"Rebecca Yin is the founder of RYin NYC, a New York based fashion label focused on handmade women's skirts. She displays her creations around the New York area, and most recently in a pop-up shop in Williamsburg. This is her story.
It was the hours of boredom that I least expected.
The months leading up to my first pop-up shop at the Artists & Fleas Williamsburg weekend market had been frenetic. Everything had to be planned down to the last detail. I had no experience doing this. It was a big deal for me and for the brand. I was putting myself out there for the world to see for the very first time! I desperately wanted everything to be perfect.
There were so many unknowns. All I had to go on was a rough outline of the dimensions of my display. It was a lot like preparing for an exam. The closer the big day came, the more frantic my preparations became. I didn't know quite what would happen on the day itself.
After all that activity, there I was on the opening Saturday, standing at my pop-up for one interminable hour after another without a customer in sight. Much of the time was spent sharing stories with my neighbouring vendors - who all seemed to be facing the same challenges with their businesses. This was strangely reassuring.
It was not what I had anticipated. I knew it might be slow at times, but surely, I would be doing more selling, or at least talking to potential customers about my tweed creations? Instead I utilized my time by changing up my display to captivate the eyes of the passers-by.
So why was I here in the first place? Ever since I started up RYin NYC I have had a great social media presence as well as an Etsy shop to sell my clothes online. But I knew from the feedback I had gotten from clients that people needed to see and feel the quality of materials for themselves. So this was my first real opportunity to do that, and it didn't seem to be working!
The first weekend was a write off in terms of selling any pieces. To keep morale up I had to remind myself that this was a learning experience. I had the opportunity to talk to potential customers face to face, find out their likes and dislikes and what I needed to improve on. Each one of my pieces is made to order from carefully curated materials and a personal touch is added to them for that extra uniqueness.
It is important to continue communicating with potential clients and find out what exactly is missing in this crazy world of fashion. I've often found myself asking is this what my target market wants? Are women willing to spend the money on made to order clothes? You must be willing to adapt and compromise. It's an evolutionary process.
There is definitely no substitute for being over prepared for every eventuality and having a well thought-out plan. That will put you in a stronger position if you need to change your approach, which you invariably will.
Above all, you need a genuine passion for what you do. It can never be about the money. There are far easier and less risky ways to making a living. Personally, I love fashioning contemporary garments from tweed. It's such a high quality and timeless material, and I want to share that with as many people as possible. That's what drives me.
The positive reactions I got from people who saw my designs up close kept me going. And in that second weekend I started selling! After several years of hard work, I could see it all paying off right before my eyes. As an entrepreneur there is simply no better feeling in the world.
For more about RYin NYC and my collection, head to ryinnyc.com."
This article is based on my experience and was written by Tom Cremins.