The Beginning Journey of RMGS
Glitz and Glamour. Those are two words that most people think of first when you tell them you own a clothing boutique. Thoughts swirl to clothes, shoes, accessories, and all things luxurious and lavish. Let us tell you, babes… it is not all glam all of time. To get started I feel like we need to take it back…
…Alllll the way back. Vanessa and I have thrown around the idea of starting a business in fashion for years. I moved to the east side for fashion school and Vanessa has been a creative with an eye for style since she was a kid. The woman used to make her own clothes as a teen. How cool is that? It’s easy to see why we would consider this our calling, but the timing never seemed “right.”
Fast Forward to 2020 and we were in the middle of a pandemic and stay at home order with nothing but time on our hands. We began designing, crafting, and executing custom pieces when Vanessa posed a very serious question - “Why don’t we do this for real? We both love fashion, we both love creating, we can make a business out of this.” From there, what would become Rebel Mind Gypsy Soul (Rebel Gypsy, LLC) was born.
After much research, pulling our hair out, and asking around - we filed our business name with the state of Michigan in October of 2020. This started us down the path of choosing our sales platform and building our site and brand. Pouring over product, working on custom pieces, and stocking up for our launch. We did this without financial backing, marketing, or a web page designer. It was just us - putting the time in after our daily 9 to 5’s and figuring it out along the way.
In March of 2021 we launched our website and we were absolutely elated as you can imagine. We did the thing! Not long after our launch, we became aware that another individual in Michigan had recently switched their name to Rebel Gypsy and filed for a trademark. The elation quickly felt like deflation. What were we to do now? Our name is special to us and we didn’t want to lose it, but we also couldn’t afford the legal representation to fight it. So we did what anyone would do - we got some tequila, got mad, and got creative with re-branding. Thus, Rebel Gypsy became Rebel Mind Gypsy Soul. A phoenix from the ashes, if you will.
When looking back, we have started a small business from the ground up, built a website, learned different marketing techniques and the wholesale boutique market. We have navigated trademark laws and filed one of our own, witnessed projects evolve from an idea to a physical piece, and expanded our product catalog exponentially. We have been on a podcast, networked at markets, and are continuing to build upon the foundation we have set. And don’t get me wrong, with all the HARD work we have also had a LOT of fun, laughs, and tequila. ALL WITHIN A YEAR!
Just don’t let the glitz and glam of the outside looking in fool you, babes. It’s hard work! It’s a full time job on top of our full time jobs. It can be exhausting and frustrating at times. Outside of all of the pretty things - business still needs ‘tending to! Show grace to your local small businesses, support their endeavors, and remember that behind the “add to cart” are people putting hours into bringing you the best experience! We appreciate EVERY SINGLE ONE OF YOU. Each purchase; like, share, comment, shout out, or word of mouth referral means the absolute world to small businesses like ours. We could not do this without you. Every high; low, twist, or tun has brought us to where we are - two best friends LIVING our dream of being business owners within the fashion world, and our own bosses. THANK YOU for joining us on this wild ride!
Be on the look out for more blog posts to come. We can’t wait to share more of our world with you!
LOVE TO ALL
LOU & V