Today's the 1 year anniversary of our first collection!
One year ago, I was pushing a rickety cart containing our precious first collection through the hot and humid streets of midtown Manhattan. Hundreds of boxes had taken over my apartment, racks of clothing lined my living room, hangers and shipping labels were sprawled across my floor. Everything felt so formless, frenzied, messy. Mixed was a seemingly endless string of clumsy efforts at creating something real.
Today, things are beginning to take shape. We’re now based in a studio in Brooklyn and our pieces are neatly folded and packed away on shelves. I no longer have to push carts of clothing through the streets or carry rolls of fabric on my shoulder though the garment district. We’ve streamlined our production process, expanded our collection, and will soon be hosting our first IRL event (more on that soon)!!
Reflecting back, I remember how difficult it was for me to create our first collection. How do I turn an idea in my head into a physical garment that someone else actually wants to wear? I’d get on calls with factories, scour fabric stores in the garment district, sketch designs, video chat Sasha, sort through buttons in trim stores, fill out paper work to clear our fabric in customs. On their own, each of those efforts felt haphazard. It didn’t feel like picking out buttons on 36th street was getting me any closer to my vision. Completing customs paperwork was tedious and uninspiring. But of course, all that fiddling around coalesced and ultimately brought Mixed’s first collection to life.
When you’re in the thick of the creation process, it can be difficult to recognize how the tiny moments of today contribute to the big vision of tomorrow. I often wonder, how can Early Bird become an iconic, instantly recognizable print like that of Marimekko? From where I’m standing now, it feels unimaginable that Mixed could reach that level of traction.
But then I see some of you abbreviate our Farmers Market print to FM in your IG stories or in DMs to me—it’s a teeny tiny example, but it’s a sign that we’re building a sort of shared language. And those are the small signs I’ve learned to recognize along the way. Then there are the more obvious signs of life—seeing Alysia Reiner wear our FM jumpsuit on nbc or our Apple Blossom maxi at the Nasdaq.
The wider the gap between where you are now and where you want to be, the harder it is to see how the in-between moments matter. The trick is to learn how to notice the wins—and not just the big, flashy ones, those are easy to spot—but the more subtle, everyday nudges that tell you you’re on the right path. With time, those moments coalesce, the vision develops itself, and you along with it.
Thank you all for being a part of our journey as it unfolds. As always, we’re in that juicy space of uncertainty and not knowing—only now, with less fear and more gratitude for the opportunity to continue writing our own story.
Cheers!
Nasrin