We were lucky to catch up with Christina Currey recently and have shared our conversation below.
Christina, looking forward to hearing all of your stories today. Coming up with the idea is so exciting, but then comes the hard part – executing. Too often the media ignores the execution part and goes from idea to success, skipping over the nitty, gritty details of executing in the early days. We think that’s a disservice both to the entrepreneurs who built something amazing as well as the public who isn’t getting a realistic picture of what it takes to succeed. So, we’d really appreciate if you could open up about your execution story – how did you go from idea to execution?
Originally, I set out to find the perfect men’s swimsuit fabric. And so, I did. I began at a fabric show in Manhattan, combing through literally every fabric still offered in the space. I watched in awe as 3-D machines printed sweaters. The possibilities, with this room of opportunity, seemed endless. Once the most functional, beautiful, unique swimsuit had been created, we set off to find another fabric, a partner, if you will, that went with this beloved swimsuit. Enter, our Terry cloth: a venture to find the perfect one. This began by connecting with mills from North Carolina to Los Angeles, in a search to find a luxurious, functional, life-proof Terry cloth. None of this journey is seamless, fashion and design are incredibly intimate. Imagine trusting any old bakery with grandmother’s special recipe? You would never. Being a partner that is honorable, ethical, organized, and thoughtful, proves you may get the same in return. Finding the right fabric, the right production facility, is an arduous process, laden with learning experiences. From time delays, to ethics, to maddening mis-production of product, it’s all come up. The journey has proven to take these small road-bumps with a grain of salt, learn from them, and move forward.
Awesome – so before we get into the rest of our questions, can you briefly introduce yourself to our readers.
1) can you please tell our readers about yourself, how you got into your industry / business / discipline / craft etc,
My background and arrival is storied further on, in another question. In a very relatively concise, download, our company’s origin began in 2015, after I decided to move back to Nashville from Los Angeles. The mission being: to incubate the vision I had, for a better swimsuit experience for men. All of my cousins, and loved ones, needed a better swimsuit, and general garments, at the time. Our grandfather, Brownlee, happened to be the most stylish man we knew. He and my grandmother together could quiet a room — though that’s the last descriptor to use for either of them. But, we had to begin somewhere and creating a product that people needed, when entering this market, made sense. Swimsuits, it was. After an extensive amount of time invested in: textile and fabric research, sampling and perfecting a swimsuit silhouette, and the designs that would live on them, I met, co-founder, Abe Hutcheon. A brilliant partner in every way, came into the journey, offering: fire, knowledge and ambition — to name a few. The morning we met, he had finished his masters and was running a non-profit. We both ended up at a Nashville Fashion gathering, we both admittedly went into, unsure of, and unfamiliar with one another. His eloquence, brilliance, kindness, light, and eager attitude to dive into the unknown, lit us both up. Shortly after, he began at Brownlee. We began pioneering trade shows, press activations, production, and the like. He has always sought to understand every detail of the trade, and the industry, and active provides a sacred partnership, fortitude, and knowledge, which led him to be the Brownlee co-founder that he is today.
Since the end of 2019, we’ve been able to get out of a start-up incubator, and begin operating on our own. And, you guessed it, right as we were full-steam ahead, March 2020, the world shut-down.
We leaned into our customer base, connected with their desire to not ‘only look beautiful, but feel beautiful’, at home.
Then, a new beautiful Brownlee website a re-branding came to the fore. Completing our wish for our: product, our story, and our consumer experience to be aligned. Our garments that look beautiful, feel better, and put the hardest question to rest: what should I wear?
2) what type of products/services/creative works you provide,
Brownlee offers timeless essentials, for the modern day nomad. With a focus on a marriage of east-coast monochromatic luxury, and the unhurried craftsmanship of Scandinavian Design. Our muse, and company name, being a nod to my grandfather, Brownlee, and my grandmother, Agneta. The two wonderful souls met when she arrived from Sweden for design school, and he, for business, in Manhattan.
3) what problems you solve for your clients and/or what you think sets you apart from others.
Our clothes make you feel, to put it simply, good. They make you ‘all set’: for the day, for the night, for the meeting, or the flight. They offer you simplicity in choice, beauty in composition, strength in make. Brownlee’s active commitment is to well-made, elevated, functional, beautiful products.
What do you think helped you build your reputation within your market?
Consistently offering the best fabrics, in useful, simple, beautiful silhouettes while insuring we make our consumer experience match the quality of our product.
We’d love to hear the story of how you turned a side-hustle into a something much bigger.
I’ve been making product since I was 15. Let’s go back for a moment, that summer, I bought semi-precious gemstones, and 14K gold-plated wire, and hand-made a jewelry collection. Then, I planned a trunk-show with my friends and family, and sold every piece. I was hooked on design, and the joy of having an idea and bringing to fruition. My mother told me of a bespoke jewelry designer coming into town, with her beautiful pieces. And, that I should introduce myself for an internship. And so, I did. That January, I began my first internship in New York City with her. My high-school allowed Juniors and Seniors intern off-campus. That began my working relationship with this designer, and her company. Through my time with her, I learned the ins and outs of every facet of her business, and ended up as both her design assistant, and executive assistant. I ran trunk shows her, hosted private trunk shows on her behalf, from Manhattan to Hawaii. I drew collections with her, met private clients, delivered product to movie sets like Sex and the City and to placements for the Oscars. Through the years, her company added clothing, and home-decor. Further developing my love, interest, and desire to be in this field. I had truly experienced it all. After working in Los Angeles for a year, I decide to move back to Nashville to incubate my idea. That of course, came with working another job to provide time and resources to build the idea out as well as I needed to.
Contact Info:
- Website: www.brownlee.co
- Instagram: @brownleebathingcorp
Image Credits
STUDIO PRODUCT E-COMM SHOTS: MINNIE MORKIE / STRING LIGHTS, CHRISTINA + ABE: KELSEY CHERRY / STEP AND REPEAT OF CHRISTINA + ABE: MINNIE MORKIE / TEAM SHOT CASUAL: JOSH NESS