No two days are the same for Julie Donaldson, brand manager for Tender Love + Carry. She took time out of one of her hectic days to chat to BDNZ about this exciting and growing brand and what it takes to manage it.
What inspired you to get into this business?
This job just sort of happened. On the return home from my OE (Overseas Experience), I was approached by a good friend to come on board. It was pretty daunting as we were starting a brand from scratch, and looking back, I/we have certainly come a long way. There is a lot now I wish we had known from the start, but I suppose it’s good to be a little naïve.
What was your background before entering the world of TL+C?
I completed a Bachelor of Design, majoring in Furniture Design, which wasn’t something I had ever really planned or thought I would do. In my final year, I focused mainly on designing and printing the fabrics to apply to my furniture pieces. From here, I got my first job at a textile house, Textilia, then headed off to the UK and worked in fulfilment/buying for an online store. We were dealing with some great homeware brands and I gained a lot of knowledge about buying, shipping and so on. So really, all of that gave me a good base for what I currently do day-to-day for The Beauty Collective [the umbrella company that TL+C belongs to].
What is a typical day for you?
There really isn’t a typical day. I am lucky enough to work three days in the office and the rest from home so I can juggle my two kids. Emails go late into the evening, too, as we deal with so many different countries - someone is always awake! As I am travelling more and more, office days are a bit of a whirlwind of trying to get as much done and catch up with as many people as possible. Organised chaos is the best way to describe it, really.
So your role requires you to travel?
Export is currently a big and ever-growing market for the TL+C brand, therefore there is quite a bit of travel involved. I head to Australia frequently to meet with our buyers and attend trade shows. Also, I go to Hong Kong and China twice a year to meet with our factories. On top of this, I go to UK once a year, and America is the next stop on the map as it is currently our biggest market.
Can you let us in on what’s coming up this year for TL+C?
We have some big goals with TL+C this year, which is pretty exciting. In terms of designs, you will just have to wait and see, but we are a working on some smaller items and designs to see us through the Christmas season.
