Better buckle up!

Love this sign we spotted over the weekend outside of Seattle, WA

Shaking up my own status quo: How I went from whiny "no" to unstoppable "yes"

“Here's to the crazy ones. The misfits. The rebels. The troublemakers. The round pegs in the square holes. The ones who see things differently. They're not fond of rules. And they have no respect for the status quo. You can quote them, disagree with them, glorify or vilify them. About the only thing you can't do is ignore them. Because they change things. They push the human race forward. And while some may see them as the crazy ones, we see genius. Because the people who are crazy enough to think they can change the world, are the ones who do.”

― Apple Inc.

It got to a point where I wasn’t invited to meetings anymore.  As the decisions came down and the to-do list itemized, my face would get whiter and whiter.  In terror, I repeated blindly, “it can’t be done.  It’s too much, we’ll never finish on time.” 

I’m somewhere in my mid-twenties, running sample rooms for some of NY’s hottest designers.  My job is to manage a team of patternmakers and sewers to transform a designer’s sketch into the clothes that ultimately went down the runway.  By the time fashion week was upon us, we had been working 7 days a week into the small hours of the night for weeks on end, living off of a rotation of delivery services for meals and starved of the company of our friends and family.  

The final days before the show were the most challenging emotionally.  Run down, my reaction to being overwhelmed manifested as frustration – this is impossible!  Why am I being set up to fail?!  Sometimes I would lock myself away in the bathroom, crawl into a ball on the floor, and just cry.

But my fear of deep humiliation if the clothes weren’t ready for the runway was stronger than my conviction that I couldn’t do it.

So I sat in the meetings and repeated “no, no, no” until I wore out my welcome, and then, faking confidence as best I could, set to work with my team to do everything we possibly could to try and get it all done. 

Amazingly enough, every single season we put a gorgeous collection down the runway. 

After many years of this routine, with the bar set higher and higher each season, I had become a broken record of “can’t” and “no.”  And worse yet, my track record was appalling – I had been wrong every single time.  My limited belief in myself was making me deeply unhappy, damaging my credibility with my peers, and holding me back from career superstardom.

So when I took a big job to run product development with an overseas team, I challenged my internal status quo and decided to go from “no” to “yes.”  Now it was my turn to ask people to do more, faster and for less cost than they ever thought possible.  “I know it's crazy, but you can do it,” I would promise, drawing on deep reserves of resourcefulness and patience learned from my runway days.  “How about we try it again this way…” 

Once I had convinced myself that I could accomplish anything I set my mind to, it was easy to get my team on board, and together, knock our goals out the park.  Within a year, I was negotiating with monolithic factories to rebuild their machines, rethink their minimum order requirements, meet aggressive calendar dates and slash costs.

With that magical 3-letter word, “yes,” I transformed into an unstoppable force to be reckoned with.  “Here comes trouble!” the Chief of Operations would cry out when he heard the click-clack of my heels approaching his office.  

“Yes, what do you need me to do?”

6 STEPS TO BECOMING A TROUBLEMAKER:

• Observe yourself - red flag any time you hold yourself back with “no” or “I can’t do that.”
•  Challenge your set of assumptions that lead you to “no” – are they valid?  Play it out in your head – what would happen if you said “yes” instead? 
• Fake it ‘till you make it: faking confidence in my abilities didn't have the same magical results as truly believing in it, but was still an incredibly effective tool and led to a string of victories to lean on.
• Practice!  I found that saying “yes” is MUCH harder than saying “no.”  The confidence to back it takes time to develop (8 years in my case).  So be patient with yourself and take baby steps. 
• Save your “no” for when you really mean it.  When I made a habit of saying “yes,” I found my “no” became very powerful. 
• Best of all, let the joy and the passion of your new confidence come through – it’s contagious and inspiring. 

FINAL THOUGHT:

An art teacher of mine in high school, Sr. Anne, had a lot of students tell her they were not artists.  “I can’t even draw a straight line!” they would say. 

“Well thank goodness,” she would reply, “because there is nothing more boring than a straight line.  Now give me the best curves, zigs and zags you have.”

Felt scraps put the the cutest use

This month we are launching a new program to re-use and recycle all the colorful fabric scraps that come from manufacturing our pillows.

They are perfect for all sorts of community art programs - from schools to hospitals.  We've already begun our outreach and will start shipping out USPS Large Flat Rate boxes next week to several programs in the tri-state area.

If you think you would be able to use our scraps for your program, please send us an email at info@alexandraferguson.com.  The fabric scraps are free, and all we ask is that you cover the $16.85 shipping cost.

Meanwhile, to get you started with some ideas, check out these adorable little Easter chicks made by alexandra ferguson Roving Ambassador, Charlotte (Alexandra's mom)!

Small business holidays - Post #1: Peek...aren't you curious?

I am in the incredibly fortunate position of being an aunt to possibly the cutest 2 year old little boy named Ben.  

Now, finding cute boys clothing is so much harder than finding cute girls clothing.  Which means that every time I do find it, I simply have to buy it.  Christmas around the corner is a technical excuse.

This past weekend, I went on a store visit to Treasure & Bond in SoHo where I discovered Peek and bought this {made in the USA} T-shirt that says "Brave men run in my family."  

It's especially perfect as Ben's dad, my brother Max, is a Captain in the U.S. Army, and I'm proud to say, especially being Veteran's Day today, that nothing could be more true.

They only seem to have large sizes on the Peek website or if you are in NYC, you should definitely check out Treasure & Bond.    Extra cool about Treasure is that they donate 100% of profits to charities benefiting children in NYC.

And we just shipped them their opening order of alexandra ferguson pillows.  So obviously, their 'cool' factor just got epic.

Gift Tags by alexandra ferguson

Gift with purchase!

The experience of unwrapping a gift can be one of the most delightful things this time of year.  So we thought we'd add a little alexandra ferguson sass to it with our super fun gift tag stickers.

You know the little side-explanations you say when you hand your gift to someone?  Those were the inspiration behind these tags.   Have fun with them - I think you'll find the perfect tag for each gift on your list this year.

And the best news yet is that we are including a sheet of them FREE with every order on alexandraferguson.com, from now until December 20th.

Small business holidays - Post #1, Charley Harper Dining Ware

Gift buying is one of my favorite things to do.  Often I'll be thinking of clever ideas months in advance. I listen up year-round for clues and ideas, and think carefully about what item matches each person's personality, and then scour the market for the most beautiful version of it.

Not lying - I bought a stocking stuffer for my mom in August.  It's a velvet beaded Union Jack tree ornament I found in London during the Olympics.  She is English, and her New York home has a serious case of Anglo-fever.  So now the christmas tree can be branded as well.  Trust me - it's perfect.

(She's not very high tech - low risk I've just spoiled the fun for her ;)

This year, I'm adding a layer of fun and making a pledge to do all my holiday shopping with small businesses.

My parameters are self-defined.  Generally I want to shop independent retailers and e-commerce sites (like the ones I sell to) and buy products from small designers (like me).  Either/or, good.  Both? BAM!

Big box stores with mass produced goods?  Not this year.

I love nothing more than a challenge, and I think my friends and family will get the most interesting and fun gifts ever.

So, more things I love:
1. Dining ware & tabletop accessories
2. Birds in art
3. Mid-century modern aesthetics, bold graphics, color blocking

Conclusion: Charley Harper is one of my most favorite artists, and WHAM! Todd Oldham partners with Fishs Eddy (incredible NYC eclectic dishes store) to put Charley Harper images on glasses, plates and trays.

I left their email blast announcement open on my computer for two days to let my pitter-patter heart calm down.


Don't forget mugs, dishtowels and aprons.  (Seriously, you even did an apron?)

Cereal bowl fetish?  Meet Big Fish.


Available for sale on charleyharperartstudio.com or click here

(Wait - is this series of blogs going to turn into a list of things I'd like my friends to buy for me??  No, no, promise...it's just that sometimes I find the gift before I find the recipient...and keep in mind, I do include myself on my list of people to buy presents for...and I'm OK with all that.)

I love this place

I'll admit it.  I didn't take Sandy seriously until Monday night around 10pm when 90mph winds finally knocked our power out.

Take away a girl's ability to blow dry her hair, and it's amazing how fast she will start paying attention.

Suddenly starved of never-ending television news feed, the fear of not knowing took over.  I lay in bed listening to the wind, waiting for the ominous crack of "that tree" to come crashing through the roof above my head.

In the morning, a friend called on my dwindling cell phone to report in - the subways, the tunnels, the fires, the failed generator in the hospital...described in vivid, horrifying detail.  "I have to go.  My battery is dying."  I didn't want to hear any more.  It was only 8am - what else was yet to be reported?  I felt guilty for being so cavalier about the threats all weekend.

OK, Sandy.  You win this one.

All morning, as the pictures and the stories unfolded, I felt on the brink of tears with a vague nausea in my stomach.  Surviving the storm suddenly seemed like the easy part - now it looked like long dreary weeks lay ahead of us to slowly put the city back together.  Adrenaline rush over, I yearned for normal life.

But then something cool happened.  Then the victories started coming out.  Amidst the rubble, cool things were happening - things that were BETTER than if Sandy hadn't visited.

My downtown NYC friends without power or water migrated north, camping out together, chatting the evening away over bottles of wine.  Someone told me they had to reschedule a very stressful interview in Florida, which meant 5 more weeks of angst, but also 5 more weeks to prepare, and next time she won't have to rush back so she is going to make a holiday out of it.  My friend recovering from surgery last week got to spend this week working calmly from home, healing and relaxing.

For me, our *awesome* New York Times feature in the Sunday Styles section had a captive audience all day Monday, on top of Sunday, and we had near record breaking sales.

And suddenly, with so much gone, I felt overwhelmed with gratitude for the things I had left.  My home still has no power, but thankfully my studio was powered up.  So we plan to take hot showers and cook meals here for the next week or so until the grid comes back on.  It's inconvenient.  But rather than complain, I find myself thanking the Universe all day long.  Staples was open and I got to buy printer ink - Yes!! Printer ink!!

There are so many tragic stories from Sandy's devastation.  So many people who have it so much worse than me, and my heart goes out to them.  But I also believe that from every tragedy, comes something good.  Even if it's a tiny thing.  And it doesn't make up for all the bad things, but maybe it offsets it a little bit.  Like meeting a new friend.  Or spending evenings by candlelight talking with your family, instead of glazed over the television.  Or simply experiencing the sincere kindness that people show one another in desperate times.  Sandy, like other tragedies before her, has brought out the best in us.  I'm proud to be a New Yorker, and I'm reminded how much I love this place.

So, in a strange way, thanks Sandy.