Loose Leaf : All About the Rebrand
rebuilding a world one brick at a time
Rather than a rebrand, I should probably referred to it as a refresh since there was no name change, something I don’t ever see happening. If you’re newer here, the name Daughter Judy comes from the 1999 film Drive Me Crazy with Melissa Joan Hart and Adrian Grenier. There was a side story about two characters, one of the “cool girls” and one of the “geeky guys”, who were chatting online and her screen name was DaughterJudy(insert a string of numbers I can’t remember). She definitely took it from The Jetsons, but to me and my 14 year old self in ‘99 it will always be referencing this movie.
But I digress….back to the who, what, when, where, why and how of the refresh.
Don’t get me wrong, I loved the previous branding; I invested time in it and built a world around it. However as Daughter Judy grew and I started to sharpen my own personal brand-world, I started to feel a disconnect to aspects of what I started with. I also had future plans and ideas, like the fabric shop, whose vision was evolving to be drastically different. Not to say the two businesses couldn’t have different looks but my brain’s need for synchronicity was not having it.
I was maturing, growing and am settling into what the next chapter of my life looks like, post massive life-shifts over the past few years. Alongside me, my business was doing the same, as it is a deeply personal, deeply me entity. In these shifts I have found myself looking for more stability, more security and hope to continue growing something which could maintain long after I’m gone.
EVOLVING THE BRAND
This was my second experience working with a branding agency; a process that is so fun but also so full of self-doubt and decision fatigue. This agency started with some deep dives into studying the home sewing market and fleshing out case studies on a few aspirational brands. It was really interesting having non-fashion/non-sewing people cull the available data and bring new commentary to things I look at on a daily basis. It’s so valuable to get an alternative perspective on things we are so familiar with; they were able to pull out aspects of our home sewing world that were much more black and white to them as outsiders. These collaborative viewpoints helped restructure the brand’s foundational pillars as we moved forward.
The takeaway from these analyses was that the previous Daughter Judy branding was leaning modern and youthful while I was inspired by aesthetics that were more mature and heritage, with a twist.
Another key part (maybe helpful to you if you’re also world building) was thinking about other spaces that build out robust brand lifestyles. A huge inspiration for this project was found in restaurants and hospitality (probably feeding off of being in the fabric shop headspace). Particularly those whose brand had not changed much over time because they were rooted in timelessness. Chez Panisse was big for me here especially after reading Alice Waters’ autobiography, Coming to My Senses.
Since sewing patterns are loaded with type we did a lot of studies on heritage typefaces like EB Garamond and Century Schoolbook (learning their histories was really interesting). I wanted timeless clarity (for easy reading) punctuated with something bold and modern, Termina, and something organic, September Spirit.
In the color palette of the refresh, you’ll notice the base whites are influenced by aged papers [think; old journals, post cards, vintage invitations…] which are off-set by a rich rust-y red (a rollover from the previous branding), burgundy and a deeper burgundy (our off-black if you will…) plus a pop of cool, sky blue to round out the color world. Again you can see the menu, school, and hospitality references here.
The past Daughter Judy branding also felt modern and incorporated easy read fonts but was much more influenced in a single time period. I felt influenced then to use flash photography and cooler white tones on which to build the original aesthetic. Though I love this, we found through all the visual data collected that I am interested in presenting something more classic and developed.
LISTENING TO THE FEEDBACK
Something that I had heard a few times from you all in the past was the inability to really see the style lines of the garments featured on the website. I was choosing fabrics that were busy or glared in the old flash photography, inhibiting peoples’ ability to understand what they were purchasing. Even with flats available to look at, people were still eyeing the photographs more to get the full picture.
I was also often asked about the fabrics I used for the photoshoot samples. Most of them just came from my local store at the time but as I grew stronger relationships with fabric stores, I wanted the new samples to have direct links so if someone wanted to make the exact same garment, they could. And of course there’s the added bonus of promoting small independent fabric stores!
THE COST OF DECISIONS
The decision to pivot the branding from top down did not come easily (or cheaply) but I knew if I wanted to make the full switch I had to hit all avenues including overhauling the website, logos, photography, and samples. As a very small business, it is mostly just me making choices and taking action behind the scenes here. I work with a small team of contractors for various specific tasks; like the branding agency above, my developers and editors or the factory in midtown Manhattan which I used for sample sewing during the rebrand lead-up while my sewing machines (and life) were still in storage boxes. If you’ve ever been at the helm of your own micro-business, or known someone who has, you know how many micro-decisions there are to make and therefore how macro the to-do lists always seem to be.
Decisions like rebranding always come with a price tag and I do my best to try to split the right difference with where I allocate funds. Like all of us tiny business owners, sometimes we get it right, sometimes we don’t. Sometimes we put the wrong shipping info in for a new knitwear sample and it ends up arriving the day after the shoot.
Photoshoots alone can cost anywhere from $5K to$10K and a website overhaul comes in anywhere from $10K to $15K (or more), there are various costs to be considered. For example, to reshoot past patterns, I chose to remake the garments in fabrics which provided more visual clarity on the patterns’ style lines with textiles that could be bought by anyone online. I had also sold or donated most of the previous samples (less stuff to move across the country) so remaking was a had to. A peek behind the cost-curtain will tell you that samples come in about $350 each, most of which goes to the factory I use who pays fair wages and is domestic.
Quick math will show that my account has been feeling like those wallets in cartoons where you open it and a fly buzzes out. I share this openly because I want other smaller or newer pattern businesses to have a truthful barometer of what things can cost. This of course was more extreme with rebranding but paying people well and fairly will always wind up being more expensive.
AN ACKNOWLEDGEMENT
Even with all the excitement around the brand refresh there came some well warranted criticism from my plus community. I disappointed you and made you feel inferior and for that I deeply, deeply apologize.
It was never my intention and as someone who benefits from more than one area of privilege in this wild world, I missed how this would hurt you because of my personal vantage point. Please know that I am working as quickly as I can to get the rest of the representation live on the site which was always the plan albeit late.
I love drafting patterns to compliment all shapes and sizes, and will continue to do so, as it has been a pillar for this micro-business from the start. However if you decide to shop somewhere else I completely support and understand that decision. If you would like to speak to me directly please know I am here to chat, qcc@daughterjudypatterns.com.
LOOKING AHEAD
We have quite a robust calendar planned for the rest of the year. I don’t want to give too much away but there are a few highly requested patterns on the horizon. One being a mid rise straight leg jean (another pant, I’m sure you’re shocked) and a blazer.
The patterns will continue to be released as seasonal capsule collections, so look out for the next drop in summer. Here on Substack, we are also working on a Summer Reader to follow up on the Holiday Reader from last December and the next subscriber pattern, the Clipper Hat, is coming next month!
BI-ANNUAL SUBSTACK DISCOUNT
This month we’re running our bi-annual 20% discount on annual subscriptions for The Bulletin Board making it $40 instead of $50 (USD). When you join you’ll get access to all past paid subscriber patterns and posts!
Discount runs til 5/31/25
Our Bulletin Board posts here on Substack will serve to answer questions about seasonal patterns, and these are free to anyone on the mailing list! In the other monthly paid publications such as Loose Leaf, The Lab and Extracurricular we aim to provide more extensive articles on pattern hacks or drafting rules, deep dives into themes around DIY and making, or fun recommendations we’ve collected around the internet. It’s like a subscription to a magazine geared towards todays home sewer!
As before, notions requirements, fabric recommendations, and intended garment fit will always be noted in the patterns and on the website itself. If there are ever any questions regarding “is x or y fabric suitable”, “how do I adjust the pattern for this or that individual body need”, you can always email qcc@daughterjudypatterns.com!
DAUGHTER JUDY PATTERN PURCHASE DONATIONS
One last thing before we go, I wanted to share a check-in on donations for this year. We’re a little over 1/3 of the way through 2025 and have raised around $2500 in donations so far that will go to organizations like Clean Clothes Campaign who help fight for garment workers rights around the globe. They prioritize things like safe working conditions, owed payments on completed orders, access to healthcare and appropriate time off.
The reality is that the apparel industry isn’t going anywhere so know that your pattern purchases, no matter which pricing tier you buy at, help make sure this system is becoming safer and more ethical for those who work within it, 85% of which are women.
Last year we raised $4400 and it’s looking like we will greatly outpace this amount for 2025! A huge thank you to all!
thank you for your transparency!