Epaulet shop - Official Affiliate thread

[jah786]

At the height of my business in 2013 -2015 we had 13 employees 9 of which were full time. we sold to about 17 doors across the globe and everything seemed great. at that time I was running a business with absolutely ZERO debt.
A Slew of things happened
first a family problem that affected my work
then missing a season in Paris and losing some accounts
then sales online slowed...…...I kept the employees working, I was loyal to them. then the Cash ran out, we had good credit so to keep them working for the first time we borrowed money...……….I figured things would turn around we would grow again and pay the money back, the last thing I wanted was to lose skilled workers many of which I trained for years to produce the kind of clothing we did.
When online sales slowed we started doing deeper sales, and suddenly the cash was not coming fast enough to cover everything.
then our lease at Industry City was up and the Landlords wanted triple what we were paying. We couldn't and didn't want to do that, and so we moved...………..to a terrible location.
We could have easily folded, I had to send people home.
the one trump card I had was that I always had an idea to solve a problem, and for the FIRST TIME, I had none...….
I cried before my staff one day, and sent people home. But...……………..good ole Z is one of the most resilient, so I decided I was going to take the long road out of hell.

now we have 5 employees and I am more at peace, more happier. I have a MUCH bigger space, with a long lease and cheap rent. My friends and I took this shabby old space and built it to where it is now, nice store, almost 700 sq/ft and factory space of 1600 sq/ft
Customers are coming locally, especially WOMEN, so we are taking care of them, Online business is returning to good health, and most importantly we are almost debt free again...…….
All in all, adaptability is key, read, research and react.
I also think brands and stores should work together for the good of all. Its not easy but working together makes it more easier and a more enjoyable journey.

Sorry for the long post in your thread @Epaulet but I think sometimes people miss how a simple thing, even one that seemed good, if not managed well can put a business in a tailspin.

thanks for sharing, really cool hearing your story, the ups and the downs and hopefully the flat ground now.

 

[tricky]

@Epaulet that coat in your IG story might be the coolest thing you've put out! Can't wait for more info on it.

 

[Epaulet]

Rad, thanks dude! Super proud of this piece. It’s our Sashiko Parka, and it’s a really special design with seamless body drape (no shoulder or chest seams) and this big integrated hood. Planned retail is $345 and it works great as a unisex piece too.

This is the final fit sample... it still needs buttons. The drawstring is removable if you don’t like it. It’s a bit too tight on Jay as the sample is a 38 and he typically wears a 40.

How do you guys like the color? I don’t usually work in this charcoal/vintage black tone, but I think it’s pretty dope.

 

[L.I.T.]

Really dig the parka. Collar in the front reminds me of the teba going into the hood.

 

[nd1nd2nd3]

The charcoal color would be a selling point for me - I already have an indigo sashiko Doyle, and another indigo jacket would be redundant.

 

[jischwar]

The charcoal color would be a selling point for me - I already have an indigo sashiko Doyle, and another indigo jacket would be redundant.

Agreed, me as well.

 

[goalaso]

Please run that parka in 36 . The color is OK. Personally would prefer slightly less of a stone wash effect on that color, as it starts to look slightly faux vintage. But it's tough to tell in photos; I usually find the sashiko colors always a bit darker in real life than the photos.

 

[macjedi]

Please run that parka in 36 . The color is OK. Personally would prefer slightly less of a stone wash effect on that color, as it starts to look slightly faux vintage. But it's tough to tell in photos; I usually find the sashiko colors always a bit darker in real life than the photos.

I saw an early sample of the parka a couple weeks ago and it’s INSANELY AWESOME! The faded black looked really good IRL!!!

I wear a 34-36 … +1 on a few small sizes ?? Maybe a preorder?

 

[Epaulet]

Please run that parka in 36 . The color is OK. Personally would prefer slightly less of a stone wash effect on that color, as it starts to look slightly faux vintage. But it's tough to tell in photos; I usually find the sashiko colors always a bit darker in real life than the photos.

Yup we’ll definitely do 36 on this! I think we’re gonna run this exact shade — it’s actually just the usual amount of pumice wash distressing. It looks awesome in person, I have some natural light pics too.

I saw an early sample of the parka a couple weeks ago and it’s INSANELY AWESOME! The faded black looked really good IRL!!!

I wear a 34-36 … +1 on a few small sizes ?? Maybe a preorder?

Definitely a 36 for you, so it’s all good. These have the Doyle sleeve cuff for anyone who needs to shorten the sleeves — it would be really easy to do.

If one color is this dark Gunmetal, what would you guys like to see for the second?

 

[macjedi]

Yup we’ll definitely do 36 on this! I think we’re gonna run this exact shade — it’s actually just the usual amount of pumice wash distressing. It looks awesome in person, I have some natural light pics too.



Definitely a 36 for you, so it’s all good. These have the Doyle sleeve cuff for anyone who needs to shorten the sleeves — it would be really easy to do.

If one color is this dark Gunmetal, what would you guys like to see for the second?

I’d really love to see that spruce make another appearance!!! Of course, I’m also a sucker for anything brown. ?

 

[goalaso]

It's close enough to an M65 silhouette, but different enough with the sashiko, that olive drab could be more interesting than typical (ie like the tone that was called "taupe" in the recent American Trench linen doyle; haven't seen the spruce color in person).
Or a deep burgundy or ochre/umber without pumice wash distressing would make it feel like a safari *** ring jacket almost.

 

[Epaulet]

Agreed... I think a washed out green, close to spruce or “Old Dirty Olive” would give it that Fishtail Parka Quadrophenia vibe.

The feedback on IG has been huge... so exited for this thing!

 

[goalaso]

Agreed... I think a washed out green, close to spruce or “Old Dirty Olive” would give it that Fishtail Parka Quadrophenia vibe.

The feedback on IG has been huge... so exited for this thing!

Exactly.

 

[Sartorium]

Rad, thanks dude! Super proud of this piece. It’s our Sashiko Parka, and it’s a really special design with seamless body drape (no shoulder or chest seams) and this big integrated hood. Planned retail is $345 and it works great as a unisex piece too.

View attachment 1225159 View attachment 1225160

This is the final fit sample... it still needs buttons. The drawstring is removable if you don’t like it. It’s a bit too tight on Jay as the sample is a 38 and he typically wears a 40.

How do you guys like the color? I don’t usually work in this charcoal/vintage black tone, but I think it’s pretty dope.

This looks great. In theory is there some sort of waxing you could do (or we could do at home) to the fabric to make it water resistant? This thing has great PNW vibes but we need it to be downpour-graded.

 

[goalaso]

@Epaulet if it's not out of line to possibly suggest another pre-order/MTO fabric for Sinclair/Doyle, a wide wale golden chestnut corduroy would be great. I recall the unique blue, uneven corduroy fabric in which you did one of the first Sinclairs, and it was intriguing. Wide wale, while not as rare, would be interesting in a similar vein, esp in a more vibrant chestnut than the khaki cord doyle you did awhile back