Alright – so today we’ve got the honor of introducing you to Trinity Cross. We think you’ll enjoy our conversation, we’ve shared it below.

Hi Trinity, thanks for joining us today. Let’s jump right into the heart of things. Outsiders often think businesses or industries have much larger profit margins than they actually do – the reason is that outsiders are often unaware of the biggest challenges to profitability in various industries – what’s the biggest challenge to profitability in your industry?

Lately its been the rising costs of goods and labor! We strive to keep Field Day accessible so we doo everything in our power to keep our price pint lower than our “competitors”. It’s been extremely difficult to make it in 2024 with the cost of Fabric, zippers, buttons and labor all going up. I have been working really hard to find comparable supplies without forfitting our quality.

Trinity, 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?

Trinity here, Field Day ‘s owner and creator.
I started sewing from a young age, making little quilts for my dolls and helping my grandma with my halloween costumes.
I have always been a thrift store afinaito, finding the best discarded finds and I would love to rework them to make things more wearable and beautiful. I started a collective screen printing shop with my friends in Oakland CA in 2005 called patchwerk press. I would find vintage slips and print on them, then i moved on to making my own dresses to print on giving them a one of a kind feel.

I got well know for the Sheet dress, a dress made from upcycled bed sheets! No one else was doing this att he time and folks loved having a truly one of a kind dress. I would travel all over the country showing my work and scouring thrift stores and estate sales for the best vintage and high thread count sheets. I would also sometimes dye them to give them some bold pops of color.

I would mostly show and sell my work at popups and friends shops all over the country. In 2013 I found a little delapaded storefront in downtown Oakland and decided to open my own US made boutique. I spent 3 months with the help of lost of friends building out the space with all used and gifted supplies to make it shine. The floors were made out of reclaimed red wood fencing,, the clothing racks were made from reclaimed copper pipes and I found a huge score of vintage lighting. This is when I kicked my clothing line into full gear and started making complete collections. Field Day was also designed, cut, sewn and shipped from Oakland. I would travel to LA a few times a year to hunt the best deadstock fabrics in natural materials.

In 2020 I decided it was time to get back to my country roots and moved to Nevada City Ca, a little town in the Sierra foothills. I opened a little showroom here and sold the Oakland boutique.

I now live on a homestead in Nevada City and have found a great deal of happiness in this little town, bringing my dresses to the folks who live and travel through here. I would not still be in business after 19 years without the support of my online community and close friends who have been supporting the line since day 1.

Conversations about M&A are often focused on multibillion dollar transactions – but M&A can be an important part of a small or medium business owner’s journey. We’d love to hear about your experience with selling businesses.

Yes! I sold the Oakland shop in 2020 which provided a unique opportunity to still have my line sold in my original storefront but was owned and operated by the new owner(s)

My advice would be when selling a business to have clear contracts, hiring a lawyer is very helpful as they will bring up and ask questions about things you have never thought of! Also to make sure the person you are selling to have business savvy as it is very hard to stay afloat, especially in the retail world without first hand experience.

Always good to have your worst case scenarios written out. Especially if there is a lease involved. If there is a strong brand identity it’s a good idea to make sure the new owner has aligned values.

What’s been the most effective strategy for growing your clientele?

I am a big time collaborator! I have never believed in being competitive with fellow makers, it’s all about collaborating and sharing resources and info. Field Day apparel is built on this model. We work with a different artist every year to make a new print and through collaboration we widen our networks and cross- pollinate with like minded creatives.

We also do photoshoots for every collection. Working with women who are not all models, showing different bodies and skin tones so many folks are represented. The fashion industry tends to prioritize young, tall and thin. We strive to show all bodies and make our clothing line in sizes XS-5X so many different bodies can wear our styles. Our “models” are picked with this value set in mind.

We just started an ambassador program where our customers have their own discount code to give there follows and friends. Allowing them to make money and get free Field Day garments in exchange for helping us get the word out about our line. Instagram has been huge for us but with the algorithm no longer prioritizing independent makers we have had to figure out new creative ways to get our wears out there!

Contact Info:

• Website: https://www.fielddayapparel.com
• Instagram: @fielddayandfriends
• Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/fielddayapparel
• Yelp: https://www.yelp.com/biz/field-day-nevada-city-2

Image Credits

Alyssa Keys, Ingrid Nilsen, Hanna Quevedo