Meet Blake Bolton: Fashion Designer

We had the good fortune of connecting with Blake Bolton and we’ve shared our conversation below.

Hi Blake, what is the most important factor behind your success?
Consistency! If it is one thing I am happy I did throughout this journey, it is be consistent. And I don’t want it to sound like I was 100% consistent all the time, but I kept going, I never stopped learning, creating, networking, or trying to be better at my craft. With consistency comes growth, knowledge & experience and that is something you can’t buy. All of those things depend on consistency, for example, you cannot have experience without consistency. So because I have stayed consistent, I have been able to create better garments, a better working environment, a better knowledge and understanding of design & fashion, and just a better business in general. I am more qualified for the my job because of my consistency.

Alright, so let’s move onto what keeps you busy professionally?
Blake Olivia is a swimwear and women’s clothing company that is designed and hand crafted by me. I am most proud of my growth in skill throughout this journey. When I first started, I was making swimwear that honestly shouldn’t have been worn, and what I mean when I say that, is that the construction of the swimwear was horrible. However, now I am making swimwear that can be sold in retail stores and the construction is significantly better than when I started. I am excited to expand my business, which is in the near future. I am honing in on the business side more and trying to operate a healthier business life, while expanding my portfolio. Professionally, I am where I am today because of consistency and trusting myself. One challenge I ran into this year was dealing with fabric suppliers, more specifically, vendor risks. This challenge occurred as my first collection was about to launch and I had ordered only enough fabric to create samples to begin making the collection. By the time I was ready to do a bulk order, the vendor no longer had the colors I had made samples of and had created a marketing campaign with. Usually I get my fabric locally, however, this time I wanted something more exclusive so I decided to outsource. Basically, I had to learn about vendor risk and how to be ready to address any issues with vendors so that I can still run a business if there is a threat. A valuable lessons I have learned along the way is to be honest with my customers about the timeframe, availability, and commitment. In all, just have great communication with the people that spend money with me.

Any places to eat or things to do that you can share with our readers? If they have a friend visiting town, what are some spots they could take them to?
Places to eat: Houston’s, Poor Calvins, Bon Ton, Rahims Seafood, Scotch Bonnet, Busy Bees Drinks: Osha,Punch Bowl Social, Cirque, Jai Ho
Places: Cascade Skating Rink, Trap Museum, Selfie Museum, Amicola Falls, The Beltline, Suntrust Park

Who else deserves some credit and recognition?
My family and boyfriend deserve some credit for my story. Those are the people who really want me to win in everything I do and are constantly checking in with me on business. They are always asking me about my business, what I can do better, trying to buy something, or see what they can help me with. I think my sister calls me every two days to ask me if I sold something. LOL. Its all from a good place. I am thankful for them and I know they will be there every step of the way!

Website: www.shopblakeolivia.com

Instagram: shopblakeolivia

Twitter: shopblakeolivia

Facebook: shopblakeolivia

Image Credits
Taken off my iPhone no credits