Today we’d like to introduce you to Collette Berenguer.
Hi Collette, we’d love for you to start by introducing yourself
I am a fashion designer and artist, and I own a hand-painted fashion design brand called N.Y.M.F. by Co. I’ve always been a fashion designer, even from a young age. I studied fashion design in college and was fortunate enough to work at a range of exciting fashion brands, from a tiny 3-person boutique designer to publicly traded corporate brands. After several years as a handbag designer, I realized I was ready for a change and a challenge, and I decided to start my own company. I have “pivoted” several times in this journey and I’m sure there will be more shifts to come, but I have embraced every challenging minute of it. Currently, I create hand-painted streetwear and bridal which has gotten rave reviews from customers and clients, and I’m so excited to pursue what’s next for my brand.
Would you say it’s been a smooth road, and if not, what are some of the biggest challenges you’ve faced along the way?
It has not been a smooth road, though I never would have gotten where I am today if it had been smooth at the outset. While I have been in fashion my entire adult life, there is a huge difference between being a knowledgeable fashion designer and being a knowledgeable business owner. It was a steep learning curve, and I’m still learning. Covid was a huge hurdle to overcome – but while it was tough, the brainstorming and decisions I was forced to make actually improved my business. I started this brand as a paint-and-sip event business, but when Covid cancelled in-person events (and I was tragically terrible at ALL online attempts) I had to figure out how my art and fashion skills could work in a Covid world. Which led me to experiment with hand-painted fashion.
Thanks for sharing that. So, maybe next you can tell us a bit more about your work?
I specialize in hand-painted fashion, mainly streetwear and bridal. I started painting beautiful bridal veils in Summer 2020 and got a lot of great feedback – but no sales. It turns out people were still not having weddings in Summer 2020. So, I went back to the drawing board and determined that while people were not hosting formal events, they were lounging at home in their athleisure. I started creating hand-painted sheer hoodies. They sold so well and I got great feedback, and I have pretty much been rolling forward with that ever since then. And ultimately, the veils started selling as well! I have some fun new items coming out in Spring and Summer this year, including additional athleisure items, menswear, and prom dresses. Stay tuned!
Can you talk to us about how you think about risk?
I think I would define myself as a tentative risk-taker. I try to live by the philosophy that I would rather regret actions I did take, rather than actions I didn’t take. Of course, I would rather have no regrets at all! But when opportunities present themselves, I try to take the opportunity and do my best to make it work, rather than not take the chance and always wonder what-if. But I also think it’s good to sleep on some decisions, which is why I say a “tentative” risk-taker. Every new direction I take is a risk. Last year I went to two wholesale markets, which are expensive and have no guarantee of sales. But I wanted to present my products to industry professionals, and at both the ready-to-wear and the bridal market I had many sales and met a lot of contacts. That risk paid off!
Contact Info:
- Email: hello@nymfbyco.com
- Website: www.nymfbyco.com
- Instagram: instagram.com/nymfbyco
- Facebook: facebook.com/nymfbyco
Image Credits
Sage + Stem Co Photography
