challenges you’ve had to overcome?
Absolutely there have been struggles! If anyone tells you starting/owning a business is easy, they are LYING. Building and running this multi-faceted business has been the biggest challenge of our lives (but it’s also our greatest achievement). This year has been rough. Last year, in response to rising demand for WE THE BIRDS Macarons, we made the weighty decision to scale up and invest in our own space— WE THE BIRDS HQ is in East Dallas and serves as our office, commercial kitchen and studio. While 2018 was a year of momentum and excitement! In contrast, 2019 has been largely characterized by business growing pains and sister-relational strain. As business partners and sisters, we’ve made sacrifices along the way so we could grow WE THE BIRDS.

Until very recently, Nat and I lived under the same roof (for 2.5 years) which means we had no natural boundaries between us—professionally and personally. Thankfully, we’ve recently been able to separate our living situations which has us feeling a renewed sense of teamwork and remembering why we started this business together in the first place. Natalie and I are different— we think differently, we have different strengths, and we don’t always agree. But these differences are also our strength as founders of WE THE BIRDS! Our business is built upon our complementary skill sets and the ways we balance each other’s weaknesses.

Apologies for this philosophical response! But this is the reality of where we are right now. – S

Alright – so let’s talk business. Tell us about WE THE BIRDS – what should we know?
WE THE BIRDS is a lifestyle brand, multi-faceted creative agency and specialty French macaron bakery. We are known for our visual aesthetic, inspirational content, unique personal style AND sister/business-partner dynamic.

WE THE BIRDS | Creative Studio — We are professional content creators who specialize in visual story-telling and producing high-quality, editorial content.

WE THE BIRDS | Macarons— a luxury French macaron bakery specializing in custom orders, gifts and catering events. Handcrafted in Dallas, TX. National shipping available now.

Finding a mentor and building a network are often cited in studies as a major factor impacting one’s success. Do you have any advice or lessons to share regarding finding a mentor or networking in general?
Finding a mentor, in the proper sense, has not been so easy for us. We have always wanted to find an adviser who is further along than we are… someone with tons of experience and business wisdom. We believe that finding a mentor will be organic and chemistry is everything. So, when we find that person, we will hopefully know!

While we haven’t found that (yet), we have been fortunate to meet so many entrepreneurs who are “in the thick” of building their own brands/businesses. This level of peer-mentorship is really helpful. Sharing with another business owner who can relate to the struggle, is so therapeutic and keeps us from feeling isolated.

Honestly, we really pulled back from the creative community over the past year. Scaling our business was so consuming that we weren’t able to go to networking events or participate in pop-ups anymore. That said, we’re definitely going back to the basics— getting out more, hosting/attending events, engaging with the community. Being active in the Dallas community is how we built our business and we don’t want to lose sight of that!

Pricing:

• 1-Count Macaron – Party Favor — starting at $4
• 2-Count Macarons – Party Favor — starting at $7
• 6-Count Macarons – Luxe Gift Box — starting at $20
• 12-Count Macarons – Luxe Gift Box — starting at $38
• Medium Tower – 100 Macarons — starting at $300
• Large Tower – 150 Macarons — starting at $450
• Large Tower – 250 Macarons — starting at $700

Contact Info:

• Website: www.wethebirds.com
• Email: hello@wethebirds.com
• Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/we.the.birds
• Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/wethebirds
• Twitter: https://twitter.com/we_the_birds
• Other: https://www.pinterest.com/wethebirds

Image Credit:
WE THE BIRDS ©

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