The business of a fashion blogger: How ADÉLIE launched her webshop

What does it take to turn a popular fashion blog into a business? We asked Tikkie Oestrich of ADÉLIE what it was like to launch her new webshop.

You’ve been part of other blogs in the past, so why ADÉLIE? What makes it standout from other fashion blogs? 

I created ADÉLIE at the time where I was working at Costume as a fashion assistant. I think I needed an outlet where I could express my own voice and aesthetic. I have featured on other blogs before, but this time I felt the need to create it all from my own vision. And I guess I had the confidence to stand on my own and believe that I was enough.

Blogging has gone from being a passion to a business for many, why do you think this is? 

I can only speak for myself, but I’ve always been really creative and loved sitting at home at my desk doing stuff. The road from the desk to the industry can be long, there is a lot of girls out there with dreams of a job in the fashion industry, and in my opinion the talent isn’t always the thing that wins in the end. A blog is a way of showcasing yourself in an easy way, where you don’t have to compromise and I think that attracts many creative people with an unique point of view.

You’ve worked within fashion editorial publications, like Costume, and trendy brands like Stine Goya. If you had to pick one, which of these has best prepared you for starting a webshop?

It’s hard to catagorize experience in what is most important, because for me it has certainly been a mixture. I am where I am today because of all the different things I’ve tried. But I guess that my education (i’m getting a bachelor in fashion communication from KEA) and the editorial work at Costume really made it all come together for me. The mixture of working with trends on an analytical basis, combined with the extremely commercial at Costume magazine has tought me so much.

How did you get the idea for the webshop? 

My boyfriend and I lived in New York two years ago, and was visiting again this summer. And over a cup of coffee in the East Village we just began to design the concept of a webshop completely in my spirit with a close reference to the aestetics of the blog. Again I think the motivation was that I was a bit tired of always writing about something I saw somewhere else, when I knew that I could make it all happen myself.

Can you describe the process of starting a webshop? 

At the beginning of the process I was starting from scratch. I haven’t been a buyer in any store or had any experience with budgets.

What I did have was a great idea and a clear vision. The most important thing at first was to decide which brands I wanted to represent, and of cause establish a budget and an economic overview. I made a visual presentation to present to possible brands, where I made it clear what kind of shop this was going to be and how their clothes would be presented.

After establishing the brands and products we teamed up with a young web company called Juusu for the design and backend of the shop. They’ve been great and I can really recommend working with other entrepreneurs. There’s a common understanding and a will to help each other out. 

It was really important for me that the images was professional and we did them together with a great photographer. The hardest part was when we had done everything we could, and the only thing left was to wait for the clothes to be delievered. I just wanted to open up the shop, but had to be patient. The marketing strategy was pretty simple,  I am lucky that I have a great network of editors, bloggers and designers, and they have all been very supportive. This means that I haven’t spend any money on advertising, and right now I don’t plan on doing that either.

What’s your vision with the shop?

My goals for the shop is to be able to do this for a living.

This is just the beginning and we have already added 3 more brands for next season. I love being my own boss, and the satisfaction you get when it all works out like you wanted it, is priceless.  I feel that there is a place for ADÉLIE in the webshop market, and I can’t wait to see where this is gonna go, at least I have some ideas up my sleeve.

Check our her new webshop here!

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