Today we’d like to introduce you to Kellie Davidson
Hi Kellie, thanks for sharing your story with us. To start, maybe you can tell our readers some of your backstory.
Farewell started as an accessories line – insulated totes with a built in cutting board to inspire people to prep meals and snacks at home. The idea came to me when taking out the trash and looking up and down the street at how much waste and recycling our households produce every week. Meal prep is a way to save time and money but also to save all the packaging and wrappers that go along with take out and fast food. When we started taking Farewell insulated bags and water bottles on beach adventures we were inspired by the women and girls who do everyday sports under the sun and created the book Strong As the Sea. The book tells the story of a day at the beach through the eyes of a young girl and all the inspirational women who play dance and move together in the various sports and beach activities.
Alright, so let’s dig a little deeper into the story – has it been an easy path overall and if not, what were the challenges you’ve had to overcome?
The biggest struggle was the covid-19 pandemic. The insulated tote bag was designed for corporate workplaces and uses high end dark colored fabrics. The bags are black and navy blue. The original intent was lunch bags for working adults to inspire them to take meals to the office. The work from home years of 2020 and 2021 made it really hard to promote meal prep for the office. During the pandemic we pivoted to selling the insulated totes for adventures at the beach and parks. The beach and picnic lifestyle gave way to our next creative idea, a children’s book that celebrates casual sports and female friendship.
Thanks for sharing that. So, maybe next you can tell us a bit more about your work?
Strong as the Sea is absolutely beautiful and has been such a joyful product to develop and eventually sell. It can be found in a number of local retail shops. So many young girls drop out of sports or don’t have access to organized sports that are non competitive- the idea here was to just get a friend together and play volleyball or paddle out for an hour. It features so many different ethnicities and body types that you would see during a day at the beach. Both myself and Jasmine the illustrator are moms of young girls, and we have taken the girls with us to book signings and local events which has been a wonderful experience.
What sort of changes are you expecting over the next 5-10 years?
The retail industry is divided currently between fast fashion and slower more intentional purchases of products or from brands that are more closely aligned with the customer’s core values. I think the gap will widen and more people will be driven towards supporting small businesses that represent their personal values. In return for their business, those customers also have high expectations of brands they support in terms of DEI, sustainability, and how the brand shows up. I think the balance for small local businesses is remaining profiatable while adhering to so many guiding principles that can be expensive operationally. I also think that in the future, brand values need to be reflected more in influencer spaces – especially in this economy we need to be careful about what we bring into our homes, not only physically but also in the media we consume.
Pricing:
- 14.00 Strong as the Sea
Contact Info:
- Website: https://farewellco.com
- Instagram: https://instagram.com/farewellco_
Image Credits
K Davidson
