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

Danny, looking forward to hearing all of your stories today. How did you come up with the idea for your business?

I was born in California, raised in Colorado, and eventually moved back to California. There are so many things I love about both places. I wish I could combine the best of these two opposite worlds and live in that utopia. I am so inspired by, and practically lived in brands like Vans, Billabong, and Quicksilver. The one thing I felt they were missing was a marriage of the warm and cold weather climates. This is when I had the idea to start Nelle’s – The Original Palm & Pine Co.

In the peak of the COVID-19 pandemic, I spent my free time designing a brand that fuses designs inspired by different cultures and geographic regions in to our garments. I used to have “beach shirts” and “mountain shirts.” Now, I have a bunch that fit in no matter where I am. As I grow as a brand owner, I am constantly evolving and improving our designs and apparel to solidify our place in the industry. We’re not going anywhere.

From the beach to the mountains, surf to the snow, palm to the pine, and everything in between, Nelle’s is a love story about all things outdoors.

As always, we appreciate you sharing your insights and we’ve got a few more questions for you, but before we get to all of that can you take a minute to introduce yourself and give our readers some of your back background and context?

My name is Danny. I am an architect by trade and a designer by passion. My absolute favorite thing to do is solve creative problems. When I’m bored, I usually get on my computer and create renderings of buildings, come up with graphic designs, or design clothing. It’s my form of doodling.

I once heard the phrase “The work you do while you procrastinate is probably the work you should be doing for the rest of your life.” That was potentially the most inspiring advice I had ever gotten. It inspired me to start my own clothing brand.

Nelle’s aka “The Original Palm & Pine Co.” was born out of a passion for design, a love of the outdoors, and an idea to create something that I could grow and be proud of. We make casual surf, snow, and street inspired apparel. Graphic tees, hats, socks, joggers, and much more to come.

I am so proud of what I have created at Nelle’s. But I am just one part of the equation. Nelle’s is not my brand, it is OUR brand. I love working with various artists and graphic designers to see their interpretation of the Palm and Pine mentality and to feature their work on our garments. I love hearing what customers love or what isn’t working from them. I love featuring various outdoor/adventure spots around the country and eventually the globe that tie back to personal experiences. We are currently working to partner with companies that will elevate our sustainability. We’d like Nelle’s to be around for a long time, but first we need to make sure that the planet will be around for a long time.

Any insights you can share with us about how you built up your social media presence?

We are still a relatively small brand and have a modest following compared to some of the casual apparel titans. HOWEVER, I am extremely proud of what I’ve built. It’s somewhere I didn’t imagine I’d be in just under two years.

I was able to build a following on social media by creating content that I am proud of. Unfortunately for me, an admittedly impatient person, this required a lot of patience. It meant not rushing out content just to get it out there. It meant taking the time to gather content that was true to the brand. It would be easy to take a photo of a shirt or hat every day and post it, but that does little for our following and our brand. I take the time to ensure that photos and videos fit our aesthetic and quality that I hold that brand to. In order to get the word out, I work with influencers, promote social media posts, hold giveaways, advertise sales, and engage with similar brands. But this does nothing if your page doesn’t reflect your brand and your values.

One thing I would not recommend is using any social media growth engine aka “buying followers.” We tried using a product that promised “real, engaged followers,” but what we got was the opposite. We got dozens of followers a day that turned out to be either unengaged or flat out fake. It was harmful to the brand. Steer Clear.

Take the time to curate your look and feel, post quality content, and make sure you are proud of what you put out there. Then promote the hell out of it. If the bones are good, you’ll get the followers you’re after.

Any thoughts, advice, or strategies you can share for fostering brand loyalty?

This one is weirdly easy for me. By nature, I am not a salesman. I hate promoting a product that I don’t believe in or forcing rhetoric on someone just to make a sale. If someone doesn’t think they need something, I tend to agree with them. While that doesn’t the best attitude for someone who is trying to sell something, it is great for building trust. I didn’t start Nelle’s to make billions of dollars on products I don’t care about. I started it to connect with people, put my vision out in to the world, and create something that I am both profoundly proud of and that I believe others will love, too. If you love what you do and get others excited about it too, the money will come.

I put my brand out there in hopes that our vision will resonate with someone, and it does. I don’t use aggressive marketing tactics or buy-or-die advertising (I’m not sure if that is a real term, I just made it up). If I make a sale and eventually the customer wants to return it, I welcome that. If it’s not for you, it’s not for you. I do, however, ask for feedback on what they liked or disliked about the product. I am always looking to improve on the brand and customer insight is a really effective way to do that.

I genuinely love seeing the Nelle’s brand out in the world so when I do, I’m always sure to engage with that customer. Through an Instagram share, a DM, a comment on their post etc.. Again, although this can be seen as a marketing tactic, I do it because it actually gets me excited and I love connecting with people. I also follow designers, manufacturers, athletes, brands. and influencers that I like, and engage with their content. I know how much that means to a small business owner and am eager to help wherever I can. And there are others that due the same for me.

My biggest piece of advice would be to be yourself and to not be afraid to engage with the world. If you create a brand that you are proud to stand by, it will be easy to create relationships and build trust.

the rest will come

Contact Info:

• Website: https://www.nellessupplyco.com/
• Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/nellessupplyco/
• Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/nellessupplyco/
• Twitter: https://www.twitter.com/nellessupplyco/
• Other: email: hello@nellessupplyco.com