As the creator of the products you’ll be receiving, I thought to share a bit more about myself and hopefully get a chance to know you better along the journey.
How it all began
It has been my dream since I was a little girl to design clothes for people. It started out very lofty and simply because I liked pretty things. I thought the best way would be to study at the renowned Central Saint Martins and start my career overseas since the market in Singapore was so small and underdeveloped at the time. However, my family nor I had the means to make this plan happen and I went about continuing my studies in Mass Communication at a polytechnic in Singapore.
After graduating and waiting to go to university, I took up a part-time job at a multi-label boutique… still very much interested in the fashion industry. It was during that season that I stumbled across a uniform design competition for a shopping mall in Singapore offering prize money and a scholarship to study fashion at what is now called the Singapore Fashion Council (it went by another name then).
I decided that I had nothing to lose and entered the competition without being formally trained, only with ideas and photoshop skills. Long story short, I won the competition and went to do study both fashion design and merchandising. That also led to me to work with 2 local designers in Singapore, namely Jo Soh from Hansel and also Elyn Wong, from STOLEN.
From there, I learnt more about bringing designs to real life and the realities of running fashion business. From then on, I had the opportunity to work in many roles relating not only to the fashion industry but also in PR, marketing and branding.
Believe it or not, the role that I was most inspired by and one that has shaped my personal style the most was my marketing role at Australian skincare brand, Aesop. There, it was all about intentionality, quality and great aesthetics. Every bottle of skincare and every store had a story behind it, and it was our part as staff to tell that story and be part of it at the same time. My personal style began to mimic the philosophy that this brand had and I realised how practical and how much longevity dressing with staples and classics had.
As my career went on, thoughts of creating clothing always came back to me. When I had ideas of how a piece of clothing could be improved on to be more functional in different seasons of my life, I would think, “Maybe I can do this…” but other priorities in life took precedence. I was too afraid to take the leap and being a salaried person gave me security through big transitions in life, like getting married and having my first 2 children.
Why I began Olive Basics
This time round, things changed. I was just preparing to leave a full-time role and about to transition into a new business. At the same time, I also discovered that I was pregnant. As I embraced the new season while juggling work and 2 young toddlers, I increasing felt much less time and space for myself… so much so that even dressing up and finding things that fit well as the bump was growing became a challenge.
It was at this moment where things clicked and I thought about how well designed clothing for pregnant and breastfeeding mummies were still few and far between. I somehow found the courage to embark on this journey, with some idea that women and mums around needed the same solutions as I did.
Thank God for you
So here we are today. And as the journey begins, I just wanted to start off by thanking you, for being one of the first supporters to realise this dream, not just for me but so that women around can truly live better with the things we create.
Please know that when you arrived here and made a decision to support our business, you didn’t simply purchase a product. As part of the Olive Basics community, I treasure you and value the faith that you put in the brand. I would love to grow alongside you, whether it means sharing stories together, getting feedback from you or co-creating in the future. As we launch, I hope to hear more from you as we figure how to grow this brand and community authentically and only create products and experiences that will solve problems and edify the community that we serve. If you'd love to have a chat, I'm a DM away at instagram.com/olive.basics
With love and gratefulness,
Gillian :)