CHINWAG: with Ali from Feather & Noise | Melbourne Fashion Photographer
Melbourne Fashion Photographer
CHINWAG: with Ali Long from Feather & Noise
Where do I even begin with this powerhouse of a woman?
Every time I interact with Ali, I am in total awe of her professionalism, her capabilities, her multi-tasking, her management skills, her fashion design skills, ok ok… just everything!
I absolutely LOVE Ali’s story, of how she came to be the owner/founder of Melbourne’s fastest growing fashion label, Feather & Noise. And I am beyond stoked that Ali has taken the time out of her busy schedule to answer some questions that I think you guys will *really* resonate with.
I have had the (absolute) pleasure of working with Ali and her team on a couple of shoots now, and each time I walked away feeling excited, happy, motivated, welcomed, included and just really… loved.
Working with Feather & Noise was one of the biggest highlights of 2017 for me, and it gives me great pleasure to be able to share a little bit of Ali with you, because she is someone you want to know about 🙂
- Let’s start with the deep questions… You are a new addition in a crayon box, which colour would you be? Blush without a doubt! It’s soft and feminine without being lost in a crowd! Plus blonde’s always look great in blush & a good half of F+N business is built on blush! Along with my huge new blush bean bag addition to my house!
- Why did you start your business? Because a majority of my friends would always borrow my wardrobe, HA! I dressed my girlfriends for every event they ever went to & was the bestie that turned up with 7 outfits for everyone to choose from! So apart from all of that it was really because I was a new Mum, maternity leave was coming to an end, I lived and breathed fashion and had spent 13 years being a buyer, a merchandiser & a senior sales rep. I knew the industry well and had a genuine love for making women feel amazing in the clothes they wore. I wanted new Mother’s and women around the world to have an online retail space they could really trust to bring them outfit inspiration that didn’t break the family budget. Because I really knew what it was like to be on a single income, have a huge mortgage and begin having small people to provide for.
- What was your biggest business hurdle to overcome? I would never work myself quite as hard for such a long time before employing staff. I lost almost 10kgs from my already small frame & suffered from the most painful and persistent mouth ulcers, (so sorry if that’s too much information or if you’re reading this over your lunch break) but to the point that I couldn’t chew or eat any solid food, I couldn’t read books to my little girls at night because my entire mouth was a complete mess, I would try my hardest to keep reading that third book they desperately wanted with tears rolling down my cheeks from both pain and exhaustion. I literally couldn’t talk, (and those that know me, know I LOVE to talk!) it lasted months, I put on a brave face, but I was burnt out and exhausted. So yep, the biggest business hurdle to overcome was to know when to ask for help! Pace yourself Mama’s! Always dream BIG & work hard, but PACE YOURSELF! Know when you need to ask for help, know when you need to outsource, know when you need a break. Know when you need to turn away from social media for a while, either because you are too busy comparing yourself to others (which I highly suggest this is not at all smart or productive!) or simply because you are losing way too many hours a day to it. AND not just in a good way – ticking boxes – sort of way! In a procrastinating – I just lost 2.5 hours scrolling – it’s 11.52pm – I should be in bed – kind of way!
- What is your biggest achievement to date? Indi (6) & Maya (4.5) they are both just such good girls & so accepting of their Mother’s passion for her business. Indi was only one when F+N started, and Maya was simply born into it and knows no different. (I mean the poor kid never had a nursery as we used her room as a warehouse! #SorryMayMay. For such young souls they have a really good understanding of what hard work can achieve, (and it’s not about the extra toy they get because Mum works!) It’s the way they know Mummy loves going to work, (I mean I’m sure there are many children out there who see their parents in a career that makes them unhappy right? Or Mother’s saying ‘I just don’t want to go to work today!’) Indi even said to me once, ‘I just love how happy your work makes you Mummy. You’re really good at dressing people!’ BLESS!
- What is your favourite 90’s jam? Gettin’ Jiggy Wit It – Will Smith – LOL! We used to dance to this upstairs in my parents house back in the country and think we were oh so cool!
- Tell us something that your customers might not know about you. I was only 21 years old when I followed my now husband of almost 10 years across to the WEST! And not just to beautiful Perth but KALGOORLIE, yep red-light district where there were the famous brothels on my walk to work! Hilariously I applied for a travel agent role, which somehow I got with ZERO experience and within 4 weeks hated it, quit and landed back in retail. Before I knew it, I was on regular planes flying to Perth as a store buyer for a retail business in town. Retail was always meant to be my jam!
- What is your favourite part of running your own business? It’s the flexibility without a doubt. I can choose to be around as much or as little as I need. I can choose to work from our HQ, or if I’m needing space, from a café or my dining table (which I’m quite loving since finishing our renovations on our super old Edwardian home in Melbourne’s inner west. Or even from a hair salon! Ha, which ironically is where I’m sitting now while answering the lovely Leah’s blog questions! I’m a multitasker you see! 😉
- What do you think about when you are alone in the car? How nice it is that the kids are not fighting in the back or asking for a million things!
- What are you excited for? I’m so excited to landscape our yard. We restored our old kidney shape pool from ugly brown pavers and chipped tiles, put heating throughout and extended the spa design. I’m currently obsessed with @mon_palmer who is a garden obsessed designer.
- Who are you business idols? Who inspires you? To be really honest I don’t actually have heaps. Sounds strange doesn’t it, but I personally would prefer to follow my own personal inspiration, I genuinely believe in what I do and what I wear. Then if I love it, live in it, believe in it, my beautiful followers and clients will hopefully too. I believe this builds trust in a brand more than being a follower. But if I have to list one then it’s Anine Bing, with a lazy 486K following on IG! She is the creative of her own high-end fashion brand but I love that it’s not so high-end that it’s unachievable for the average woman. She always rocks a killer pair of jeans & white tee combo just perfectly! Along with being a Mother of two she balances a good mix of business and personal life across her socials.
- How would you describe your job to a child? I sell pretty clothes to women and play lots of dress up’s all day long!
- Tell us 5 fun facts about yourself (personal or business)
- I don’t exercise, but my god I wish I did. I’ve heard ‘great’ things about it! HA. I just have never found my ‘thing’! I’m actually really hoping I find this ‘thing’ in 2018!
- I’m always making up lyrics to songs because I never know the words to them. I once said ‘jacketttttt’ instead of ‘jackie’ in the Commodores song ‘The Night Shift’ … Brett still teasers me about it everytime it comes on!
- Feather & Noise is actually FIVE YEARS OLD this year! I can’t believe it, … well I can, but I kind of can’t if you know what I mean!
- I’ve spent over two years now designing and developing lots of exclusive pieces into our collections. It’s ALWAYS these styles which I’m so passionate about, they are the first to sell out and I’m just so proud my business is at this point that I have the time now to work on this next chapter.
- I LOVE a good live cross on Insta! In 2017 I started rolling out LIVE crosses for our new collections! Literally always 45 minutes before having to run out of our HQ to do the school pick up and usually always very much on a wing! I would make the announcement at 2.30pm on Friday afternoon’s before a new edit would be going LIVE that evening and then the entire team would run around crazy getting everything ready for us to pull it off! Then our ace team would all watch it live from their phones and make the sweetest comments like ‘Hi Ali from upstairs!’
13. Who should we follow on social media?
- Um, @featherandnoise #JOKES
- @thedigitalpicnic – these girls have been like family to F+N from day dot. They have played a HUGE part in our socials over the years & crazily enough we are neighbours in our beloved Footscray offices!
- @annafeller – best ever bangs, best colour blond, beautiful Mother & just a massive babe!
- @tashsefton – simply just loved her style for what feels like forever and now her ART is insane too!
- @atlanticbyronbay – because one day I will book one of the huge houses and head off here for either a holiday or photoshoot … OR just both!
- @barnaby_lane – only a recent discovery since searching for dining chairs and OH.MY.GOD I’m obsessed with their furniture and styling. Currently working on my husband to agree to x 6 blush dining chairs … see I’m blush obsessed!
- @makeupbyameliawebb – while I’m pretty hopeless at doing my own makeup, I am just so intrigued with all of Amelia’s generous makeup tips and tricks she shares!
- @leahladsonphotography – heard of her? LOL! She’s got a heart of gold, is working her absolute butt off, kindly supported us as our BTS’s shooter at our MASSIVE Spring Racing shoot last year & then went on to be our main photographer at our Runway Event & is just basically NAILING it at pretty much everything! Love ya Leah! x
Apart from having the same 90’s jam (YASSS Will Smith!) I resonate with so much of Ali’s business growth journey. Whether you are a startup, sole trader or run a company and manage staff… I think Ali’s tips on pacing yourself are liquid gold. It is WAY to easy (and way too common) for us business owner folk to burn out and feel responsible to be doing all the things. Pacing yourself, outsourcing, listening to your body…. An amazing lesson to share with us Ali, so thank you!
I know SO many of you who will have just loved this little BTS into Ali’s life. For me, Ali is someone I have wanted to work with for a really long time, she kind of just oozes lovelines, so I am very proud and happy to be able to call Ali a friend.
Big Love, Leah
~ xoxo ~
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