We recently connected with Kellie Tardif and have shared our conversation below.

Alright, Kellie thanks for taking the time to share your stories and insights with us today. We’d love to go back in time and hear the story of how you came up with the name of your brand?

Naming my business was not too difficult for me. When thinking about it I knew almost right away what it should be. My chosen boutique name, Lilli & Yve, comes from the names of my Memere’s (french for Grandmothers), Lillian & Yvette. These ladies were instrumental in raising me. Their signatures are the font that make up the beautiful logo. The chosen color blue represents their favorite color. Lillian passed away when I was nine. Yvette just passed away on October 21 of this year at the age of 94.

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 Kellie, the owner of Lilli & Yve, a woman’s clothing boutique. I was born and raised in a small town in northern Maine on the border of Canada. I’ve always been creative and have had a passion for fashion. I started sewing when I was 12 years old. I learned how to sew from my Home Economics teacher and watching my Mother. My great-grandmother used to sew and make clothes too. I started refashioning pieces from the thrift store when I was in middle school. I went to college in Colorado for graphic design but was always into fashion. Over the years I knew I wanted to design and make clothing, especially from recycling fabric and from my own fabric design patterns. I did create my own brand called, kellie j. designs which I sell in Lilli & Yve. In 2018, my husband and I renovated a vintage camper into a pop-up boutique where I sell to my local shoppers in the warmer months. I am currently working on an Upcycle Collection in my home studio and have future plans to develop my own fabric design patterns and create small-batch collections from those designs as well. I also teach sewing classes to adults and kids through my local Rivertown Community Arts Center. At this time Lilli & Yve offers clothing that is made to order from a partnership with a print-on-demand company. The pattern designs I use are purchased through a commercial license and supports the artists I purchase from.

We’d love to hear your thoughts about selling platforms like Amazon/Etsy vs selling on your own site.

I sell on my own site from Shopify and I also sell on Etsy. I enjoy selling on my own site for better control so I can do what I want with it and sell what I want, which is definitely a pro. The con is how much advertising you have to do to direct people there. But advertising does come hand in hand with running a business. I sell my t-shirt designs on Etsy and test other items here and there from my own brand, kellie j. designs. I do this because Etsy is a marketplace where people are already looking and I don’t have to spend as much in advertising, which is a pro. Another pro about Etsy is that I feel it’s the best place to sell handmade items and get your name out. A con about selling on Etsy would be the competition and so much mass produced products being shown to the consumer.

Can you tell us about a time you’ve had to pivot?

I definitely had to pivot when Covid happened. At the time I was buying clothing wholesale
from other companies and the plans were to add my own brand as time went on. When Covid struck, everything stopped and I couldn’t do the purchasing I was doing before. I scaled back my business significantly. Once the restrictions loosened I found myself in competition with certain inexpensive online companies. I decided to stop buying wholesale and focus on being sustainable. I started purchasing designs from small artists to use on clothing from a made to order company. I also design t-shirts that are made to order. I am currently developing an Upcycle Collection with one of a kinds and have future plans to implement my own designs onto fabric and create small batch clothing with the fabric. Sometimes you are pushed to do things sooner or differently. I feel that the pivoting I have done is only making my company into what it’s really supposed to do. Creating and selling sustainable clothing.

Contact Info:

• Website: https://www.lilliandyve.com
• Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/lilliandyve/
• Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/lilliandyve
• Linkedin: https://www.linkedin.com/in/kellie-tardif/
• Other: https://www.facebook.com/kelliejdesigns/

Image Credits

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