When you start a brand in 2020, jobless and sleeping in your high school bedroom, writing STREET GRANDMA’S 3rd annual NYE roundup is SURREAL. This year proved particularly interesting for us. During years 1 and 2, Devin and I felt like newborn lambs birthed on the cement floors of a Dover Street Market. Cold, ignorant, and intimidated, surrounded by hypebeasts, fit offs, and creative directors. But this year we feel like we found somewhat of a footing. We took what we learned last year, how to push past perfectionism, work through creative blocks, and take creative risks, and used it to push us towards the one thing I can finally say we are (kind of) doing… growth! This year, we launched 2 collections, found our core silhouettes (through lots of trial and error), collaborated with a retail store in NY, got featured in the LA Times, and opened our own highschool-bedroom-meets-grandmother’s-house inspired showroom in LA.
After a year like 2023, we are proud to say this no longer feels like a small project. We are growing in our confidence and ability to say what it really is: an expression of who we are, that it's something we were missing in fashion in LA and beyond, how we intend to fill that gap by providing high quality, ethically made garments, giving a name to an unspoken corner of fashion that so many of us inhabit, and hoping to fill that gap with “that looks like street grandma.”
A few months ago, shortly after our article in the LA Times Image Makers was released, Devin called me to reflect. We hadn’t really discussed it since we were invited to share our brand story in July, which naturally, because we are suspicious and in such disbelief we thought, “this has to be an elaborate scam??” Luckily, it was real, and a very special moment. She had call to say, “Don’t you feel lucky? Out of the thousands of the well established, and well thought out brands in LA, they chose us.” I remember not knowing how to respond. Lucky? Is that how I would describe how I feel? I mean, we persisted, we iterated, we marketed, we planned, and we worked. Maybe I would say... “blessed”? But why does that feel different than “lucky”?
Upon reflection, I do feel lucky. I feel lucky that people are ready to receive something we’re passionate about making: oversized silhouettes with smart and playful design details. I feel lucky that we operate in a creative mecca like Los Angeles. I feel lucky that we’ve met people who are willing to say “yes”, when we build the courage to ask. Luck doesn’t diminish the work, it’s more of a serendipitous equation, and I hope that we’ll always work to be ready with the right skills when the opportune moment is at the door.
As we look to the next year, we’re excited to explore new projects, and PLAY more! We hope to make more of our tried and true pieces in new colors, fabrics and patterns. We hope to make more silly, one-off items based off of a silly idea someone had. We hope to give customers more opportunities to layer their outfits, to add more to their uniform. We hope to build relationships with more retailers and meet more people that are looking for brands to meet their needs as a customer, and most importantly meet more of you in our showroom!
We cannot thank you enough for following along, for trusting in us to buy and wear our products, for giving us your feedback and for helping us grow. We are excited and hopeful to see what the new year brings. For us, it means time to ideate on new styles and laugh with each other, and we cannot thank you enough for being the reason STREET GRANDMA will be here in 2024.
Xx,
Andrea + Devin