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

Morgan, appreciate you joining us 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?

At a very young age I was blessed with the knowledge that I was going to become a fashion designer. I have a photo of myself at about 7 years old at summer camp proudly holding up a sign that I was going to become a “clotes desiner” because I didn’t know how to spell “clothes designer”. Since then I have spent every day in the pursuit of this goal. I learned how to sew, ultimately getting a bachelor’s degree in Fashion Design from the Fashion Institute of Technology. After that I got my MBA from NYU Stern with a specialization in Fashion and Luxury. Both of my degrees played an immense role in preparing me for the creative as well as the business side of the fashion industry.

The initial launch of my brand came during the pandemic, as I found myself with ample free time and looking for a new project. I had always known that this was something that I wanted to do, and decided that it was finally time to launch my brand. Throughout the remainder of my undergraduate and graduate degree I maintained this as my side hustle, selling a limited array of designs online and in a few boutiques. Post MBA graduation I began to work full time on my business, creating new designs in hopes of being able to sell to more boutiques. After a short while it was clear that this was not a feasible business model. I began doing pop ups at various locations and realized quickly that there was a market for my work, if only I could get my designs in front of the public. My solution was to open my own store. This was a massive amount of work. There were triumphs, disappointments and everything between. I have learned from all of this that the only way to get what you want is to continue pushing through the tough parts, and everything will happen exactly as it is meant to.

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 Morgan Grabarz and I am the owner and designer behind the Morgan Grabarz brand. My brand is womenswear with a tendency towards all things glamorous, funky and fun. New York City is a huge part of my inspiration. I only design and produce items that I love and would wear myself. My singular goal is to make clothing that makes people feel truly beautiful. This is the driving force behind all of my work. I am 24 years old and have been dreaming of the day that I would have my own namesake brand since I was a child. We are located at 12 N. Union St. Lambertville, NJ. I design all of the pieces myself and the majority of the collection is produced by seamstresses on site at the boutique.

We’d really appreciate if you could talk to us about how you figured out the manufacturing process.

I have sewn almost every single day since I was 12. I believe that this is my biggest asset as a business owner. Starting out I was able to cut costs by producing garments myself. Now, as I begin to scale, I know exactly how I want the clothing to be made because I have done it. Quality is extremely important to me, and it would be impossible for me to instruct my seamstresses and manufacturers on how to make the garments if I had not spent years making them myself.

Can you open up about how you funded your business?

The initial start of my business back in 2020 was very low cost, as it consisted of taking some photos of tee shirts I had made in my basement and putting them up on a website. The process of getting my boutique was significantly more costly. While in my MBA I made the decision that I wanted to be self funded. At the time that I was looking to open the store, my site was not making enough sales to cover all of the initial startup expenses. Another huge cost was the production of the clothing to fill the racks. For about 9 months I would spend all day sewing and al night waitressing, saving every penny to put towards my store. When I first opened my doors every garment was hand made by me. There were those that tried to tell me it wouldn’t be possible, but if you want something badly enough there is always a way.

Contact Info:

• Website: https://morgangrabarz.com/
• Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/morgangrabarz/
• Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/morgangrabarz

Image Credits

Model photos- Chad Barrett
Other photos- contributed by Morgan Grabarz