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

Rena, appreciate you joining us today. What can you share with us about the story behind how you found your key vendors?

Finding the right vendors has been critical to success whether I am producing clothing or events, both of which I do professionally. When you are able to develop a shorthand with a vendor it allows you to work together quickly and effectively. For my products it is essential that everything made is of high quality with impeccable attention to detail and having that as a given in their production is imperative. From there the communication involves making sure that each detail is discussed and made to spec because you never want to leave any detail to chance in production. Manufacturing requires a lot of moving parts and each component must move in harmony, the longer you work together the easier that becomes. It is also essential to know when to negotiate. While we are all looking to reduce costs and increase our margins when you work with your vendors and are transparent on when you can offer more and when budget is a constraint they are more likely to work with you as a long term partner.

I cannot stress the importance of referrals. When I began I only knew to go to the larger fabric stores in the garment district but I kept asking questions and reaching out to people for advice and referrals who were in the industry or even adjacent. While commercial stores can be convenient for samples, their prices will quickly eat at your margins for larger orders. After years I have built up a rolodex of vendors in various cities and that shortlist is key to both being able to execute quickly as well as for referrals in new markets.

I was fortunate in having mentors in sourcing and production. I got a crash course and ongoing support in these areas as my needs increased. I realized the value in sourcing raw materials and components in China for production in LA. Alibaba is a tremendous resource for overseas manufacturing, but for any key items, a trip to the factories is recommended to assist in fostering that relationship as well as quality control. Every step of production needs to be documented and approved or you may end up with production mistakes you never even thought were possible.

My leather vendor introduced me to my most valuable vendor relationship when I was first looking to make clothing. She understood the construction of garments and while I may have designed them, it was her suggestions that made them structurally sound and able to be recreated on a larger scale. She became a valued mentor who not only manufactured items for me, but who became a trusted development partner and teacher. I cannot say I have that type of bond with each of my vendors, but with the ones I work with consistently there is a level of trust and partnership. There is no need to micromanage, when you find yourself there with a vendor it is most likely time to find a new one with more synchronicity and/or skill to deliver what you need for the project.

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

I have been a serial entrepreneur and my largest company has been Lalita, a line of clothing and accessories with a seductive edge. Lalita is the Hindu Goddess of Bliss and her name means “she who plays.” Over the years my designs have been featured in numerous publications including Janet Jackson in a Lalita garter tank on the cover and pages of Billboard, Demi Lovato rocking a Lalita belt in the video with Christina Aguilera for the Grammy nominated Fall in Line and Sharon Stone in the New York Times and cover of La Septième Obsession. In 2020 Lalita was named one of ten brands to watch by the largest lingerie trade show in North America and I simultaneously showed my first ready to wear collection at NYFW that year with Flying Solo.

I am really proud of the fact that I was able to garner the attention of so many prominent stylists and publications in a relatively short amount of time. A large part of that was owed to celebrity stylist B. Åkerlund, who, after receiving a package of Lalita goodies from me, invited me to join her LA based showroom.

All of the items are hand made with impeccable attention to detail. There really is a lot of love and gratitue that goes into each order. I have appreciated the numerous thank yous and stories that people have shared with me over the years on how the line has made them feel. The strongest theme in that has been women rediscovering their beauty and sexuality at any age, body shape or size. I have really been touched by people’s openness to me about their personal journey to self love and acceptance.

Have you ever had to pivot?

Like so many people, 2020/2021 was one of those times. I was knee deep in a nearly year long contract negotiation with a celebrity for a capsule collection collaboration and not even realizing the degree to which I was burnt out. I accepted a friend’s request to assist with producing a large scale event because it felt like a fresh and exciting change. Flash forward a month and that company asked me to stay on to assist in producing an upcoming pop-up store event for Fox. Flash forward another 2 years and I’m a senior producer at a creative marketing agency, BMF. When I started producing events, I didn’t realize the degree to which the skill set of sourcing and producing garments would translate into event production. It was a natural fit and I realized the ability to find and negotiate with vendors was the same whether it was bamboo fabric or non-bottled water for an event.

Since 2020 I also started producing items privately for other clients, such as COVID vests for Warner Bros, branded t-shirts, and tote bags. In the events industry there is a tremendous need for branded items for which I already had vendors and infrastructure in place and which has led to tremendous synergy between those sides of my life.

As my supply chain shifted, so has my consumer product offerings. In 2020 it was a pivot to face masks and the newest offering is pure Egyptian Oils that I sourced during a recent trip to Cairo. While I may have started with clothing and accessories, the brand concept of Lalita is broad enough to support a wide range of products which have evolved over time.

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

Lalita almost ended before it began. I had a mentor during the concept stage who initially taught me everything about international sourcing and branding. He guided me through production of my first product for which I was even awarded a design patent. For that I am extremely thankful, but what happened next was devastating at the time. After months of our Skype sessions, I had basically graduated from sourcing and production lessons, but not yet started distribution and sales. He had promised to assist in key placement in certain stores and I foolishly believed it was that easy. At that point I also only had one product, Lalita Dirty Martini Picks, in stainless steel, silver and 18k plated gold. I mistakenly believed that their patented garter clip packaging and unique design would be enough for them to fly off the shelves by Christmas and it was already November.

Needless to say, the product arrived and my mentor disappeared later citing his own anxiety. I was suddenly sitting with all these boxes in my house and no idea how to market, distribute or sell them. I was panicking and he was non-responsive. That January, as I sat on all that inventory, I hired an expensive marketing company to assist in Valentine Day sales thinking that was the answer, it definitely wasn’t. They knew nothing about the industry but I trusted that because they had huge success with some larger campaigns in the food industry that they could do this as well. Their attempts at marketing crashed and burned. They had an idea to turn the tagline related specifically to the martini picks into the company name and totally take the brand in a seedier direction in order to theoretically get quicker sales. When my Facebook name was changed to that tagline I was horrified. We parted ways and I had wasted more money than should ever have been spent in that direction.

Depression followed after I had put too much faith and too much capital into the wrong people and was not sure how to proceed. I pushed through and got additional motivation as I began to play with the garter clip theme and started developing a full line. Creative inspiration took hold and garter tanks were born followed by corset boy shorts, jewelry and a rediscovery of my photography to shoot it all. When I had 20 items I decided to do a Kickstarter and to officially launch the brand. I spent months preparing and had an incredible group of people supporting me throughout the process and assisting in the campaign. They were who I needed. It was through them that I regained my confidence and spirit to continue with Lalita; this was in 2015 and Lalita and I are still here today.

Contact Info:

• Website: lalita.com
• Instagram: instagram.com/lalitawhoplays
• Facebook: facebook.com/lalitawhoplays
• Twitter: twitter.com/lalitawhoplays

Image Credits
Greg Lotus, Rena Andrews, Reinhard Kenneth, MJ Glover