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Find Me Now: On Flourishing

Now, just a couple years into Find Me Now, Su and Stephanie reflect upon the growth, both personal and milestone-related, that has occurred in the short amount of time that has passed since the brand’s conception.

 

The mother-daughter duo sat down with office to discuss their partnership and bond, Find Me Now’s development, and what it means to be able to bring the Asian American experience to the forefront of the industry.

 

What did you learn from your past in fashion and your previous family brand that you restructured and improved this time around?

 

Stephanie — We went through a tremendous amount of personal and obviously professional growth from our previous business. I think one of the biggest takeaways was that, firstly, we wanted to design a product that had fundamental wearability. In our previous business, we did not have the luxury of dictating what kind of products to make. We were basically employed by massive retailers and they would dictate the direction of the collections and the direction of the designs. So in that sense, we lost our perspective as designers and that freedom to be able to work in that creative space. So I think when it comes to us creating our own branded identity, we want to make products that have fundamental wearability. If we don't feel like we are wearing the product for more than six to eight months out of the year, then we don't feel it's that necessary. Of course, we do follow seasons throughout the year. However, our product collection doesn't change so much from season to seasons. We are not trying to sell aspirational fashion. We're trying to celebrate the extraordinary in the everyday. At the end of the day, Find Me Now is super attainable. It is also super important to us to provide a transparent and ethical product to our customer.

 

I really appreciate this idea of avoiding aspirational fashion. It's important to emphasize that we have the resources for these things today, right now, at this moment. Going through the shift of losing your company, especially during the pandemic, must have been devastating. How did you both find the drive to push through and create again?

 

Stephanie — In our previous business, to be completely honest and transparent with you, we did lose everything — financially, personally, emotionally. We kind of just let it all go.

 

Which I'm sure was tough.

 

Stephanie — Super tough. But it was an incredible opportunity for us to see the potential and what we could do with nothing.

 

Yeah. It kind of opens up avenues that you wouldn't have thought of or discovered before.

 

Stephanie — And I think at the core, one of the fundamental mantras that we follow and something that we experience firsthand is that you really need to lose yourself to find yourself. That's really where the name came from because we truly lost ourselves in our previous business. We lost everything, but that's how we were able to turn it around and start over.

 

Seeing that as a positive instead of a negative — it takes a certain mindset. So that's really cool that you guys were able to find that because it can also be super discouraging and then you can get stuck in that feeling. I know that you guys prioritize working with a lot of women creators, how do you continue prioritizing that in the brand’s endeavors?

 

Stephanie — Just from a team perspective, I'd say 90% of our team is made up of women.

 

That's amazing.

 

Stephanie — And I would say a hundred percent of our partners, whether it's suppliers or sales reps or any kind of third party, they're actually all women as well.

 

 

You mentioned suppliers and I wanted to ask about your sourcing. What characteristics do you try to look for in certain materials that you ethically source for your collections? 

 

Stephanie — In our previous business, because we were working on such a mass scale, we have had experience working with all different kinds of suppliers. We fully have had firsthand experience working with unethical producers so it's a very clear line to us between what those two qualities of work look like. You don't really know one without knowing the other. Unethical production is when you simply don't know where your products are made and who's making them and you don't want to ask the questions. In those cases, no one is asking the questions about exactly what is going on. We used to live in China and we've had experience literally working on the factory floor, from fabric textile creation to fabric inspection. So this is such an important part of our storytelling and part of our content strategy at Find Me Now because a lot of fashion brands don't want to talk about what is really going on.

 

I love that now we're approaching a space where that's important to people. I feel like you have a really unique position in that way, being able to implement new things now based on your prior experiences. As an AAPI-owned brand, how do you champion for and convey certain messages about your identity through your clothing? 

 

Stephanie — I think the easiest way, and one of the most important ways for us, is through artist collaborations. We try to work with artists who are true artists in their form and because our specialty is in apparel, it's a harmonious partnership. We love truly collaborating with artists on a product level so that they can tell their story through our apparel.

 

How did it feel to be able to partner with other amazing AAPI designers and artists like Gica Tam and Jessica Tse of Notte for collaborations which will contribute to beneficial organizations? 

 

Stephanie — Last November, we decided that we wanted to come up with a small capsule collection to celebrate AAPI month and what it means to be Asian American to us. You know, there are a lot of different ways you can tell a story. But, for us, being Asian Americans, the immigration journey is such a big part of that identity and we wanted to tell that story in a whimsical way. We went about sourcing a lot of different kinds of local AAPI artists here in New York. We came across Gica and, fundamentally, her art is so whimsical.

 

It looks like a dream.

 

Stephanie — Yeah, and that's how we wanted to really tell this story of immigration and what it's like to be a first, second, third, or fourth-generation Asian American or any immigrant child, grandchild living in the U.S. Can I tell you a little more about the story behind the print?

 

Of course! 

 

Stephanie — We came to Gica with this concept and she came back to us with some visual stories. This one in particular is a bird flying through mountains of rice paddies. And the bird is actually transforming into this girl. It's kind of that story of immigration, where you are literally transformed along the way and so are all of your generations to come. They change and grow and evolve over time.

 

Su — And the moon is the focal point of the whole print — the inspiration.

 

 

It's kind of the guiding light. It's beautiful. Do you feel that your business relationship has strengthened your mother-daughter bond as well? 

 

Su — I want to take this one. I mean you're a child to a mother, right? As a mother, your child seems like they're always your child. But through our business relationship, I mean, she's my partner. So there, we had to have a learning and growing curve together. I'm not a mother here in this space. But at the same time, your habits don't just adjust right away. Sometimes I'd feel like, 'Okay, why don't you do what I'm asking?' So the role took some time, but I just feel very grateful. Even though, in the beginning, I was against running a business together.

 

You were? 

 

Su — I was, because I had been in fashion my whole life and she was doing something else. And then when she wanted to switch, I'm like, 'Oh, are you sure this is where you want to come?' She insisted that she wanted to and she believed in what she wanted to do. The fact that we can do something together and we are seeing good results is amazing.

 

Stephanie — Right. We have such a rewarding sense of purpose. I think one of the interesting things is that — I don't know if you feel this dynamic with your parents at all — but you reach this journey where you start parenting your own parents.

 

Oh yeah, it changes. I've noticed it as I'm getting older and I'm not a kid anymore — you have this different dynamic, and actually being able to feel that shift is interesting. 

 

Stephanie — A while back, on Friday nights, I'd be in my pajamas getting ready to watch a movie and my mom would be in her room. She'd be like a teenage girl getting ready to go out and there are clothes everywhere. And I'm like, I literally feel like I'm in Freaky Friday.'

 

I think it's really special. I mean, there aren't many people who get to do something like this with their mom or their dad. I know, Su, you said you were hesitant at first, but really being able to realize the importance of Stephanie's dreams is so special as well. In what ways are you two different and what ways are you alike, especially when it comes to creative decisions? 

 

Su — It's funny because I am the more technical person — I have that background and I do all the development. But Stephanie has incredible eyes. This is something that I knew since she was a little girl. Yeah. She will notice this teeny tiny thing; she's very detailed. So when it comes to our products, a lot of things come about because I find inspiration from her and the team. They are the ones who wear Find Me Now first. I wear our products a lot now because I think wearing them is so important to feel how they are and how you like them. Stephanie is the brand director, so she has ideas about how she wants to reach out to our community and I'm very inspired by that. I keep my ears and eyes open and just try to be present with what we are doing.

 

Stephanie — Yeah, I would say I'm always the one that's like, 'I wanna do this and I wanna do that,' and she's always the one that's like, 'Okay, this is what's actually doable.'

It's so important to be able to tell Asian American women that no matter what age, where they come from, or what language they speak — they can be anything they want.

 

 

I find that with a lot of creative duos like this, it usually falls that way. One person is the one with the crazy ideas and then there's one who's like, 'Okay, so this is how we can actually execute this.' As far as your personal cultural backgrounds, what is something that you guys are most prideful about and something that you wanted to convey through this collection?

 

Stephanie — For me, growing up, I did not have that many Asian American icons in the fashion space. I think that was a huge lack for me. And even culturally, in pop culture, in fashion, in music — across all industries, I just didn't really have that. It was hard for me to identify with that. So for Find Me Now as a brand, especially for this collection, it's so important for me to be able to tell Asian American women that no matter what age, where they come from, or what language they speak — they can be anything they want.

 

When you're younger and you see these archetypes and you're constantly wondering where you could fit into that, it's not easy. How do you plan to continue putting a spotlight on immigrant or first, second, third, fourth-generation voices through your future designs? 

 

Stephanie — I think it's just about continuously partnering and giving that opportunity to artists who represent this community and our voice within this space.

 

Su — We're going to continue sourcing different artists that we identify with on a personal level. And really also showing the next generation our heritage should be celebrated.

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