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

Lisa , looking forward to hearing all of your stories today. Let’s kick things off with your mission – what is it and what’s the story behind why it’s your mission?

My mission in all my endeavors is transformation and vision. When I started my showroom eM Productions in 2001 my mission was to support start up designers that did not have a name yet and build them. I chose designers that knew the business end of production, shipping and operations and that had a unique voice and vision. Most showrooms looked at how many sales the brand already had. I looked at partnering with brands on a level of building together if I felt strongly about their aesthetic and line. It was a tougher job to start from zero. I stayed committed to the mission to partner and build a line into a brand name as I believed in my vision to choose a strong designer that stood out and had a gift to bring to others.

In the past few years I have began a Pop-Up Market in Ojai, Ca: Ojai Design x Vintage: bringing designers and artists to the public. My mission here is to bring the design world together with local music and curate spaces that are intentional and selective while also giving back.

I have my Company Lit Up Brand which is consulting and writing business plans for lines that want to expand or be a brand. I also have 3 volumes of books on Amazon: How to Build a Brand. My mission here is to start from what lights someone up and their mission. We then move into the business side.

I am currently in Pre-Production on a TV docuseries and a Film that brings transformation to the forefront. It is within vulnerable and authentic spaces that people can connect and form a loyalty and openness to others. The mission in producing is to connect people to have care and loyalty while impacting and inspiring others to go through the challenges in life and surpass them with a resilient mindset and physical action.

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

From a young age I loved design, art, numbers and connecting people. I began working in retail at 16 years old. I worked at Saks Fifth Ave. for three years in retail and producing shows. I then worked at Barneys in retail for one year. The training at Barneys was everyone that walks into the door to treat as your friend and as if they are entering your closet. This message of true connection and engagement always remained in me throughout my career.

I went to Emerson College in Boston for 2 years where I studied Communications, Theatre and Journalism.
I transferred and graduated from the Business School at USC and was in the Entrepreneur Program. I knew I wanted to eventually begin my own Company in the design world.
Here I met a designer Mark Eisen who I interned for in product development and textiles.

I then moved to New York to gain more experience in the design world. My first job was as the P.R. Director of Patrick Cox. I then wanted to try something new and worked for Ogilvy & Mather in advertising. While learning a lot, I missed working with the tangible pieces. I wrote the top designers down that I would want to work for and number one was Richard Tyler. I applied and after six months of persistence I landed this job as Sales Executive. I traveled for years: weekly to do trunk shows throughout the U.S. with major department stores. My love grew in connecting with customers both on the floor and the Wholesale side. I was also part of helping in producing his major fashion shows in NY.

I kept in touch with a friend I had met in the Entrepreneur Program and headed back to L.A. to begin our Company: E:Oh which was a handbag line. It was a reinvention of bags with slipcovers that one could change out. We also created a unique wooden handle made by a furniture company. We grew rapidly and I got us in 40 top stores within a year and we also won the Gen Art Award for design. We learned at a young age that more investment was needed to keep the company going and decided to end this venture.

After this I worked for a designer in L.A. Michelle Mason and at a PR Co. After a few years I decided to go out on my own and began my showroom eM Productions. From years of experience in the field I bootstrapped and slowly grew my Company with a strategic plan and goals. This allowed me to expand and open a showroom in L.A and N.Y. and hire employees. What set the showroom apart was taking risks on start up lines that I believed in. They had knowledge of the business end from previous work experiences but also had a strong unique vision and stood out! I was committed to partnering with visionaries and growing them into brand names. This did happen for some of the brands like Rebecca Minkoff, Iro, Mara Hoffman, Zadig & Voltaire, amongst others. I began my own in-house line Furo that was a Japanese name for flow and was comprised of everyday classics in hand woven textiles made in India. I am now working on product developing lines with specific stores and consulting for lines that want to expand and be a name brand. The key factor is being lit up and knowing what your gift to the world is. I am also developing a TV Docuseries show based on this transformation from struggle to dream.

I am committed to bringing forth transformation from a dream to reality in a strategic way. Mindset is the first factor and a vision and a thought out plan is next. I have created Lit Up Brand which is my consulting agency plus published 3 books: How to Build a Brand.

Any stories or insights that might help us understand how you’ve built such a strong reputation?

My reputation has been built on trust, integrity of word and accountability. People can count on me to come up with options and solutions through any challenge. I have treated designers I worked with with respect and a mindset as if we are partners. I have given time and concern to anything they needed help on. Through authenticity, factual data and respect strong relationships have been built with my managers, employees, buyers and designers.

People know I will show up and be ready to work with a positive mindset. This is key in business. There are so many challenges. With an open minded, solution oriented, teamwork mentality and strong work ethic, people know they can count on me to be there and be ready for anything that comes my way to solve it.

I also know working in NY set me up for success. The work ethic in NY is focused, determined and committed.. Things get done and you move at a fast pace with strategically thought out decisions.

Let’s talk about resilience next – do you have a story you can share with us?

There was one designer in my showroom I built from zero to 16 million in less than 2 years. We became very close and spent every week together outside of work meeting and planning their success. The designer wanted a business plan to double and triple their sales in the next few years. I quickly put this together. This was my largest line at the time. I came into work one day and only one employee was there. I had a hunch the others were at his Company. So I went to his space Downtown LA and I was right. He had taken all my employees except one without letting me know. Later he ended up going bankrupt.

I persevered with resilience to rebuild my Company. I hired new employees and brought in more lines. I knew if I did it once I could do it again. This was a big lesson in trust and openness. I realize not everyone is trustworthy but I could move forward and rebuild as I knew what it took to be successful.

Contact Info:

• Website: https://www.litupbrand.com
• Instagram: litupbrand
• Facebook: litupbrand
• Other: [email protected]

Image Credits

Flavia Cureteu
Lane Pittard

I have the rights.