Today we’d like to introduce you to Noelle Bonus.
Noelle, please share your story with us. How did you get to where you are today?
I moved to San Diego after living in LA for five years with the intention to reset and focus on my goals without distractions. For as long as I can remember, my friends and I would always come up with witty sayings and comebacks that we oftentimes joked about and said, “that needs to be on a shirt!” It wasn’t until about two years ago, when I actually started writing down the things we’d say so I’d remember it just for fun. When I finally made the decision to make the move to San Diego, I also made my decision to start my t-shirt line. In the middle of settling in, I started doing my research on how to even start a clothing line since I’ve never done anything like this before. I drove around for the first few weeks to look at different brands and types of t-shirts to see how they felt and fit. With the help of my brother who works in Digital Marketing, I was able to learn a lot of things about that world and how to set everything up properly to make sure my website is running correctly and efficiently. I established my company name, created a logo, clothing tags, packaging designs, ordered shirt samples, picked and designed the first round of 1 liners to be put on my tees, and made my first shirt on November 30, 2019, exactly one month after officially moving to San Diego. I spent the next couple weeks working out the kinks to try to perfect everything, and for Christmas I sent all of my friends and family t-shirts as their gift. Everyone was surprised because I didn’t really tell anyone about my new business venture. I wanted to remain focused on pursuing this on my own without any distractions or other people telling me what to do or how to do things. I already had a vision of how I wanted my brand to be so I kept all my ideas to myself and just started creating. I officially launched 1 Line Wonder on January 8, 2020. I do everything from the ordering of shirts, designing, creating, sewing, fulfillment, packaging, and shipping. I do get help from a couple friends here and there but for the most part, I enjoy doing all of this on my own. I learned in life that the one person you can depend on to get things done your way, your terms is yourself. It’s been about seven months into my business venture and I have 2 sold out designs, four new ones, sweatshirts available, and a new product I’ll be adding in the Fall.
We’re always bombarded by how great it is to pursue your passion, etc – but we’ve spoken with enough people to know that it’s not always easy. Overall, would you say things have been easy for you?
For the most part, it has been surprisingly smooth. I feel like I started at the perfect time in my life because everything came to me as if it was meant to be – from my ideas, my resources, my materials, tools, support, everything. The hardest struggles for me so far is learning all of the technical stuff with digital marketing, SEOs, website malfunctions, etc.
I feel that everything for the first year is always trial and error. My plan is to keep trying and fixing the errors along the way until I’m where I want to be with my products and my business as a whole. It’s a process and I’m constantly learning.
So let’s switch gears a bit and go into the 1 Line Wonder story. Tell us more about the business.
My mission statement for 1 Line Wonder is: 1 Line Wonder is a brand for everyone. Our unisex pieces are created for those who enjoy wearing that simple minimalistic look, but still want to make that subtle statement that makes you…simply, you.
I wanted to create something for EVERYONE. Everyone in a sense where both men and women can wear the same sizes without having to pick a gender fit so I chose to have all unisex sizing for everything. I wanted to sort of mirror my usual get-up – basic tee with jeans or leggings. I like wearing simple attire but also adding a little accent which in this case would be the subtle 1 liner.
Being seven months into this, aside from people liking my shirts, I am most proud that I am able to give back. One of my newest liners is LIFECOACH and during the beginning of this pandemic, I reached out to as many life coaches as I could to send them a shirt as a little thank you for everything they do. I feel like they are also essential workers during this time because so many people look to them for hope, courage, motivation, and inspiration. They save lives every day just like our front liners.
I honestly can’t answer what sets me apart from others because I personally don’t know how others like me in my same situation choose to run their businesses, but I do know there are others like me who are also striving and working hard to make their businesses work. I think we, especially as women, just have to be more aware of each other so we can continuously support and rise up together since there is enough room for success in this world for everyone 🙂
Has luck played a meaningful role in your life and business?
I can’t say if luck had a lot to do with my life outcomes because if it did, I would’ve won money from all the lotto and scratch tickets I bought through the years. Haha! I wish luck was more on my side, but I have to also be thankful I don’t have much bad luck either. I have to stick with the good ol fashion thing called, work hard and work smart deal lol.
Contact Info:
- Website: www.1linewonder.com
- Email: 1linewonder@gmail.com
- Instagram: 1line.wonder
- Facebook: 1LineWonder
Image Credit:
Lyla Jett, Vanessa Augustin, Steven Patenaude
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