From my lingerie blog-I’ll also add my own comments on this but here’s my big news for the week-

I have a big announcement to make-I’m taking an extended work trip to New York!

If this all seems pretty sudden, well, that’s because it is.

A little over a week ago I was talking to a friend about my production process here in Chicago and just feeling a little stuck.  I’ve been working with a great factory here but at this time they don’t really have the machines to help me make the best products possible at the quantities that I want to make them.  This has been an ongoing issue for a while, but I don’t usually like to complain about my job because I generally feel really lucky to be doing what I do and I’ve actually received a lot of support from the factory I work with in Chicago that I probably wouldn’t have gotten as a designer just starting out in New York.

While exploring my options I joked I basically had to move to New York or start drinking heavily to minimize the stress of producing with the wrong machinery here.

Producing in New York had been an option I flirted with before, but didn’t think I was ready for.  It sort of hit me that my “joke” was basically my reality and it was time to make a change.

Trying to make lingerie in Chicago is not working at this point.  I’m still hopeful that with the increase in Chicago’s fashion production that I can bring production back here eventually and I still don’t plan on moving to NY permanently (don’t worry Mom!)

But, for now, the plan is to head to New York for three months starting in July to get things set up then coming back to Chicago and continuing to run The Giving Bride from here.  I think this is the best way for me to keep my commitment to high quality lingerie, ethically produced in America.

I think that this is a really exciting opportunity for both me personally and my business and I hope you’ll keep following along as we enter this new chapter!

~Maggie