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Matilda Djerf: Behind the Brand

32m 38s

Matilda Djerf: Behind the Brand

In this podcast episode, host Victoria Smith interviews Matilda Jerf, founder of Jerf Avenue. Matilda discusses her journey from creating social media content and design collaborations to launching her own brand at age 22, driven by a desire for full creative control. She highlights Jerf Avenue's foundational values: ethical production, size inclusivity, no retouching, and a community-oriented "big sister" approach. The brand's growth surpassed expectations, leading to significant achievements like a pop-up at Selfridges and collaborations with celebrities. Matilda reflects on the pressures of being a young founder and the face of the brand without initial mentorship, a gap she now fills by mentoring others through programs like the Lower East Side Girls Club. She also shares insights on balancing her personal identity with the brand's identity, ensuring the customer remains central while she oscillates between behind-the-scenes leadership and being in front of the camera.

Transcription

6989 Words, 36155 Characters

English
I definitely wish I could tell my younger self just that you need to take care of yourself to be able to be the best version of yourself. (upbeat music) Hello and welcome back to Fashion and Founders the Podcast. My name is Victoria Smith and this week I'm joined by Matilda Jerf, founder of Jerf Avenue. Matilda has become well known for a lot of things. Her hair, blazers, and that scandy girl aesthetic. And in this episode, we talk about who she is as a founder as well as just a person, a sister, a daughter, a fiance, a friend, and how she navigated building a business at 22 years old. In lessons, she has learned about leadership, about the pressure that comes with social media and their responsibility of being the face of a brand. I'm very excited to share this episode, all at Matilda, take it from here, so let's get into it. And I wanted to share a service that has been helping me so much recently and it's Glam Squad. Especially before this episode, obviously I wanted my hair to look good, but I was running a little short on time. Could it make it to a salon? It was pouring rain in New York. And I was able to book Glam Squad just a couple days before the podcast interview and got a professional blowout at my apartment. I didn't have to go anywhere. I could stay in my pajamas. It was amazing. And Glam Squad has given Fashion and Founders podcast listeners a special code to get $20 off. Code in all caps, fashion and founders. I of course would recommend using this on a blowout, but you can also get your makeup done, your nails done, all at home. I've only had amazing experiences with them. It's just made my life so much easier. I can't recommend enough. (upbeat music) Hi, Matilda. Hi, I'm so excited to have you here in the year in New York. I know, Star-Saline. I'm so happy to be here. I would love to start with kind of you before Dr. Avenue, where you always entrepreneurial, creative. Did you think you'd be running a business one day? Such a good question. I think that, you know, looking back, I don't think I ever imagined myself running a business. But I'm from a small town. And, you know, I didn't really see other entrepreneurs as I was growing up, but I really looking back, I feel like I've always had that little entrepreneurial spirit and me, like when we lived in Monterey, and I loved Miley Cyrus. I was kind of as big as fan. I still am today. And I had a fan page, and I would do these hero banners for myself, and then I, other fan pages, like started reaching out. I started doing it to them. And at that time, I was like eight or nine. And I feel like that's such a, like, that's who I am. And that's why I've always been, like, I've always kind of found ways to be like creative. And, you know, make money, although I wasn't making money at that time, I wasn't that smart at that time. But yes, I think there's always been, like, a little entrepreneurial spirit in me. But I don't think I fully knew that I would be owning a business and, like, doing it at the level that I'm doing it today. - Yeah. - And what was the why-now moment of your posting content, your gaining followers, I'm also going to start my own brand, because that's a big difference and a leap. - I kind of just, like, accidentally started working with Instagram, it wasn't something that I planned on doing. You know, like, now you can go to school and learn how to do Instagram and take a talk and video editing and everything like that. I just always really loved the creative part. Even when I, like, when I was younger, I wasn't a photography contest. And it was a little twilight moment. I also loved twilight. So I've always loved that creative aspect. So when I got the opportunity to start working with other brands, I jumped on it. I was traveling at the time with my partner, who is now my fiance, and we had just been together a couple of years. We started traveling right after high school, started posting, and when I started posting, that also kind of got me the opportunities to start working with other brands. And I started doing that, and I loved it. It was so fun to be able to be creative and to kind of interpret a brand in a way that felt true to me. And then I did design collaborations with other brands. I did with two Australian brands and two Swedish ones. And it was the last Swedish one that I did that when that one sold out and they wanted to do a re-soc. That's where Rosmos and I kind of just felt like maybe it's time for us to do something. Like why are we not doing this completely on our own? I loved being able to be creative. I loved being able to design. But there was also so many things that I didn't have the final say in, where to produce, like how to shoot the items. Like no retouching, all those things that are so incredibly important to Jurf Avenue, when it comes like no retouching, like the size and inclusivity ethical production, I didn't have a final say on those things. So Ros came, Ros is my fiance, and Vessence Partners. So Ros came from the perspective of, I think we can do this, why are we giving away a percentage? And then I came from the perspective of, I think I have a different perspective than the other brands come with. I think I have something new to bring to the table. So with that and a lot of just being really, really naive and being really passionate, we just said, let's try and let's see what happens. Yeah, and it's gone so well. I mean, we really, I'm going to be transparent. We did not think it would. We kind of thought it would be a side hustle. We said, if we can do this and make, I mean, like, a million dollars within five to 10 years, we would be really happy. Not 10 years, I think was five years. And then we surpassed that really quickly, which was such a blessing and so fun, but we never expected it. And you did grow so big, so quickly. Did you have mentors to help you and be like, okay, this is how you do a campaign or if someone's being mean to you on the internet, this is how you handle it. Don't look. It's a lot of pressure and I'm 26 years old. You were, I think, 24 when you started. I was even younger. I was like 22. Like, I have so many questions now. I don't know how I would have handled it with so much responsibility in eyes on me. I mean, no, I did not have a mentor. And I often get this question. And I kind of like, I remember when we first started a brand there, me and Ross, like Ross and I, we were talking and he knew he wanted to reach out to a business owner and he kind of said to me, like, is there anyone that you can reach out to? But at that time, I think that that wasn't the time where a lot of young women were running a business. At that time, there was, you know, big corporations and bigger brands. So I didn't really have anyone to kind of go to. And I think that's also why it's become so incredibly important for me to be that person for people. I've been doing a mentorship with the Lower East Side Girls Club since last September and it's a year mentorship. And that's been so incredibly important for me because I want to be able to help people. I've learned so much throughout the years. And if I can be, you know, a helping hand, whether that's a business or like a strategic thing or just like how to cope with feelings and how to cope with that with all of it, there's so many different layers to it. I think that's why it's become so important for me to be there for other people. What are some of the most frequently asked questions that they're taking to? When it's not, how do I get the same hair that you have? It's like how did it start your business? I have this idea, where do I begin? How did you find your factories? Those kinds of things. I think a lot of people reach out when they're at the starting kind of the first step and they don't really know where to begin. And I get that. It's so incredibly confusing. And even like being able to find a factory is so difficult. I just googled. I googled and I googled and I emailed so many different factories. We knew that we wanted to produce in Portugal because we wanted it to be ethical production. Nobody replied and then one agency replied. And we still work with them today. There's a lot of just like research and trying, putting yourself out there. Are there other people in, I know you live now in Sweden and Stockholm who have reached this level of like fame and international recognition? Because I wonder, you said you come from a small town. It must be a little bit disorienting at times. Like millions and millions of people are interacting with what I post in my business. And it's so exciting. But I imagine it's also a bit like, well, how is this real? It is. And we often, my friend and I, you know, we often talk about me not fully realizing. Like I think that I, and one way kind of feel like I'm on the outside looking in. But you know, it's such a fun business to be in. And it's so fun to be able to connect with so many different people. And I think that that's like one of the most special things with social media, especially it's that all of the sudden you have friends all over the world. And all of the sudden, you know, you connect with people. And then you meet them in real life. So I think it's, there's good and bad to it. What have been some of the most exciting moments as you've been building, Dr. Avenue? I know you had the beauty launch. Yeah. I think that the most exciting moments are always the moments where we get to meet our customers in real life. I think that, you know, Dr. Favon, you were so good at creating these special experiences for our customers and seeing people come to our, you know, whether it's a pop up or a photo shoot or a drink somewhere, I think that seeing them come alone and then leave with like five new friends, that is something that I always just like, every time I'm always at a loss of words, I'm like, we did this. We put together a bunch of really special and cool people and now they have new friends. So I think that's always the moment that I go. Oh. When it kind of happens. Yeah. And you did a pop up at Selfridges? Yes. Right. Did you see that happen there in London? I mean, our Selfridges pop up was really special. It was our first time ever going into, you know, a retailer. We've only done our own pop-ups before. We only sell on our website. So to work with such an iconic and like household name was really, really a crazy thing when they reached out. I was like, wow, is this real? I never thought I would be at Selfridges. And that pop-up was very different from other pop-ups that we've done because the other pop-ups that we've done, you know, we've been in charge. Like we've, you know, decided everything. [BLANK_AUDIO] when you work with self-rejez, everything is varied. They have their kind of like rules, how to do things. So we didn't have a celebration in the store, but we did a very, very nice dinner with our UK community. And I remember leaving that dinner and the team and I, we were like looking at each other, and we were like, this was like the best dinner ever. It was the best vibes, the best food. I absolutely think that people were a little tipsy when they left. Like tipsy only good vibes. Yeah, it was the best time. So the self-rejez pop up, you know, it was one of their like most successful launches on that floor, ever, which is really major. And I mean, it's just such a pinch me moment. Congrats on that. I love self-rejez. It's like self-rejez is one of those places like you always go. Like when you're in London, you go to self-rejez. Yeah, I lived in London for a little bit. It was like the place. Yeah, it's the best. You've done quite a few big collaborations with Haley Bieber, Road, and Sofia Richie. How did those moments come to be? Those must also be kind of pinch me moments. Like they're so big in the US. Yeah. And now we get to work together. No, for sure. I mean, whenever I'm able to work with people that really inspire me, it's always such a pinch me moment. Haley reached out to me. I think it was November 2022. And I had supported Road since they launched. I love Road. I love what they do. I love their mission. And when she reached out to me and said, like, let's do this. Let's do a collab. I obviously was like screaming. Road is like the brand. And I love Haley, so that was really special. So to bring that to life, we formulated a couple of-- we had another scent that I loved. It was this sugary berry version. But then we ended up on the peppermint glaze. And I was gorgeous. It was such a fun moment being able to do that campaign as well. I remember it Christmas time. Yeah. The best. That's one of my favorite campaigns ever. I think it was just so fun to tap into something very different from what I usually do. And when you're able to highlight a product, you can then merge it into a person's world. It was the best collab. And then with Sophia, we had a mutual friend. And I knew that Sophia loved PJs. And our mutual friend loves PJs. So I was like, can you connect us? And she did. And then we did the collab. And that was also for the holiday season. Yeah. I feel like there's something about the holiday season in Collabs. I think-- I did for this year, yeah. It's just like a fun-- it's a fun moment. So I feel so lucky and so blessed to have people believe in me and believe in our mission. And you know that they want to collaborate and work with us. And it's such an amazing feeling. Yeah, absolutely. I'm just thinking back to the beginning of the business. And then these really big moments and campaigns, how did you know how to continue to level up the business? And when you get to that next moment, like, yeah. OK, shoot. What do we do now? It's your learning as you go. I mean, especially if you think about the creative aspect of it, and within my role as Chief Creative Officer, it's always about being like, how do we kind of move forward? How do we make sure that we're always evolving as a brand? But then I also think it's important to have the balance of doing really fun and creative campaigns, but then also doing more like scaled-back, authentic in the moment campaigns. I think that Jure Favonou as a brand, like, we need to be both. And I think it's beautiful when you let both versions coexist. So it's always about just like thinking big, but then sometimes scaling it back. And I have so many ideas always. And it's fun when you get to work with an amazing team that can bring your ideas to life. So more is coming. Yeah, excited. I do feel like a lot of trends and maybe an entire aesthetic even has started with you. I think you're kind of responsible for a lot of Gen Z girls wearing blazers. Me and a blazer. Yeah. I'm sure I was wearing a blazer earlier, because it was cold outside. But what is it like kind of scrolling on Pinterest and seeing these pictures that you've curated and kind of realizing the influence that you have as you kind of separate yourself from the brand that you're building as well? I mean, it's such, again, like I think that sometimes, I don't fully realize it, but the blazer thing is funny, though. I do realize that. I remember we did our first pop-up in LA, and everybody in line was like wearing a blazer. And this was when we did our first pop-up in New York as well, and I was like, oh, we love a good blazer. So sometimes you realize it. But I think it's just whenever I can inspire people to be themselves, but also I think that with social media, you're constantly inspired by other people. And the trend cycles are ever going. So I think that if I can be a little inspiration every now and then, it's something that's really cool, while staying authentic to myself and true to myself, that's what's really important to me. And as you're building the brand, do you find that you're trying to separate maybe you as a person and you the brand that you're building? And maybe people will buy something and not even know. Yeah. It was you behind it. I mean, both. So yes and no. I think that when we started your Favonue, we started it because I had done the social media and modeling. And I was kind of tired of always being front and center of like, we were so dependent on me showing up. It was a photo of me. I needed to be on set. And I was like, I want to create a brand where the focus is not on me. The focus is on the customer. But then again, I think it's important for customers to have a connection to the brand. And as a founder and as the chief creative officer, I think it is important for the customers to know what I'm doing and who's behind the brand. I think that's the least like what I want your Favonue to be. So I think that I will continue to be behind the scenes, but also in front of the camera sometimes. It kind of depends. There's a time and place for being behind and then a time and place for being in front of the camera. And you mentioned you didn't have as much say when you were doing other brands campaigns. What were some of the key values you wanted to bring into your own? You mentioned size inclusivity, you know retouching. Like what does that look like in actual practice in the day to day of building a brand? Yeah, well, for us like customer first, like the community or community in the customer, it's always like front and center. They always have a seat at the table. Like when we do meetings, I always like to do a check in exercise where it's like, there's some exercises, check in exercises that are like, if you were an animal, what animal would you be? But I do it more like, okay, what is our customer listening to right now? Like what is our customer's favorite song? Or if we have a drop coming out to see, you know, what do we think our customer would be buying from this drop, et cetera, et cetera. So we always make sure to have the customer in the room. And then, you know, ethical production, size inclusivity, we shoot on all sizes from extra small to triple extra large, showcase all sizes on the website. We do not retouch, no retouching at all whatsoever. Like even if it's a wrinkle on a piece of clothing, it's like you're going to be living in that piece of clothing. So it will wrinkle naturally. And then we have this big sister mentality as a brand. We always want to make sure that we show up to our customers like a big sister, whether that's, you know, educating them on materials or it's inspiring them on, you know, what to wear for your graduation or your first job interview. And I think that all of those aspects, I didn't have a final say on when I did the collaborations. So so incredibly important to bring that into your Favonium and let that be the core of the entire business. That is nice that you see it like a little wrinkle on the clothing because it is hard when you get something like that doesn't look the way it did on the website. Exactly. Exactly. And we don't want that. Like I, when I did the modeling jobs, I remember, you know, they would pin in the clothing. Even if I wore my size, you would pin in the clothing for it to fit perfectly. And oh, sorry, my microphone. And sorry, my bangs are always just falling in my eyes. And I just remember thinking like, what the customer sees online is not what the customer will get. And that's not a good customer experience. Like that will most likely end up as a return. So for us, it's just been like, you know, what you see on the website is what you get. We do e-commerce shoots, but we also do lifestyle because I think that it's important for the customer to be able to see the clothing and environment that they will most likely be in. And not just in the studio. And you mentioned having this big sister mentality as the brand. And we kind of touched on it earlier with mentors. But do you feel like you have someone who plays a big sister role for you? That's a really, really good question. I think I have a lot of people who do. And I think that, you know, one of the things that my mom told me at a very young age is that you will have friends for different reasons. You know, you'll have one friend that's like, this is a going out friend. And then you'll have one friend that you go to person when something happens. And I think that it's the same with business. You have different people in your life for different reasons. And I'm very lucky to have a beautiful network of beautiful inspiring women that I can, you know, text and call if I need it. So I feel very, very lucky. Yeah. It is just so important and something I've been navigating. And I am realizing more and more that having people you trust to go to with questions that are really real and maybe not something you want to ask just anybody in your life is so important to like your personal while being and success of what you're building for sure. And you mentioned you're a mentor now. You're helping these girls. What are some lessons you've learned being a leader for your business and the responsibility that comes with it that you may share with people today? Well, I think that one of the biggest things that I also spoke to the girls about the other night, we had a little wine and cheese tonight at the girls club. And I spoke about the importance of showing up for yourself and about, you know, filling your own cup before you fill other people's cups. And I think that in this day and age, like it's constantly go, go, go. And you know, you're constantly scrolling. You're constantly on your phone. You're always doing things. You're comparing to other people and you're comparing your success and your outfit and everything. And I think that the importance of taking a step back and really making sure that you're taking care of yourself and that you're taking time for yourself to be able to then show up as the best version of yourself, whether it's, you know, in a meeting or it's at school or it's with your partner or with your friend. I think that has been something that I definitely have learned along the way. Do you have any like habits or rituals that help you kind of slow down? Yeah, I do. I love waking up morning person. So I always make sure to wake up early and I drink my little morning coffee as I journal and That little journaling part has been so incredibly important for me It's just that time of day where I get even if it's like five minutes for myself and When I journal like it doesn't need to make sense Sometimes it doesn't make sense at all and then sometimes it makes sense and I think that's the beauty of it It's just about getting your thoughts on paper that makes it a little bit less scary as well I think if you're dealing with anxiety I deal with anxiety I think that you know sometimes when it's just in your brain It kind of spirals, but then when you get it on a piece of paper or you say it out loud It's kind of like checking on yourself kind of just on this similar notes I feel like you have so much experience down you've done so many things What would you say to like the younger version of yourself who's like about to first start posting on Instagram knowing what you know now I really would say to not forget to take care of yourself because I think that that's something that I Try to practice throughout the years, but at some parts in my life. I've definitely forgotten about it I'm also one of those people who really want to show up for everybody else And I think that if you constantly show up for everybody else, but not yourself then at the end of the day You don't have anything to give anymore So I definitely wish I could tell my younger self to just like you're enough the way that you are and you need to take care of yourself To be able to be the best version of yourself. Yeah, it's so important. Yeah. What is your vision for Jerf Avenue? You've already done so much, but yeah, what's next? I mean what is next? I think that I feel like we I mean We've been around for six years now, but I feel like in one way we can just like started Which might feel a little crazy to say, but I think that if we can show up as a brand and be there for our customers In whatever space that the customer wants us to be and if we can kind of like walk alongside them in their life And in their big and small moments in their life. That's the goal that I have like that's the big vision that I have for Jerf And that can be shown in so many different ways and I think that I'm just we're just really excited to get out there more and do more things with our customers It'd be amazing to do like a full-on store someday like a permanent store that would be a dream But yeah, there's just a lot of things cooking and I think you recently came out with a collab this week Yes, so Philippa Pornovic is a Swedish girl and I have the privilege of being close friends with her big sister peg who is an amazing artist and I've kind of like followed Philippa throughout the years like you know we're friends and when we did the spring collection Me Alex and I Alex was head of brand at Jerf Avenue. We were chatting about I really wanted somebody to front the campaign I didn't want I didn't want to be the model. I wanted somebody else to be and I was like who would be perfect for this and then I think about Philippa she has this beautiful creative eye and we had a celebration dinner for her the other night and She reminded me that we gave her like one of her first page jobs back in the days She shot for Jerf Avenue. This was like 2020 our first spring collection So that is also like such a sweet like full circle moment So that collection goes live next week to stay the 10 I feel like yeah I see the 10 and yeah, it's such a special collab I love being able to see what your fave and you looks like through the lens of somebody else I think it's always like such a special thing and then we have our blue-somelain drink coming up tomorrow Well, when you listen to this it's probably all the yeah, but yeah, that's also special I it's our third time working with blue-somelain. Oh wow. It's our second time doing a drink with them So it's our go slow glow and It's this like blue-sparolina drink. It's delicious with this raspberry foam and freeze-dried raspberries and 10% of the sales go to low-rise our girls club. Oh amazing. So go and get the drink. It's nationwide for a month And it's really delicious. Yeah, they should try that. It's really good. It's like a little strawberry milkshake Yeah, it's like a little sweet moment. It's a moment to remind yourself to go slow. Yeah, I love that That's perfect and with the berry patterns. Yeah, absolutely everything. Yeah, it's really cute I'm curious what would you want people to know about you as a founder and then you as just a person as a sister as a fiance as a daughter as a friend Maybe it's the same thing, but it's a beautiful question. Nobody's asked me that before. I think This week I've really Kind of like talked about the importance of being able to have like different versions of yourself coexist And I think that's something that I you know kind of wish People knew about more if that answers your question. I think that like you know There's a version of me that is like nature. I walk barefoot. I matter summer house I'm with my dog roof fest and I just like walk around in PJs But then there's another version of me that goes to the board meetings and that invests another companies and that is this like business woman And I think it's beautiful and I think it's powerful to let both versions co-access and I think it's important to understand that there's so many layers to one person I like that. That's something a different founder was saying because she Posts on Instagram. She's like, I don't want to carry it to seem like this tough business woman So I can get investors like I'm so multifaceted and I feel like most people are scared to show that but Exactly. I'm a human. Yeah, we are and you know as a human There's so many different layers to yourself Yeah, and there's so many like different versions to yourself and all those versions are true It's just that you kind of show the different versions depending on you know where you are in life I guess yeah because I was gonna ask to be kind of touched on it What's the balance of like posting on social media and then people kind of feeling like they know you and then in real life It's like oh, I thought you were gonna be more this way or that way like I'm thinking someone once we she followed me And then we met she's like wow, I thought you were gonna be really serious. Yeah, I was like I can understand that you think that if you just see me Post about the podcast Yeah, but if we sat down and had a coffee I think you'd see something completely different It's a little funny to like whoa all these people think of me different Yeah, and I think it I think it's true like obviously like with my socials I always try to show the truest representation of myself that I can but it's also You're showing such a small percentage of your life and yourself So of course you will be and also I think they're you know people have I will be a different version to you And I will be a different version like people interpret you differently, but yeah, I think a lot of times people meet me And they're like oh, you're funny. I thought you would Yeah You're like quirky and I'm like oh fun. I Like never saw myself as a funny person. So yeah, I think there's definitely a balance in it all and you know I want my community to feel like they know me because they do and I have this beautiful connection like I always speak about being in my DMS I love being in the DMs. I love chatting with everyone and I get these really beautiful deep connections with people But then yes at the end of the day of course, there's like there's always more to you always I feel like even the people who know you the best Don't fully know you because there's always you know, there's so many layers to yourself And I think you've been really open on Social media too about just different things going on like in your personal life and it's not just Here's my coffee. Yeah, here's the brand. It's people must really feel like wow if she's talking about this like maybe it's okay for me to go to my friend or my sister Yeah, and talk about it too. I hope so. That's why I do it I really hope that I can encourage other people to open up and be vocal about the difficult things that they're going through I think that as a human being we all go through so much pain and there's a pain to be also shared and I think that's really beautiful And I think we can always help each other even though it is of course difficult to speak about Difficult things in your life, but I think that I always say that if I can help one person by doing so then it's worth it for me Was it scary the first time doing that? It was but I think that I didn't really understand that it would also like reach not many people but I remember I specifically remember like two different times One time I was doing a live and this girl came on and was like saying that I lied about my eating disorder and Etc. Etc. And I remember started crying in that live and I do really feel like I got really vulnerable at that time But looking back I don't regret it and then the other time is when I spoke about my exopic pregnancy But for me that was so incredibly important because before I went through it I had no clue what it was so if After that I I think it took me like a couple of months to speak about it because I felt like I needed to fully heal myself first But after I said you know if I can help one person know what this is Then it's worth it for me and I've had a lot of young girls reach out to me and say that they've been through it And that they went into the emergency room because of my story and that can also save a life So it's really powerful it is and social media is it's such a I feel like people often speak about the negative parts of social media But there's so many beautiful parts about it as well and I think that's one of them. Yeah, and the human connection to yes Really special. Yeah, I have a few what quick fire questions for you Do you have a fashion hot take? It doesn't have to be like something you hate. I feel like that's where people's heads go. Yeah, truly skinny jeans are not it for me I feel like we tried to make it happen I you won't see me in a pair of skinny jeans. Do you have a fashion industry misconception? I think that people often Speak about the fashion industry in the sense that there's not enough space for everyone But I truly think there's space for everyone within the industry. It is one of like the most gay-kept ones. Yeah At least perceived what is the best advice you've received two things to follow my gut and to take care of myself You are going fast with these You don't have to I've like never been good at these. I think I'm like really trying What is a resource recommendation you have maybe like a book podcast newsletter? It's such a good question. I've been loving like scrolling through Substalk lately. I think it's really fun and I think there's a lot of like good accounts But then my biggest tip is also again to like write things down to like create your own little journal because at the end of the year like your journal, we'd be like a little book filled with just like insights and information and things that you learned and you know, things that people have told you and I think that's like, you can kind of like create your own resource in a way. Yeah. Does that make sense? We kind of talked about this, but do you have any upcoming announcements? Nothing that I can share I feel like. Which is such a worrying answer. I'm so sorry. I guess go to Booston Lane. Exactly. That's what we can do. Go to Booston Lane. And I think people know where to find you, but is there any platform that maybe is new sub-stack, for example? Sub-stack I will be going on. So I recently started a dinner series called Gathered, which is essentially like a series where I just gather people who inspire me whether it's you know entrepreneurs or a completely different role within a company. So I just did my first dinner here in New York last week and I will be sharing my insights and kind of like what I left with after that dinner. I'm sub-stack. Oh, that's cool. And then I have my YouTube, which is like more like I do my vlogs there, you know, it's a little bit more of a mix and then I update on Instagram daily. Amazing. And then I have Snapchat. Wow, I've been a snap-to-in a while. Snapchat is very big and Scandinavia right now. So I have to get on it. Yeah. That's funny. Yeah. And then I actually realized I'm posting this on International Women's Day. Do you have just like any last piece tidbit advice around just being like a female founder? I think a lot more female founders are on social media and very front-facing, less men. Yeah. Really are, but any kind of last thing you want to leave people with? I think just again, I feel like I sound like a broken record, but I really like the importance of filling your own cup and taking care of yourself. It's so incredibly important. I think that you know, I feel at least like when I grew up, all the movies, everything was like the best year we are, the better. It was just cool to be busy. It was cool to have like a full schedule and doing things all the time. But I think it's really cool to take it slow. Yeah. I think it's really cool to go slow to take it easy. Take care of yourself so you can then go at a full pace when you feel like you want to go at a full pace. So just the importance of filling your own cup and taking care of yourself. So you can show up as the best version of yourself. Yeah. That's the ghost. The ghost slow. The ghost slow. The ghost slow. And the ghost slow. The ghost slow is real. Then you know, if you go slow, you'll glow. You're yet. And then top it off at the matchup. Exactly. With a little spirulina drink in your PJs. Honestly, all you need, all you need. Well, thank you so much for coming on. Thank you so much for having me. This was so lovely.

Podcast Summary

Key Points:

  1. Matilda Jerf founded Jerf Avenue at age 22, transitioning from social media influencing and brand collaborations to launching her own brand to gain creative control and implement her values.
  2. Core brand values include ethical production, size inclusivity, no photo retouching, and a "big sister" mentality focused on authentic customer connection and community building.
  3. The brand experienced rapid, unexpected growth, leading to major milestones like a successful Selfridges pop-up and collaborations with figures like Hailey Bieber and Sofia Richie.
  4. Matilda emphasizes learning through experience, having had no formal mentors, and now prioritizes mentoring others to provide the guidance she lacked.
  5. She navigates the dual role of being the brand's face while aiming to keep the focus on the customer, balancing personal influence with brand identity.

Summary:

In this podcast episode, host Victoria Smith interviews Matilda Jerf, founder of Jerf Avenue. Matilda discusses her journey from creating social media content and design collaborations to launching her own brand at age 22, driven by a desire for full creative control. She highlights Jerf Avenue's foundational values: ethical production, size inclusivity, no retouching, and a community-oriented "big sister" approach.

The brand's growth surpassed expectations, leading to significant achievements like a pop-up at Selfridges and collaborations with celebrities. Matilda reflects on the pressures of being a young founder and the face of the brand without initial mentorship, a gap she now fills by mentoring others through programs like the Lower East Side Girls Club. She also shares insights on balancing her personal identity with the brand's identity, ensuring the customer remains central while she oscillates between behind-the-scenes leadership and being in front of the camera.

FAQs

Matilda emphasizes the importance of taking care of yourself to become the best version of yourself.

She discovered her entrepreneurial spirit early, creating fan pages and designs as a child, which eventually led to brand collaborations and founding Jerf Avenue.

After successful design collaborations, she wanted full creative control over ethical production, size inclusivity, and no retouching, which motivated her to start her own brand.

No, she lacked mentors initially, which inspired her to now mentor others through programs like the Lower East Side Girls Club.

She extensively researched and emailed factories, eventually finding an agency in Portugal that aligned with her ethical production values.

The brand focuses on customer-first community, ethical production, size inclusivity, no retouching, and a big-sister mentality to educate and inspire customers.

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