I graduated from the journalism faculty of Moscow State University, specialized invisual communications. For a long time she was engaged in graphic design and advertising, led several large projects as an account manager. And always on freelance. It so happened that I never worked for someone - only for myself. Of course, there were also periods of stagnation, when all the projects were handed over, and new ones did not appear yet ... At this time, worrying about the lack of business, I sent out resumes to advertising agencies and design studios. But after a few weeks, interesting customers appeared on the horizon, new projects, and the desire to sit in the office went away like a bad dream.
A photo: Elizabeth's personal archiveIn general, I was pleased with this way of life. Each project brought acquaintance with interesting people, always taught something new. But at one point I started visiting ideas to make my own project that would bring people joy and benefit. But what? I had no idea ...
Sew a pillow as a gift
One day my husband's sister asked for two as a giftpillows on the new sofa. The brief was simple and clear: orange square pillows made from soft natural fabric. It would seem so much easier: buy and give. But it was not there! We climbed all the online stores and did not find anything suitable: either there was no desired color, or the fabric seemed bad, or the price was equal to the cost of a new sofa.
1/5Фото: Home MelodyФото: Home MelodyФото:Home Melody Photo: Home Melody Photo: Home Melody Why not make a collection of cool pillows, my husband and I thought. The idea was supported by my mother and sister. We are all creative people, we began to invent, look for fabrics, decoration. We agreed with a familiar dressmaker, sewed the first pillowcases. There was no business plan, none of us took this matter seriously. It was a hobby, which was given no more time than the main job allowed. They decided to sell through an online store. Fortunately, I worked with many programmers: they helped me with the site, I drew the design myself. The name was born out of nowhere - it just appeared, and the puzzle came together. As a melody is composed of notes, a house is woven from details. Each person has his own melody, and there are no similar ones. Home Melody! To show our first first collection, we organized a party, invited friends and acquaintances. In a few days, the first pillows flew apart, and we continued to create with enthusiasm. Two months later, the site started working, the first order through the online store appeared a month later.
Difficult choice
Then we began to actively promote the site, investedmoney in contextual advertising, made an account on Facebook - and off you go! The project began to occupy more and more time, and a year later the moment came when one of us had to make a choice: either Home Melody, or the main work. I made the choice, because the idea was mine. As a result, I brought the current projects to the end and plunged into the world of pillows. I worked 12 hours a day and at first I did a lot myself: I made up the design, supervised the work of the tailors, took and collected orders, took pictures of new pillows, filled the site, was engaged in promotion. On top of that, if couriers let me down, I or my husband delivered orders.
Go to tv
First, we promoted the project through Facebook,used contextual advertising, published articles on the online resources on interior and decor. At some point, we were ordered pillows for the program “Clean Work” on REN TV - this is how our collaboration with television began.
1 / 5Photo: Home MelodyPhoto: Home MelodyPhoto: Home MelodyPhoto: Home MelodyPhoto: Home Melody The next program was “Fazenda” on Channel One, with which we worked for two years, then the “Housing Question” and “Country Response” on NTV. It was a success: Home Melody has become a recognizable brand! Now we sell hundreds of pillows monthly through our own online store and some decor shops throughout Russia and in Belarus. We also make collections for other brands, we order pillows for cafes, restaurants, hotels.
Business in crisis
In the first weeks of the crisis, sales fell significantly, butafter a couple of months they returned to their previous level. The fall of the ruble played into our hands: our main competitors at that time were European pillow brands, whose products were imported by large stores. In just six months, the cost of these pillows doubled, and buyers began to prefer us to European competitors. We did our best to keep prices at an adequate level, despite the fact that the cost of fabrics and accessories has also doubled. Currently, we occupy a middle position in the market between premium brands and the interior mass market. Our prime cost is high, we make all the pillows by hand, and we cannot compete in price with the products of large companies, sewn in a production line in China. But this is not our goal either. It's more important for us to maintain high quality and offer cool designs for a reasonable price. Speaking of design. Collection ideas often come up naturally. For example, when I am visiting, I often think: what kind of pillows would I use for this at home? I start to fantasize, I always proceed from the interests and taste of the owners. I am also very inspired by travel. I come from each new place with a bunch of new thoughts and plans. Just returned from Sweden with a collection fully formed in my head and sketches (of course, in a Scandinavian style). Photos of users on social networks, especially on Instagram, also often help.
Fear nothing
Anyone who also wants to open his startup, I wouldadvised not to be afraid to leave the comfort zone. Only there, beyond the usual, real life. The advice is trivial, but few are solved. Go to success in small steps. When you think about a new business and see how much you have to do, it scares, oppresses and deprives you of the desire to do anything at all. Therefore, set a goal for yourself, break into small stages and go to your dream step by step.
