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 for a new sofa. The brief was simple and clear: orange square pillows made of soft natural fabric. It would seem much simpler: buy and give. But it was not so! We scoured all the online stores and did not find anything suitable: either the right color was not available, or the fabric seemed bad, or the price was equal to the cost of a new sofa.
1/5Photo: Home MelodyPhoto: Home MelodyPhoto:Home MelodyPhoto: Home MelodyPhoto: Home MelodyWhy not make a collection of cool pillows, my husband and I thought. My mother and sister supported the idea. We are all creative people, we started to invent, look for fabrics, trim. We agreed with a familiar seamstress, sewed the first pillowcases. There was no business plan, none of us took this business seriously. It was a hobby, to which we devoted no more time than our main job allowed. We 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 came out of nowhere - it just appeared, and the puzzle came together. Just as a melody is made up of notes, a house is woven from details. Each person has their own melody, and there are no similar ones. The melody of the house is Home Melody! To show our first collection, we organized a party, invited friends and acquaintances. In a few days the first pillows were gone, and we continued to create with enthusiasm. The website was up and running in two months, and the first order through the online store appeared a month later.
A difficult choice
Then we started actively promoting the site,invested money in contextual advertising, created a Facebook account – and off we went! The project began to take up more and more time, and a year later there came a time when one of us had to make a choice: either Home Melody or our main job. I made the choice, because the idea was mine. As a result, I completed the current projects and plunged headlong into the world of pillows. At first, all of Home Melody's profits went into development: we bought new fabrics, hired new employees, improved the website, invested in advertising. I worked 12 hours a day and at first did a lot myself: I came up with designs, supervised the work of tailors, accepted and collected orders, photographed new pillows, filled the website, and did promotion. On top of that, if the couriers let us down, my husband or I delivered the orders.
Go on TV
At first we promoted the project through Facebook,used contextual advertising, published articles on online resources dedicated to interiors and decor. At some point, we were ordered pillows for the program "Clean Work" on REN TV - this is how our cooperation with television began.
1/5Photo: Home MelodyPhoto: Home MelodyPhoto:Home MelodyPhoto: Home MelodyPhoto: Home MelodyThe next program was "Fazenda" on Channel One, with which we worked for two years, then "Kvartirny Vopros" and "Dachny Otvet" on NTV. It was a success: Home Melody became a recognizable brand! Now we sell hundreds of pillows monthly through our own online store and some decor stores throughout Russia and Belarus. We also make collections for other brands, we receive orders for pillows for cafes, restaurants, hotels.
Business in crisis
In the first weeks of the crisis, sales fell noticeably,but after a couple of months we returned to the 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 customers began to prefer us to European competitors. We did everything to keep prices at an adequate level, despite the fact that the cost of fabric and accessories also doubled. Currently, we occupy a middle position in the market between premium brands and the interior mass market. Our cost price is high, we make all the pillows by hand, and we cannot compete in price with the products of large companies sewn on a flow production line in China. But this is not our goal. It is more important for us to maintain high quality and offer a cool design for reasonable money. By the way, about design. Ideas for a collection often arise by themselves. For example, when I visit, I often think: what pillows would I use for this house? I start fantasizing, always proceeding from the interests and taste of the owners. I am also very inspired by traveling. From each new place I come back with a bunch of new thoughts and plans. I just returned from Sweden with a fully formed collection in my head and sketches (of course, in the Scandinavian style). Photos of users on social networks, especially Instagram, often help.
Fear nothing
To everyone who also dreams of opening their own startup, II would advise not to be afraid to leave your comfort zone. Only there, beyond the usual, is real life. The advice is banal, but few people dare. Go to success in small steps. When you think about a new business and see how much you need to do, it scares, depresses and deprives you of the desire to do anything at all. Therefore, set a goal for yourself, break it down into small stages and go towards your dream step by step.
