Happy New Year to you and your amazing family! 🎉 We can't wait to spill the beans on our epic 2023 journey, share our excitement for the adventures that lie ahead in 2024, and reveal the empowering mantras that keep us moms and founders grounded.
Tierra Forte, CEO:
The trip Candice and I took to India in September reminded me of how very powerful the Fair Trade Factory Program is! While we were there we got to speak with three members of the Rajlakshmi Cotton Mills Fair Trade Committee and learn about how receiving Fair Trade Premiums has benefited their families and the leadership skills they have developed as worker representatives. What makes Fair Trade so different from other social and labor standards is the element of worker empowerment. Giving workers the ability to determine their most pressing needs and the resources to address them creates lasting solutions and builds powerful community leaders.
We have so many exciting things planned for next year, it's hard to choose, but one thing I'm especially excited about is our Cherry Blossom Mama + Mini collection. This beautiful print for Spring was inspired by a vintage kimono from my own collection and it looks just as good on our best selling girls twirl dress as it does on our brand new women's styles and coordinates perfectly with our new collection for babies. The Cherry Blossom collection, with stylish, comfortable and functional pieces for moms, kids, and babies, is the realization of many years of design work, product development and wear testing and I'm so excited to see how our customers respond to it.
When you want to quit, remember why you started.
Tierra & family
Barrie Brouse, Chief Creative Officer:
In the flurry of 2023, a few things stand out. Any time I work on designing prints, picking seasonal colors or deciding on new styles, we ask for community feedback. That's the beauty of not being fast fashion and this year was without exception! We asked the questions about fit and color, what's important to families, and we learned a lot. We launched some new great styles this year, worked out some of the kinks and took the time to get things just right or, even better!
With 2024 upon us, we have a lot cooking! This includes sustainability initiatives, new partnerships and of course, new products! We are hitting the ground running in January with a photoshoot in Chicago to kick off new graphic t-shirt designs inspired by my own kids' fascination with animals, more for Mom + Mini, plus a new Track Short that's already a favorite with our fit testers. I'm also really excited to see the newest baby prints launch for Spring. There's a little bit of everything for baby - sweet flower blossoms, furry animals, and an abstract nature print too!
The more things you do, the more things you can do. - Lucille Ball
Barrie & family
Anya Emerson, COO & CFO:
I’m proud of our partnership with The Swoondle Society to promote circularity, which allows us to resell used items as well as product returns, exchanges, factory samples, and overstocked items at discounted prices, and also allows our customers a resale option for secondhand Mightly clothing. Most apparel companies -- even though they won't publicly admit it -- just throw out these items, contributing to a global textile waste, a huge problem. This method also allows our customers to buy selected Mightly products at a lower price point, which is of obvious value -- kids are expensive!
In 2024, I'm excited about starting to wear more of our Of an Origin clothing - and no, I'm not pregnant or nursing! I've been jealous of my two children for the last four years being able to wear high quality, organic and fair trade cotton clothing through Mightly - but what about ME? Now, with Of an Origin, there's incredible knit dresses, cardigans, and jackets -- and I get a little of that non-toxic quality for myself!
Be grateful for what you have now, because things will always get worse! Also, moms are amazing because this is all in a day's work!
Candice Collison, CMO:
As OAO founder, I always had a vision of creating a brand for motherhood that was of the highest sustainability, ethical, and organic standards. Now that we are a part of Mightly, we’ve been able to achieve these high standards. I’m also so proud of the mommy and me styles. They look incredible and feel amazing on all bodies. This collection is designed to make mamas look and feel their best for all stages, and I’m so excited about what we’ve achieved in 2023!
I’m incredibly excited for the new mommy and me styles and prints coming in 2024. I’m also excited for the intimate collection we’re developing. It’s hard to find quality organic cotton, non-toxic nursing bras and underwear that work for pregnancy and postpartum, especially at a reasonable price point. I’m excited to bring these essentials to new and expectant mamas this year!
Trust your instincts mama, everything else is noise.
Candice & family
Wishing you and your families good health, peace, happiness, and adventure in 2024 🎉
Tierra, Barrie, Anya & Candice