We were lucky to catch up with Brodie O’Connor recently and have shared our conversation below.

Hi Brodie, thanks for joining us today. To kick things off, we’d love to hear about things you or your brand do that diverge from the industry standard

We are a Canadian based clothing company specializing in high quality, elevated basics that are 100% made here in Canada. The clothing industry is infamous for being one of the largest contributors to environmental degradation and our goal is to show it is possible to be a responsible garment manufacturer.

Unlike fast fashion companies who turn out dozens of collections a year, we launch two per year with careful thought and intention. We encourage customers to choose wisely when shopping and invest in pieces that they will continue to reach for year after year. We offer season-less styles that are never out of fashion and that stand the test of time wash after wash.

Perhaps what sets us apart even more in our industry is that we work closely with a mill in Toronto to make all of our fabrics. This adds several extra steps to the process for us, but we feel that the lessened environmental impact of having to ship fabrics between countries to get them is a really good thing. Even our garment tags are made local to our business so buyers can be confident that we have taken every step to minimize the traditionally negative impacts that the fashion industry has on our planet.

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

YES! So as mentioned, we are a Canadian based clothing manufacturer based out of Ottawa, Ontario. We are Brodie & Michelle – just a couple friends that thought it would be fun and challenging to start a small clothing company. Since we started in 2014, we have grown significantly and you can now find our products in close to 100 stores across Canada. We have customers all over the world and are shipping regularly to Canada, the US and some countries overseas.

We decided to start Blondie when we realized that our combined talents (Michelle has a background in design, Brodie has a background in business) would give us a strong jumping off point to start this adventure. Our designs are things that we would wear, things that our friends would wear and things that won’t go out of style at the next season.

To give you an idea of the typical Blondie lineup, we have basic tees, sweaters, tanks, dresses, pants, toques and scarves. The fabrics are all extremely soft, stretchy and durable which makes them even easier to love. Our designs are flattering and compliment any body type and we offer sizes XS-XXL.

We are both incredibly proud of what we have created with Blondie. It hasn’t always been easy, but it’s been incredibly humbling to be on this adventure. We have met so many interesting people in our industry and continue to be inspired by this journey we are on. We have an amazingly supportive community around us and at least once a week, we shake our heads and wonder how the heck we got here.

Can you talk to us about your experience with selling businesses?

I (Brodie) have sold a business before! It was my first business, a clothing store called doree’s habit. I had owned it for 14 years and while it was difficult to let it go, I was able to leave it on an incredibly high note and that felt really good.

I grew up in a small business family and with that comes lots of insight into what works and what doesn’t work. I will always remember my parents telling me to make sure I have a plan, specifically an exit plan. They cautioned me that I shouldn’t hang on too long or I may start to dislike my business and that it would be better to work towards a goal and set myself up for a healthy and rewarding exit. With that advice, I decided that when I was 40, I would sell my first business and that’s exactly what I did!

I think that the actual selling of doree’s was made significantly easier by the fact that I was organized in my business and I had clear and concise processes in place should a new owner take over. I had surrounded myself in people that could provide valuable advice and I worked hard to build the shop to make it appealing to a potential buyer.

If I had to offer once change to one  piece of advice to someone who wants to build a company to sell I would tell them to make sure they have a plan. Second to that, I would make sure that they know it’s okay not to have all the answers but they need to surround themselves with people that can help them find the answers.

How did you build your audience on social media?

Social media…insert eye roll here. We think most business owners and entrepreneurs have a love/hate relationship with social media. It’s incredibly difficult and it takes a tremendous amount out of time and energy of which we are already short on!

However, without it, we certainly wouldn’t have been able to build the business that we have today. When we started in 2014, social media was simpler and we think we were lucky to grow with it instead of being thrown into the days of algorithms and hashtags right away. When we posted back in the day, ALL of our followers would see our content. Crazy right? Slowly that changed and we had to learn to work within the new parameters but with close to 12K (100% organic!) followers today, we are pretty happy.

The best advice we can offer is to be consistent and have a strategy. You are building a community with your social media so treat it like that. Post regularly, post thoughtfully and engage with your followers daily. All that to say, if you struggle with it, ask for help. There is nothing wrong with bringing on a social media manager or taking a few courses of which there are SO many available.

If you give it the time and respect it deserves, you will get back whatever you put into it ten fold. Promise!

Contact Info:

• Website: https://blondieapparel.com/
• Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/blondieapparel/?hl=en
• Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/blondieapparel/

Image Credits
Janalla Photo