We recently connected with Laura Burrell and have shared our conversation below.

Hi Laura, thanks for joining us today. Let’s talk legacy – what sort of legacy do you hope to build?

I hope my legacy will be one that contributes to changing the industry notion that it is everyone for themselves. I believe that positive encouragement and investing in each other is rewarding in and of itself. I have seen the ugly side, where people will lie and manipulate to put others down, and it breaks my heart. I have and will always stand up for those who are trying, those who might not be the crowd favorite, those who need someone to believe in them and be their voice. My hope is to be able to empower them and encourage them to develop a strong voice of their own, and when they need it I will advocate for them.

As an entrepreneur and businesswoman, I am an all inclusive community leader. We are stronger together, and stronger when we build each other up. So I will shine my light and share it with the next person, in hopes they pass it on until the world is a better and brighter place.

Let love and light be my legacy.

Laura, love having you share your insights with us. Before we ask you more questions, maybe you can take a moment to introduce yourself to our readers who might have missed our earlier conversations?

When I was born, we were poor. My sister received free school lunches, we wore hand-me-down clothes, and my grandma was making our house payments. I was always excited when we got a new bag of clothes from the church, or friend of the family. It was also when my mother started a childcare center where she could work and care for me at the same time. Fortunately, her business grew into a successful venture by the time I was nine. and we moved to the suburbs and could afford to buy new clothes. I always loved putting together an outfit. It didn’t matter if it was second hand, something I made, or new. Often, it was a combination of all three. It was a way to express my style and individuality.

My oldest sister was a model and also a fine arts major. She taught me how to draw so I could come up with my own ideas for outfits. I come from a long line of creatives. My middle sister is an interior designer that can transform any space she’s in. I grew up painting with coffee and sewing doll clothes with my grandma. I even made all my wooden doll furniture with my dad. I was taught to always do things to the best of my ability, quality matters, and to have fun.

I always knew I wanted to design clothing, but it wasn’t until a college fair, at a Kent State booth, that I knew what that could look like. It was also the first time my mom realized that this could actually be a career for me, and not just a dream. I had a great experience in Kent’s fashion program. It wasn’t easy, but it was what I needed to hone my skills. I don’t think even 10% that started in the program were still there by the time I graduated. I was blessed to have the opportunity to study a semester in Florence, Italy. It was a great opportunity for this sheltered Midwest kid to get out in the world and gain some independence.

After graduating I did what most fashion designers do, and I moved to New York City! I loved living in Brooklyn, it was a small community of its own and not a long commute to the city. I did my internship with Cynthia Rowley, sketching, picking up materials and trims, and helping with the fashion show. I then landed my first paying job working on a line for Oleg Cassini. Each experience building my skills and knowledge. A couple years later, I was recruited to Kohl’s and stayed there for 8 1/2 years while building various brands and teams. I was then recruited to Dick’s Sporting Goods where, again, I had a myriad of experiences building apparel, mentoring, and shining my light. I’m probably most known for my smile and bandana. A signature look for me.

When the 2020 Covid pandemic hit, I was fortunate to keep working, but what was once a team of 7 became just me. I was proud to help keep the brands I worked on going, but I’d be lying if I said it didn’t take it’s toll. People were brought back to work and we kept on designing, but something had changed for me. I still loved the company and believed in what we were doing, but my vision for what we could do and all we could be was no longer in alignment. So after 8 long years of blood, sweet, and dedication we amicably parted ways, and I began to seek out what it was that I was being called to do.

The name Wink & Gunn came to me easily, as though a song that was always in my heart. It reflects the gesture of a friendly person pointing and winking at you…which is synonymous with sending positive vibes. Whether it’s “Hey, how are you?” or “You betcha”, this carefree positivity is what I wanted the brand to represent. I wanted a brand that embodied the new west, the modern frontier.

It’s also a way to show people that they are loved and that supporting each other, specifically fellow women, can be celebrated. I chose to launch this passion project as a way to spread light and joy. It’s founded on the principle that we will always “do the right thing.” Now sure, that will always look different for people, but having that as my north star has led to choosing sustainable materials, repurposing and reusing materials, making only enough for what can be used, giving back 10 percent, and supporting local businesses and artists. With my mom’s entrepreneurial spirit to guide me, and a slew of friends and creatives I’d met along my journey, I was ready.

It was important for me that this brand also support US jobs, as we are still not fully recovered from the pandemic, many people are out of work. While I personally do still support charitable organizations in other countries, I felt that this brand built on the aesthetic of the new west, the modern frontier, be made in the US. It wasn’t easy to find a supplier that produces more than just basics. However, Royal Apparel came through and offered the right quality, sustainable, unisex garments that were made in the US. I worked with local print house, Clockwise, to not only have a local point of contact, but also to support business in the city that this brand was born, Pittsburgh. One Feather Press in Nashville printed the bandanas. Amazing quality, hand printed there by a guy that’s been doing it for years and has a number of big names under his belt.

Now if you’ve ever had the chance to peruse the Wink and Gunn website, you would have found a page called “Women supporting women.” This page is a purposeful way to showcase other female business owners and creatives. My thought was that if my site is getting traffic I want to share it with these amazing women. Simple as that. Instead of an everyone for themselves mentality, I believe that we are stronger, better, and more whole together. A portion of the 10% that Wink & Gunn’s donates to charitable causes, go to Refuge for Women, a non-profit, faith based organization providing specialized long-term care for women who have escaped human trafficking or sexual exploitation. I personally know people who have been effected by this, and it is yet another way we can care for our fellow women.

We have started with a tight core assortment of unisex tees, a crew sweatshirt, a logo tank, and bandanas. Logo art was drawn by Mitchell Dill and is used within the logo graphics. All other graphics at launch were drawn by Karla Miller of The Wandering Bears. You can find their names called out on each garment and bandana because I believe that’s the “right thing to do,” In addition to apparel, we offer one of a kind repurposed leather jewelry. As we grow, we hope to launch cut and sew exclusives. Who knows what the future will hold…and I’m looking forward to it!

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

I have always found it beneficial to seek out an expert in anything I want to learn to do well. I ended up taking an online course through Bloom by bel monili. Not only was I happy to support a local female business owner, but she has been doing exactly what I needed to learn, successfully for over a decade! I will fully admit that I’m still learning (I hope to be learning something everyday for the rest of my life, really) but it has been very helpful! It helped me to understand the importance of posting to social regularly and e-mail marketing. To be honest, I didn’t even have a distro list together before taking this course. I had all the experience in how to design, execute, and assort, but not how to promote. This course along with the advice of other small business owners has been a game changer.

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

Based upon professional recommendations, I chose to have the W & G website built using Wix.

Pros: It integrates well with QuickBooks, other software, and offers a lot of assistance with marketing and SEO. It has tiered levels of features, so that I only pay for what I use (or know how to use…for now) It’s been easy to update, and add. I found the customer service surprisingly helpful. I had an issue connecting something, and not only did they help me with that issue, but also made suggestions to better utilize their features. Then they walked me through how to do it. It’s a meaty platform with a lot of opportunity to expand into more.

Cons: I would say it’s not the easiest build for a complete novice. The functions are there and easy to use, but it helps to at least know a little about website building, have a friend who can help you, or have a professional build it for you. There are easy basic platforms out there for sure, but if you want one with a lot of features, analytics, and integrated marketing, I highly recommend WIX.

Contact Info:

• Website: www.winkandgunn.com
• Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/winkandgunn/
• Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/profile.php?id=100084691802827
• Linkedin: https://www.linkedin.com/company/winkandgunn/

Image Credits
Photographer: Ashten Farah Photography Models: (Left to Right in group photo) Marcus Taylor, Steven Miller, Karla Miller, Trenita Finney, Brittney Plumb, Sydney Sustarsic, Caroline Suh, Kevin Maille