Global Attic A Year Review, 2

Once I returned from the Spark & Hustle 2018 conference, I immediately started to devise a plan of action. To address the visibility issues, I started to record videos of myself and share them on social media. I also started posting and engaging more frequently with our followers. This strategy resulted in a gradual, but steady increase in our followers. Next, I started to vend at local markets.

My first market was Randolph Street Market (RSM). Vending afforded me the opportunity to join a community of creative vendors who, like me, had a dream of being self-employed and were prepared to grind hard to realize their dreams. Vending also allowed me to meet incredible people, network, get feedback on our merchandise, work on my staging AND make sales!!! It was the perfect situation. Each month, I made more and more sales and received several compliments on our tent staging. My confidence grew like crazy and I actually started to believe that Global Attic had teeth.

We received so many compliments on our tent setup at Randolph Street Market.

By the end of the summer, I had sold items to customers who included stylists, interior designers, independent movie makers, and even the buyer for the hit FOX television show Empire! Global Attic had also developed a reputation for having one of the best tents at the Market!

Our custom-made in Bali feather and shell necklaces was featured on the hit television show Empire (S5, E8: Master of What Is Mine Own)!

Among our many highlights, in September Global Attic received nine ribbons for Best Booth, two ribbons for Best Booth Runner Up, and eight Top Picks for merchandise from the team of editors and designers who participated in RSM’s seventh annual Editor’s and Designer’s Choice for Charity event. Adding to this highlight, just this month I discovered that Tom Stringer Design Partners, one of my favorite Chicago design firms, had chosen our candle holders and feather wall décor in their list of favorites from the Choice for Charity event as well. Although I don’t do this for awards, it was a huge honor to receive this recognition for all of our hard work, especially when I consider the way the year began.

The collection of ribbons our tent and merchandise received at the Designer’s Choice for Charity event at RSM. So very proud and grateful!

Stumbled across this one day on Instagram and was pleasantly surprised and honored!!!

Not only was our market season a great success, but other aspects of the business also began to follow suit. We were able to find sources who could produce quality, custom-made products quickly and our online strategies to expand brand awareness/visibility began to bear fruit. We achieved our goal of reaching 1,500 followers on Instagram, organically. We were featured on Take Flyte.org for our charitable donations and on Fashion Trendsetter for our products. We were also contacted by a media buying company who wanted to include me in a feature they were doing on Chicago business women for OWN and Forbes magazines. I passed on the feature because I knew we weren’t ready for that kind of exposure at this juncture. However, I know that with continued passion and hard work we will soon be ready.