We’re excited to introduce you to the always interesting and insightful Rebecca Fordham. We hope you’ll enjoy our conversation with Rebecca below.

Rebecca, thanks for joining us, excited to have you contributing your stories and insights. Earning a full time living from one’s creative career can be incredibly difficult. Have you been able to do so and if so, can you share some of the key parts of your journey and any important advice or lessons that might help creatives who haven’t been able to yet?

I have been able to earn a full-time living from my creative work. I came up with the idea to create my company, Caloosa WaterWear, due to a lack of stylish sun protective performance shirts for women in the South Florida area. All of the shirts that seemed to exist were very sporty looking and designed for men, so in 2016 I came up with the idea to start a performance apparel line geared toward women who wanted to look stylish while at the beach or boating. I began by designing the shirts and having a friend print them. I would sell at art fairs and nautical flea markets on the weekends while working a full time job during the week. After 4 years of working both the full time job and growing my business locally, I decided it was time to focus full time on the business. By this time, I had learned that if I wanted to sell my line wholesale, I needed to cut my costs. I learned how to print the shirts myself and purchased the equipment to do the production in house. I quit my full time job in January of 2020…right before Covid hit the US. I had big plans of exhibiting at trade shows to grow my business, however the US quickly shut down and those plans were put on hold temporarily. Instead my husband and I built a production line in our living room, I taught him how to sew and we started selling masks on our website and through social media. Once the world opened up again in 2021, I was able to exhibit at trade shows and began selling my line to boutiques and resorts. The past 5 years have been a combination of constant learning and pivoting. As a small business owner, I had to learn to be nimble and change my offering based on the needs of the customer. When boutiques started to struggle in 2024, I changed my focus and started designing custom apparel for other small businesses and non-profits. I also partnered with some of the boutiques that I had a good relationship with and sold my line on consignment to help their profits as well as mine. Knowing what I know now, I believe I could have quit my full time job much sooner. However so much of those 4 years was about building confidence and convincing myself that I could make this company into a full time job. It’s really all about relationships, getting out into the community and letting people know the services that you can offer and keeping in touch with your customers to understand how you can support them.

Awesome – so before we get into the rest of our questions, can you briefly introduce yourself to our readers.

I started my career as a fashion designer. I designed private label for Perry Ellis International as well as worked as a design manager for Target Corporation in the soft home category and the men’s wear division. When I decided to move back to Florida to be closer to my family in 2013, I took a job as a children’s furniture designer with a small company. I love that my career has been exposed to so many design disciplines. I have worked with fashion designers, industrial designers and graphic designers. Of course all of the basic principals of design are the same, however I believe I learned to be a better designer being exposed to industrial and graphic design. I learned how to study the customer and learn about what they really want and need. I also appreciate working for a small business as well as large corporations. When I worked for Target and Perry Ellis, I traveled all over the world visiting factories and checking on production as well as researching fashion trends. Working for the small Children’s furniture company allowed me to not only research and design a new product category, but I also learned how to produce a photoshoot, send out replacement parts and run the customer service department, things I would have never been exposed to working for a large corporation. Since 2020 I have owned and worked at Caloosa WaterWear full time. I create the designs for the line and work with boutiques and resorts to customize the designs for each customer. I am also expanding the custom apparel side of the business. Since we do have our own printing facilities, we can offer other small businesses custom apparel and accessories with little to no minimums. We are working to expand our offerings to weddings and events for favors and gifts as well. Over the last few years we have faced significant economic challenges that no one could have predicted. I am proud that we have been nimble enough to pivot to the needs of our local community and stay profitable through it all.

Have you ever had to pivot?

As I have mentioned before, I have had to pivot many times in my business. The main example I can think of was during covid when I had just quit my full time job to focus on my business full time. I had plans to exhibit at trade shows and had pop ups scheduled for months on end. Then everything shut down and my husband was laid off of his job. There was so much uncertainty, but we decided to stay busy and try to help from home in any way that we could. Since my background was in fashion design, I taught my husband how to sew and we set up a production line in our living room sewing masks and selling neck gators. We ended up being so busy selling our PPE online and through social media that we really didn’t have any down time. I also focused on designing new designs for my line during that time and had selling parties online. We gave respite for people who didn’t have it as easy as home with our entertaining online shopping parties. When the world opened up again, we did start having in-person pop ups again and did start to exhibit at the Trade shows as well.

Is there mission driving your creative journey?

During times of national crisis such as 911 or covid, I’ve often questioned myself and what my purpose of being a designer is. Certainly I am not saving lives or ending world hunger with my designs. I believe that many designers struggle with this same thought at times. However the one thing that I always remember is what I do brings happiness to people, it’s my superpower. Retail therapy is a real thing. I love to see people’s faces light up when they see a design of mine that sparks joy for them. Many times I’ve heard people tell me that a sea turtle or octopus is their spirit animal and they have to purchase my mug or shirt because it will remind them of something that has real meaning to them. In a world that is so hard, if I can make one person smile or spark a little joy in their day, that will make me feel whole and fulfill my mission.

Contact Info:

• Website: https://www.shopcaloosa.com
• Instagram: @caloosawaterwear
• Facebook: @caloosaww
• Linkedin: https://www.linkedin.com/in/rebeccaspilman/