The Assemblist - Letter 01
BRAND ASSEMBLY WAS ESSENTIALLY CREATED TO HELP EMERGING DESIGNERS GET THEIR PRODUCT TO MARKET. WE'VE DESIGNED AN ECOSYSTEM THAT COMES FROM THE BACKEND ALL THE WAY TO THE RETAIL STORE BY PROVIDING THE NECESSARY INFRASTRUCTURE FOR THESE EMERGING DESIGNERS.
The opening of the Brand Assembly Square is such an important initiative because a lot of brands are looking for something new. Everything has become so antiquated in terms of showing a collection here in New York, so we wanted to have a disruptive model where brands can show their collection but also have ownership of their own sales. We'd like to think we're essentially providing a home for everybody - these brands can really reach all of the buyers that they need to in one space. (We hope to also expand these spaces into other cities or even multiple places in New York!).
In assembling this next phase of Brand Assembly it's amazing to see how far we've come. When we launched we had a unified vision that catered to one thing, by providing logistics and operations to small designers and then similarly to a side project we started our trade-show, Brand Assembly LA which has really grown. The mission was to create a fun and inviting atmosphere for brands and buyers to come during markets. We really want to cultivate a community by promoting emerging designers and give them a platform to be noticed, which we have been able to do.
We've really been able to highlight these emerging designers and that's really what the Brand Assembly Square is all about. The conversation comes down to one thing: Community. We want this space to build a community, as the landscape has changed in the industry and now everybody is working together. There's never been a better or more necessary time to come together to really get a product out there and recognized by buyers. We almost consider this space to be a community center for sales-people, designers, stylists and any creatives who are the industry and are looking to utilize this space.
For the rest of the year we have a lot of goals: For starters we'd love to have an open house to invite industry figures including editors and buyers to the Brand Assembly Square. We'll have our seasonal LA trade-show with nearly a 100 brands on the roster. We're also revamping the aesthetic of the show with a few fun elements, so stay tuned for more on that as well! Shortly after we're teaming up with Production Showroom for a dedicated press event in October (we're almost hand-in-hand in a sense!) as a lot of the designers we have in our assembly belong to the Production Showroom database. As the year comes to a close we'll more than likely be catching our breath, planning another pre-market event and jet-setting across the U.S. to investigate where we can start assembling next.
When all is said and done, assembling to us means community and curation. We are curating brands that are similar to one another but don't directly compete. To be able to assemble that is really like a puzzle in essence! I personally gravitate towards certain brands that love what they do. The designers that we are assembling are truly passionate: They have fun products and look at their process with a fun approach. In essence I am assembling many of my friends, and while I don't know all of them personally, by the time we go through this first market season I expect we'll come out on the other end as a tight-knit group.
WE ALWAYS WANT THIS TO BE FUN. BRAND ASSEMBLY IS A TRUE PASSION FOR US AND WE HOPE SOON, FOR YOU TOO.
- HILLARY FRANCE, CO-FOUNDER AND CEO OF BRAND ASSEMBLY