Alright – so today we’ve got the honor of introducing you to Alexa Adams. We think you’ll enjoy our conversation, we’ve shared it below.

Alright, Alexa thanks for taking the time to share your stories and insights with us today. What was it like going from idea to execution? Can you share some of the backstory and some of the major steps or milestones?

ALEXA ADAMS:

Cleo showed me the transdermal patches she had been given. She explained all the issues with wear, comfort, and style, and we went into ideation mode. We first thought of what we would most love: something super thin, easy to wear, waterproof ( for working out, swimming, the shower), and more of a second skin.

I reached out to many different manufacturers, but at least those I met with in the U.S. were not as high tech, forward thinking, and able to create something unique. I then found an amazing lab and factory out of the U.K. While they mainly supply medical customers with patch birth control, they also could make vitamin patches in a totally clear material. We collaborated on the best formulas, then sent around samples to groups of friends to test out and give feedback- tweaking until we had the best results. We contracted a 3rd party EU lab to test all our ingredients and patches for the highest quality.

To this day myself and Cleo wear our patches daily and have focus groups that can give us feedback on what they do any don’t like so we can update everything from our formulas, to artwork, to patch size and price.

We also worked with them on new laser printing technology on the patches so our stickers would be a platform for artwork and self expression. We mocked up think black line-work, vibrant watercolors, metallics, and more to show the full style gamut on what was possible visually. Then we reached out to lawyers to patent this new printing process in our medical grade base material.

Finally we shared artwork and patch samples to our friends and some buyers. We had lots of direct feedback and also immediate orders from stores like Urban Outfitters which helped guide our initial selection. From there we place our first order to launch at the end of October.

Great, appreciate you sharing that with us. Before we ask you to share more of your insights, can you take a moment to introduce yourself and how you got to where you are today to our readers.

ALEXA ADAMS:

I came to co-founding barriere through design. I have a more traditional fashion design background where I’ve designed for brands like Helmut Lang, Karl Lagerfeld, and Donna Karan. I also had my own knitwear company called OHNE TITEL where we were focused on the newest knit machines and technologies to create styles women would both be comfortable in and love.

After having a OHNE TITEL, I knew I wanted to continue in design but with an aim to make a difference and make better products that address health needs. I consulted with NIKE on their FlyEase shoes- made for easy access for people with impaired mobility, and just kept looking out to where I felt I could design something truly innovative.

With barriere, Cleo and I came together to create a brand all about protection and self-care with self expression. Our transdermal patches are a perfect example of that- using the newest technology + design to create a patch that works better, feels better, and expresses your personal style.

Can you tell us the story behind how you met your business partner?

ALEXA ADAMS:

I met my co-founder Cleo through Instagram. I had done an interview with business of fashion around the importance of PPE during covid and she reached out to me talking about joining forces on a company that would make PPE and other self-care products with better design. She had a similar passion but came from the merchandising and marketing/ visual side. We both messaged and then eventually met up- realizing we only lived 3 blocks from each other that whole time!

Since we started out business in the pandemic we have always been fully remote but have been lucky to use slack and video calls to communicate constantly on what we need to do to grow barriere.

How about pivoting – can you share the story of a time you’ve had to pivot?

Cleo will answer this section.

Contact Info:

• Website: mybarriere.com
• Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/mybarriere/?hl=en
• Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/mybarriere/
• Linkedin: https://www.linkedin.com/company/barri%C3%A8re
• Other: TikTok: https://www.tiktok.com/@mybarriere