INTRO

Phoebe Sherman:
Welcome to the Girl Gang Craft Podcast where we dive in deep to all things business wellness,
creativity, and activism for artists and entrepreneurs. We talk with impactful female driven
companies and founders for an inside look at the entrepreneurial experience where you'll come
away with tangible steps to elevate your business. Are you ready? I'm your host, Phoebe
Sherman, founder of Girl Gang Craft artist and designer, and marketing obsessed. We're here to
learn together how to expand our revenue, implement new organizational techniques, and
cultivate best business practices as we work towards creating a life doing what we love. Let's
get started.

00:44.00
Phoebe Sherman:
Hello creatives! Welcome back to Girl Gang Craft The Podcast. We have been on a little hiatus
as we soak up the sun here in the summer months, and as I do a little team reorg. We have
some new hires and I'm very excited to go into the winter and the fall with a strong team. So
really excited about that. By the time you're listening to this episode, I will have been married!
And I think and hope and know, all of the above, that it'll be really beautiful and fun and exciting.
But as I'm recording this now, ahead of the wedding, I don't really know what will transpire. But
maybe I'll do a little wedding episode later that could be fun, talking about the wedding planning
and the trials and tribulations of planning a wedding. But yeah, so we're back. We're gonna have
a little mini fall season as here to support you in the fall months as we move into the winter.
What's happening in our world at this time: All of our winter apps are closed at this time but our
holiday gift guide apps are still open so you can go ahead and apply to the holiday gift guide
that is on our website if you go to girlgangcraft.com click on the apply button and look at the little
dropdown and click on our gift guide. So if you're interested in and being a part of the Girl Gang
Craft community and getting your brand and your goodies, or services, in front of small business
lovers– those folks who really want to support small makers, small business, owners, artists.
Those folks who really want to give and get unique gifts, this is the place to do it. So that's live
on our site from November 10th to January 10th and it's a really beautiful way to get in front of a
small business community. It improves your SEO. And it's a really good thing to hand around to
your own community so that they can continue to shop and find fun things to shop from for the
holiday season. So, go ahead! Apply to the Girl Gang Craft holiday gift guide. And with that, we
are just going to hop into this episode. Welcome back! Thanks for being here. So excited to dive
into a new little mini season of fabulous female and femme entrepreneurs.

03:20.00
Phoebe Sherman:
Hello Creatives! Welcome back to Girl Gang Craft The Podcast. Today we have Jackie from
MCLC Brand. Hi Jackie, welcome to the podcast.

Jacky
Hi,Thank you. I'm so excited to be here.

Phoebe Sherman:
So excited to have you. Jackie and I have been in contact for a little bit. If you see me wear cool
shoes on my feed. They are hers. And yeah Jackie why don't you tell us a little bit about what
you do? what Mclc Brand is?

Jacky
So it's actually MCLC I had to add the brand because of Instagram. So apparently, I couldn't do
a 4 syllable word, so that was a little bummer so I had to add the brand.

Phoebe Sherman:
So without the Brand. It's just MCLC. Ok, great.

Jacky
Correct, yeah.

Jacky
And no, it's totally cool. So I own a footwear brand. I design, produce. I like to call myself, “Jacky
of all trades.” I do everything. So, it's a fun footwear brand. It's unisex. It's something that you're
not going to see out in to typical market. You're not going to find it in like, you know– I mean
hopefully one day like at a Nordstrom or something but, you know, it’s just something that's
unique and different. It all comes from this little brain in here, I don't know, I feel like it's full of
unicorns and rainbows and whatnot, and so I just– shoes make me happy and I just want to,
you know, show everyone and and be able to I guess share my passion of footwear with the rest
of the world.

Phoebe Sherman:
I Love it. So yeah, why shoes? You started with apparel, is that correct?

Jacky
Right. So I actually went to fashion school and I got my bachelors in design. But of course, I'm
aging myself right now, but when I graduated the recession had just hit, and it was not good for
the industry at all. But, I was lucky enough to somehow get back– or get into the footwear
industry I should say.I was a big ah a social butterfly in LA and so I met a lot of friends and, you
know, people that just happened to be in the industry already. So, I was always in contact with
them and I was lucky enough to get a position for I was there for about 7 years designing shoes.
Then after I had my second kiddo, I decided I needed to step back a little bit and kind of focus
on my family. So, I'm like I'm just going to you know, see what I could do with this and I started
doing apparel. I started doing shirts and I wanted to move on to clothing, but, it just wasn't doing
it for me. I feel like shoes always been– it's just been so fun for me to just design and like there's
like so many things you can do with shoes, believe it or not, so after the pandemic– when the
pandemic hit, I was in a space, a mental space which is really difficult for myself, and I'm sure a
lot of people dealt with that as well, and so I told myself why am I doing something that I'm not–
if I'm not in it 100% you know, why am I doing this? I come from a footwear background like– I’m
just going to get into it. And so I started just sketching, designing and I think putting a little bit of
my feelings into it and what I was going through and so that's how the “Balancing Act Boot’
came about. That was my first shoe. Just trying to balance life, trying to balance, you know, just
everything that was happening at the moment and that was my big, I guess, breakthrough, was
that boot.

Phoebe Sherman:
I Love it. Ok, so Shoes– So, how on Earth did you make your shoes happen? I know you have a
little bit of experience or a lot of experience in shoes before, so how did you take that
experience that you had making shoes and do it for yourself? What did that process look like?

Jacky
Well it always just starts with an idea of concept and I am a big Photoshop and Illustrator nerd.
So all of my sketches and everything is done on that. I just sketch. I think I do like 20 things and
then just narrow them down to, you know, my top 5 and then I just go from there. I reached out
to, oh I researched a lot of production companies because I was really looking for a specific
type. Just a small, you know, family owned production company that could produce very small
batches for me. I wasn't trying to go in there, you know, thousands and thousands of shoes at a
time. I wanted to keep it really sustainable and really– with production companies that are
smaller, It's easier to communicate with them and let them know what you want and how you
want things done. I was able to find someone and you know, you– you sample, you get your
samples and then you produce and the rest is history I guess. So...

Phoebe Sherman:
So what are your shoes made out of?

Jacky
so they're considered a vegan leather. They're not leather. It's a synthetic leather. And I try to
keep it as, I guess, sustainable as possible. I did want to make leather at the beginning, but it
just wasn't what I– I guess I just don't– I love animals I guess. I don't know, I couldn't do it, you
know, I just really couldn't do it. So they're all vegan leather. I am doing some research right now
on some fabric that is made out of I think it's cactus. It's like a plant based material. But with
those type of materials there's not tons of colors, I guess you could say, and I'm a very colorful
vibe. So, you know it's just it's a matter of researching, keeping yourself up to date on what's
new, what's trending, what, you know, is available, because as we go, people just are so
inventive and they just come up with like the coolest things to be able to produce, you know,
shoes and clothing and stuff. So yeah.

Phoebe Sherman:
So how did you get your shoes in the hands of customers?

Jacky
So, Instagram has been a really big thing for me. It's been like a marketing like, I don't know, just
this amazing platform where I've just been able to introduce my footwear. And I've had a lot of
great feedback and I think that really helped. I had people just reach out to me and when it
comes to like influencers in that type of thing. They're able to reach out to me and I'm the person
behind the Instagram most of the time where I'm like yeah, you know that's– And they just want
the shoes they're like, “they're so cool like I need to have them,” and I'm like, “take them
please.” You're making, you know– I love seeing the way a lot of influencers take my product
and just make it their own and make it just look really cool and it's just– it's like a vision, like
someone else's vision and it just makes, I think the footwear just looks so cool. So, that's how I
did direct to consumer and then I also did a wholesale– MAGIC. I did MAGIC Tradeshow. So I
did do a tradeshow and that was more for retailers and I was able to get in a lot of boutiques
and, unique vintage. I do– I had some and Dolls Kill too. A lot of online and brick and mortar too.

Phoebe Sherman:
So was the tradeshow the only way that you are reaching out to retailers? Or, do you use any
sites like Faire or Bulletin, or you– are you outreaching to retailers? What does that wholesale
process look like for you?

Jacky
So, well first I did MAGIC and then I was contacted by Faire and Bulletin through MAGIC. So,
I'm actually on both of those sites as well. And it's been good. It's been good because I'm able
to, you know, upload things as I go, and they just kind of pick and choose what they need and
ship them and it's a really good process. But I also like doing the tradeshows because you get to
meet the retailers. You get to– they get to know who the owner is who, well, who the brand is,
what the brand is about. It's a lot different than just kind of like, doing an online thing. It's nice to
meet people and be able to let them know like, “hey this is what this is about,” and then they
also love touching the shoe. They want to see it in person. They want to see if it's their– good
for them. Their shop, their vibe. So, that's always a good thing to do.

11:44.00
Phoebe Sherman:
Ok, so we have direct to consumer. We have retail. I guess back to the direct consumer, yeah–
Besides Instagram, are there any other ways that you're promoting your product? What has
seemed to really stick for you? I mean you've scaled so quickly. What do you attribute that to?
What's a little bit of the behind the scenes strategy for all our product based businesses who are
listening and looking up to you?

Jacky
Oh, thank you. That's like– thank you. It's amazing. Well, you know, I feel like I need to do a little
bit more research when it comes to doing all that, because I've only used– to be honest, I've
only used Instagram. TikTok, I am still dabbing. It's a lot of work and I'm only 1 person at the
moment. So I just have to—

Phoebe Sherman:
Oh you have no one else on your team at all?

Jacky
What’s that?

Phoebe Sherman:
You have no one else on your team at all?

Jacky:
I’m a one-woman show right now.

Phoebe Sherman:
Wow, I didn't know that.

Jacky
I have my partner to help me sometimes, but it's definitely just me at the moment. I do want to
expand, I think maybe next year. It’s just, I need it. I need it. I think I try to do too much. You
know? But yeah, I think once I get all that figured out I'll be able to, you know, get maybe like
TikTok because I know Tiktok– I had someone do like a video and the shoe just– I just get like–
just sale after sale after sale of this boot and I'm thinking like, “what is going on?” Sure enough,
it’s TikTok. and it's just like, it's so mind blowing how–

Phoebe Sherman:
Wait, who was it? Is it–

13:24.00
Jacky
It was Kali (@kaliannakali) that– so it was Kali, Kalianna. She loves my shoes and she's just like
always on top of TikToks and,yeah, she wore I think is that long Yinnie Boot like the knee high
one. Oh my god it was insane. It was insane. So, but I do need to start finding other platforms.
I've used– I think I've tried the Google, it's like the Google shop– Shop Google or something like
that the Google Shop but I'm, I'm not very techy, so got– I have to find someone to help figure all
of that good stuff out for sure.

Phoebe Sherman:
I Love it, and so no email marketing either

Jacky
Yeah, I do email marketing. But I think it's just more– I Feel like for me, for the shoe, I think
people just want to see it. So I think platforms that have more of a visual, type vibe is going to
work more for me. Yeah.

Phoebe Sherman:
I Love it. So are you shipping yourself out of your house then? Or do you have a warehouse? Or
what does that look like?

Jacky
You know what, I did have a warehouse for a while, but I moved not too long ago. So everything
came with me. So my garage is currently my warehouse. So I do ship out myself. Sometimes if
it's too much I do get, you know, help just because it's overwhelming. It's overwhelming at times,
but I'm looking back into getting a warehouse hopefully by next year.

14:51.00
Phoebe Sherman:
So ok, it sounds like you do so much. How?–

Jacky
I do.

Phoebe Sherman:
How on Earth– How on Earth do you balance it all? Like how do you balance everything that
you do in your business? And being a mother and being a human?

Jacky
Girl, I asked myself that on a daily basis. It's really hard, I'm not going to lie. It's been really
difficult. I think, I hate to blame it on the pandemic, but it's the pandemic's fault. It's everything,,
you know, since then everything just changed I think, for a lot of people too. For myself, I have 2
boys that I homeschool. So, homeschooling,—

Phoebe Sherman:
You're a teacher.

Jacky
–-running a business. I– I became a teacher. I didn't know I had it in me, but, so I had that, I had
the business. I don't think I know what sleep is anymore. That's kind of where I'm at right now.
But, I think trying to balance things out is something that I'm still working on. It's hard. It's Hard.
It's fulfilling. It's amazing when you see things that are, you know, that people love, I think it's
just– it's so fulfilling. And it's because I'm putting myself out there. It's not something that, you
know, I bought and I'm just kind of like, you know, throwing out there. It’s something that it takes
me months to create. It's really, to get that positive feedback, I think is incredible. Really is. And
then on top of that having my kids see the process because, you know, they're in here running
around asking questions– like my oldest will help me ship sometimes. It's– It's just, it's nice to
have them see their mom, you know, a woman in this industry is just getting out there and
making it happen. So hopefully they learn something from it.

Phoebe Sherman:
So is there anything that you do for yourself that gives you a little break from your work and your
obligations as a homeschooler and mom?

Jacky
So, I like reality TV.

Phoebe Sherman:
Great, Totally great.

Jacky
Sci-fi and horror are my jam as well. So like at night I think I just, you know, kind of binge watch
stuff. I love music as well. So I'm always going– doing festivals or doing concerts or– it's just so
therapeutic for me. We try to take vacations here and there, but I always feel when you're
running the business, you really don't have a day off. Especially when you're on Instagram– you
have to post. You have to do this, this, and that. And it just kind of sucks sometimes even if you
want to take a couple days off with Instagram you get like dinged, so you got to kind of you
know, start back up and it's a lot. It's a lot. But you know, I try to meditate and just kind of– even
if it's like a 10 minute meditation session it's– it's just so good. It really is.

17:54.00
Phoebe Sherman:
Yeah. Ok, tell us a little bit about like your creative process. Like– how do you get ideas for your
shoes? And, I don't know, have you ever been stuck? And like how do you find inspiration when
you're feeling stuck with your creative process?

Jacky
So, I honestly find inspiration from like anything, for example, the Balancing Act Boot just came
from somewhere tha I guess I was like feeling vulnerable and just wanted to make something
happen that made sense for me. And also respecting, you know the culture from where the
symbol came from and having like that story of the symbolism of it. But I also, you know, nature
and like movies– like old movies and, you know, stuff like that is just– I take it from everywhere. I
think some sometimes like a good idea just sparks up and I'm like I need to jot it down and then
sketch it and then see how it looks because sometimes I have these ideas and they're a bit too
wild and it's just like, “yeah that's cool, but how is that going to try transfer onto a shoe?” like
how is that even going to be a doable thing, you know?

Phoebe Sherman:
We have to walk in them, maybe.

Jacky
Yeah, Well, that's yeah– and that's another thing, I mean, they have to be wearable–- I mean,
do they have to be wearable? But I try to put thought into each piece, I really really do. And so
it’s, you know, sometimes it's heartbreaking– I'm not going to say who did it, but it's
heartbreaking to see sometimes when um, you get, you know, people that knock you off or, you
know, bigger company that's like I'm going to come in and make thousands of shoes and sell it
at a lesser price. And like, I wish I could do that, but I am, as a sustainable company, small
batches means a higher cost for myself. So it's really hard sometimes to compete with fast
fashion. Unless you understand that the company is being sustainable and why, you know,
certain things are a certain way and this industry’s a lot. So.

20:10.00
Phoebe Sherman:
Yeah, what do you do when someone copies you? Like have you taken any legal action? Or
even reached out? Or do you just sort of deal with it, and what does that look like?

Jacky
I've tried to reach out, but again, it's not– unfortunately when it comes to footwear I think there's
like a 15% change that they have to make, I guess, to make it, you know, not the same.
Sometimes there's really nothing you can do. Like legally, there's really nothing. So I just take
the high road and say, you know, “I guess you liked my stuff. You think it looks great. So here
you are, knocking me off. I'll take that as a compliment.” But what I like to do is like, ok, well, I
move on. What's the next best thing, like it kinda– it's like my– the fuel to the fire for me, you
know, it like sparks something in me and I just have to like, you know, be one step ahead of
them. And that's all I can do really. Especially for a smaller business for, you know, there's really
nothing you can do unless, you know, I'm like Nike or something.

Phoebe Sherman:
Yeah I mean it just seems so unfortunate like–


Jacky:
–it really is.

Phoebe Sherman:
–I'm seeing small businesses after small businesses be copied and ripped off, and I mean the
dupes don't look as good. They're not as good quality. All of these things. There's not like a real
human behind them, I mean maybe there is, you know, thousands of real humans behind them–

Jacky
–That's the thing. Yeah. No, exactly.

Phoebe Sherman:
It's awful! It's so awful and it's– you know, it's really shitty.

Jacky
All you could do honestly I think I called them out on my IG and my Tiktok. If you want to go to
my TikTok and check it out. I called them out just you know, because you need to be called out.
You need to be held responsible for your action, especially if it's a bigger brand that is you know
European and like whatever. So, I just called them out and left it and like really end it here.

Phoebe Sherman:
Yeah, but how do you deal with that internally too? I mean um, it's a little different than trolling
right? Like how do you sort of– Yeah I mean, how do you move on? It's so challenging to like
get that out of your brain and like to not be frustrated with it anymore, I mean yeah.

Jacky
It's still, I mean, it's still frustrating. But I try to not like harp on it just because then it's going to
put me on that downward spiral of like you know “why me?” I'd rather move forward and take
action on what I can. And just I guess, be the bigger person and– and just be like well I guess
I'm doing something right, because I got, you know, these people knocking me off. And– But
again, I know I saw the pictures of the shoe and the quality is not the same. It really is a
knockoff. When I say knockoff, it's a knockoff. It's pretty bad. But yeah I mean it's– you kind of
have to just like, you got to move on and, and see where else you go with it. I mean it sucks.
Hopefully they don't do it again, but it’s not guaranteed. Especially if you know, people that really
don't— I always tell my partner I'm like, “They have like a team. Are they not creative enough to
design something else?” I mean there's like tons of things out there. There's– Use your
imagination. It's not that hard.

Phoebe Sherman:
Hire some good people to design for you.

Jacky
Exactly! You have the money! Hire the designers that you need. Annoying.

BREAK

23:47.00
We'll just take a moment to hear from our sponsors.
Phoebe Sherman
Repeat after me. Social media is not my whole business. Yes, I preach about creating cohesive
and engaging content on socials. Yes, it is important to tell your story and create community, but
Instagram is not your business. Likes and engagement are not the same as money in the bank.
You want to get followers off your platform and onto your website, right? So they can convert so
you can make money, right? I see so many businesses just focusing on posting and
commenting and they get sucked down the Insta rabbit hole. But these ego boosts of liking and
engaging are not money. And your job as a business owner is to make money, right? Here's a
question: If Instagram died tomorrow, do you have a business? Do you have access to your
followers, to your customers? Instead of being so Insta focused, think about gathering emails,
emails you own. Right now it is so important to be driving traffic to your email list so you can
convert your followers into customers. This is where you nurture your diehards. This is where
you make sales. Most of our sales come from our email list and not straight from Instagram. If
You need to be held responsible for your action, especially if it's a bigger brand that is you know
European and like whatever. So, I just called them out and left it and like really end it here.

Phoebe Sherman:
Yeah, but how do you deal with that internally too? I mean um, it's a little different than trolling
right? Like how do you sort of– Yeah I mean, how do you move on? It's so challenging to like
get that out of your brain and like to not be frustrated with it anymore, I mean yeah.

Jacky
It's still, I mean, it's still frustrating. But I try to not like harp on it just because then it's going to
put me on that downward spiral of like you know “why me?” I'd rather move forward and take
action on what I can. And just I guess, be the bigger person and– and just be like well I guess
I'm doing something right, because I got, you know, these people knocking me off. And– But
again, I know I saw the pictures of the shoe and the quality is not the same. It really is a
knockoff. When I say knockoff, it's a knockoff. It's pretty bad. But yeah I mean it's– you kind of
have to just like, you got to move on and, and see where else you go with it. I mean it sucks.
Hopefully they don't do it again, but it’s not guaranteed. Especially if you know, people that really
don't— I always tell my partner I'm like, “They have like a team. Are they not creative enough to
design something else?” I mean there's like tons of things out there. There's– Use your
imagination. It's not that hard.

Phoebe Sherman:
Hire some good people to design for you.

Jacky
Exactly! You have the money! Hire the designers that you need. Annoying.

BREAK

23:47.00
We'll just take a moment to hear from our sponsors.
Phoebe Sherman
Repeat after me. Social media is not my whole business. Yes, I preach about creating cohesive
and engaging content on socials. Yes, it is important to tell your story and create community, but
Instagram is not your business. Likes and engagement are not the same as money in the bank.
You want to get followers off your platform and onto your website, right? So they can convert so
you can make money, right? I see so many businesses just focusing on posting and
commenting and they get sucked down the Insta rabbit hole. But these ego boosts of liking and
engaging are not money. And your job as a business owner is to make money, right? Here's a
question: If Instagram died tomorrow, do you have a business? Do you have access to your
followers, to your customers? Instead of being so Insta focused, think about gathering emails,
emails you own. Right now it is so important to be driving traffic to your email list so you can
convert your followers into customers. This is where you nurture your diehards. This is where
you make sales. Most of our sales come from our email list and not straight from Instagram. If
middle of the ocean. So that was really difficult. That was really difficult. But, we got through it.
we're here now, so.

Phoebe Sherman:
And so how do you decide like how much inventory to order because I know it's very particular
for, you know, direct to consumer, and then you have retailers, and then, not to mention, you
have a bunch of different sizes. So, what does that look like? I'm so curious.

Jacky
It's really– I think, like I said, I was blessed enough to be able to work in the industry already
where I know what sizes are going to be, you know– are going to sell more.

Phoebe Sherman:
What are the sizes? Like 7 and 8?

Jacky
No, it's 7, 8, 9, but mostly eights. Eights are a really big– Yeah, eights. Eights. And then I do like
to add inclusive sizing. So I do have a lot of my boots go up to size 14. But I do like to do
presale just because if you really love a pair of shoes and you're like, “oh my god I need to have
these,” It's always good to preorder them just so that, you know, like hey once they come in,
they're gonna be yours. They're gonna be in your hand. Rather than waiting and then they sell
out because I don't order, like I said, I don't order thousands of pairs of shoes. So sometimes I
get shoes in and they're out. You know so it's like I'm not going to get them in for another two,
three months, if that. So, It's just a matter of, I guess, understanding my customers and knowing
like what shoe is going to be like, “oh my god this is it– this is gonna be like the cool shoe,” so I
need to order a lot more than I usually do or, you know. It's it's like a guessing game. It really is.
There's really no, there's really no way to put it, like I just need to kind of like go with my gut
instincts and just do it. But as far as sizing, being able to do direct to consumer has been great
because, like I said, I understand my customer and so I know, like, okay well these sizes are
going to sell more than these sizes, so I tend to order more of those rather than the others.

30:35.00
Phoebe Sherman:
It's so interesting. Yeah, because there is like a formula but also there's a guessing game like
and sometimes I don't know, I like do a guess on my inventory and sometimes I'm really spot
on–

Jacky
Yeah.

Phoebe Sherman:
–and sometimes like, no I'm off. Like we just had– we have these “Abortion is Health Care,” like
shirts and tank tops and like the tank tops were an afterthought sort of, like I was going to do the
shirts and then I was like, “oh these tank tops are cute i'll do a few of those,” and it's like, no like
those tank tops are way outselling the shirts. It's so funny. I mean it is sort of like a little bit like of
a guessing game. You don't know exactly like how much like 1 item is going to do over another
necessarily.

Jacky
Yeah, it's wild. Sometimes I'm like I think I ordered– I forgot what style it was– but like I'm gonna
order more this color than this color, because this color is gonna be amazing, and it's like total
opposite. Like oh no! But you know, all you can do is like take from it, learn and, either reorder
or move on. You know, it's hard. It's– There's really no way to do it. You just kind of have to go
with your instincts and just go for it.

31:45.00
Phoebe Sherman:
Can you tell us a little bit about your pricing? Like how do you decide what to price your items
at?

Jacky
So right now because I do wholesale it's– so wholesale would be double and then retail is triple.

Phoebe Sherman:
Of your cost. Okay.

Jacky
Correct. Yeah, so it's you know, and then on top of that, with my like– like I was telling you
before, with my shoes, because they're small batches, it's going to cost more for me to make
rather it like, you know, if I had like oh let me order 2000 pair, it's going to be a lot cheaper. But I
don't want to go that route, like I really like been like– I even tell my partner I'm like, “we cannot
go that route,” like I need to stay sustainable just because it's just you know, we don't need fast
fashion, we really don’t. It's just so bad and, you know, myself having kids, I’m thinking about
their future and what we want we– we have to make it what we, you know, what it needs to be
starting with us, our generation. So, sorry I'm going off on a tangent.

Phoebe Sherman:
It's all important. It's all included that the world is dying. We need— It's part of the conversation.

Jacky
It's hard. It's really difficult to do that. But yeah, the pricing for the shoes, that's the part of the
reason why, you know, they're a little bit higher. And again, we don't have– like there's no
machine that's like making them and pumping them out. They're literally all handmade. Like the
pink boots, the heart boots, those are hand painted so sometimes you'll see like the paint come
off the bottom and that type of thing. But then it's like so do Christian Louboutins, so. Those are
made in Italy, so just not– not that I would compare you the same but just saying, just because
they are handmade, handpainted, and that type of thing. It's gonna happen. Um, but yeah I try, I
want to do something, I've made a note of it where it's just a style that I make that's just for
direct to consumer, and then the price there's not going to be like the wholesale price in the
middle. It's literally going to be like what I would sell at a wholesale customer. So maybe I'll start
doing like exclusives like that and kind of um, have lots of ideas. I have tons of ideas. I just need
to figure out where to start it.

Phoebe Sherman:
For the record I think your prices are very affordable–

Jacky
Oh, Thank you!

Phoebe Sherman:
–and like, and good. They're, they're a good price.

Jacky
I appreciate it. Yeah. I've also told myself the highest costing boot is the knee high Balancing Act
Boot and that's $200, but, I've told myself, I'm never going over the $200 price range and that's
like, I'll probably stay like $150 and below, just because I want to make it affordable. You know,
it's not– what's the point of like, I don't understand like the super expensive shoes unless it's like
a super brand name that, you know, can price those things up. But, I think I want people to wear
it. I want people to afford it and be able to like, rock them and like, look cute in them. I just want,
you know, people to enjoy the shoes. What's the point of making it like super high if people can't
afford it. You know what I mean? So.

34:54.00
Phoebe Sherman:
Yeah, what are some ways that you like, stay connected with your customers? Like how do you
keep them in the know? And like how do you keep them sort of knowing that you care about
them?

Jacky
That's a good question. I love all my customers.

Phoebe Sherman:
Because I do feel like that– I feel like your brand feels very supportive and like exciting and
you're like highlighting, you know, influencers and customers all the time. So, I don't know–
yeah, you repost my stories all the time every time I mention you. I don't know! It feels like
you're seeing us which I think is really impactful.

Jacky
Thank you. I know, I really do try. I feel like I need to be more I guess, the face sometimes. I
need to get in there and like, you know, I need to do it. I was doing it for a really long time and
then I'm like, no I'm just going to do, you know, just the shoes. But I think it's so important to
know the person, the process, like behind the scenes– people want to know like, who am I
supporting I guess, in a way, you know? I need to get back on that. But yeah, I love my
customers and I love reposting like anybody that takes a picture in the shoes, I'm always going
to repost and just share because I think it's just the coolest thing. It's like, this is my little baby
that, you know, like I created, and like I said, to see customers really appreciate and take the
time. It takes time to take a picture, to get the outfit together. So like, I see you, like I see you
putting that cute little outfit together with the shoes. So iIt's nice to be able to see that and share
it. So. But yeah I need to get– you're really good about posting. I need to start posting.

Phoebe Sherman:
I do post a lot.

Jacky
It's good. No, it's Good. It's great. I love to see it.

36:44.00
Ok so like– what do you envision next for you? Are you going to go back to apparel or are you
sort of sticking in the footwear realm? or what does that look like?

Jacky
Oh my god.

Phoebe Sherman:
You're hiring several people next year.

Jacky
This is– this is the plan. This is the plan. I am planning on making it happen. I do– you know
what? I've always thought about making clothing, going back to that. I live near LA. I was born
and raised in LA. I moved towards the desert in the middle of pandemic. But, you know, there's
a lot of production companies and manufacturers out in LA that do small batch quantities and it's
something that has really sparked my interest maybe in the future. Something cute that'll go with
the shoes and do like a whole line and a whole season. But I think that's going to happen in the
future. I think for now I'm trying to just stick to shoes, trying to make it happen with that. I have
tons of ideas and I need to just make it happen. But hopefully, you know, hopefully I'll get to a
point where it's, you know, MCLC is not just a footwear company. It'll be like a whole brand of
just cute stuff. Bright stuff. You know, stuff– I like to make things that are just aren't out there
right now, that you can only find them, you know, through me and my brand and stuff so we'll
see. We'll see what happens.

Phoebe Sherman:
Wait, What does M C L C stand for?

Jacky
My– Those are my kids initials. Yeah.

Phoebe Sherman:
Okay cute.

Jacky
Yeah I just wanted to make it short and simple and it just, it just worked out, and they take pride
in that too. They're like, “Mom runs a business and it’s named after me” okay, so yeah.

Phoebe Sherman:
I Love that.

Jacky
Thank you.

Phoebe Sherman:
So, ok. As we sort of move into fall and the holiday season– I mean we're not, we're not there
yet folks, but maybe as you listen to this episode, maybe we'll be a little closer there. We do
want to keep our summer going a little bit longer– It hasn't started really.

Jacky
Yeah

38:51.00
Phoebe Sherman:
What are some ways that– that you get your shoes out there specifically for the holiday season?
Do you– Yeah, do you have specific strategies catered towards that time period?

Jacky
Not necessarily. I feel like when I do things for the holiday I do keep in mind– so like it's really
hard with the process, the design process for me, it's– right now I'm thinking about fall and
holiday, you know, and it's so hot outside so it's so hard because all I want to do is make cute
sandals but it's just like, no I can't I got to stick to the cold weather. You know, so it's I really just
have to think forward and see things that are trending and kind of just, it's like– it really is a
guessing game. I do do some trend research and try to see like what's on the runway and like
things that I like personally. I'm a big like Barbie– like Barbie. I'm a big like Barbie Geek. So you
know, it's just like a lot of things to keep in mind to try to just um design for the future, to design
for fall, winter, and holiday and all that good stuff. So I just try to promote as much as I can via
social media. And then I love, like I said, I love when– I think it helps when your product is out
there and people are just so receptive to it and sometimes like– I love get to get feedback like
oh you know, maybe you should do this and maybe this color and this I'm like, “Yeah sure, let's
try it out.” So I really do listen and try to see like how, I guess, predict what's going to happen in
the next season or so with the designs so it will be fun figured out.

40:38.00
Phoebe Sherman:
What advice do you have for other product based business owners that are just starting out?
How can they get their work in front of more customers?

Jacky
I think it's really important to network. I think networking is what got me to where I am today.
Um, being able to get– When I was working in the footwear industry for 7 years, I got that job
basically through networking through a friend. We kept in contact and then they reached out to
me and it just– it was just like the perfect– it just worked out so perfectly. But even then, when I
was working with them, we would go out and do a lot of like– just going out wearing the shoes,
out in LA, networking with other people and then, you just meet a lot of people that are really
interested in products. And I think it's really important to show face and put yourself out there.
Networking is key. Just be nice– I always tell everyone, I tell my kids this too, just be a good
human being, like just be a great person and don't ever like talk smack about people. You know,
it's just be a good person. Be a good person and network and just try to keep those contacts
and I think it's really important. I think that's like my number one advice for sure. And don't be
scared to put yourself out there. If you have an idea that you want to, you know, you have like a
design that you've been like dying to share with the world, just share it. Like what's the worst
that can happen, you know? And then if it doesn't work out, you learn from it, you move on, you
make something better.

42:08.00
Phoebe Sherman:
So yeah. What else are you excited for? What are you excited for for next year?

Jacky
It's so funny because I wanted to make these really cute sandals this year and I just like I
missed my deadline. That's really what it came down to. And so, I'm like– these need to be my
spring– So I'm already thinking like Spring of next year like everything I want to do. But I don't
know, I'm just really excited. I like where– I see a lot of shoe companies just making like really
cool stuff nowadays and it's nice to see just– I love unique stuff. Like I'm so into just like things
that pop out, like things that are almost like art pieces, you know, wearable art. And it's also nice
to see that a lot of people have their own businesses nowadays. A lot of creatives are just doing
their thing and I think it's just so amazing because everyone just kind of feeds off each other, or
you know, the collabs that people do I think that's always fun just to see all the beautiful
creativity out there in a way.

Phoebe Sherman:
Yeah. Well I'm excited to see your next year spring shoes then.

Jacky
I know. I'm like– oh! I might make– I might take like the concept about what I was trying to do
and put it in like a boot for fall because I feel like my customer, even if it's fall, we're not gonna
wear like darker colors. It's always going to be like a bright fall for us, so. And I will have a dark–
I always have like, you know, a darker, like maybe like a brown just for fall season.

Phoebe Sherman:
I love it. So ok Jacky this has been so fun! So where can people find you and your shoes?

Jacky
So, my direct website is www.shopmclc.com my IG and TikTok is @MCLCBrand
You can catch me there. I'm always trying to be–I love doing sneak peeks on IG so just to get
feedback and be like, you know, “Are people into this? Do they love it? Did they hate it?” So I'm
always doing sneak peeks on there and just kind of, I promote a lot on there for now.

Phoebe Sherman:
Well I can't wait to see your fall shoes. Thank you so much Jacky this has been lovely.

Jacky
Thank you. Thank you. Thanks for having me. I appreciate you.

OUTRO
44:28.00
Phoebe Sherman: Thank you so much for listening to the Girl Gang Craft Podcast. Head to
Girlgangcraft.com/podcast for shownotes and more. See you next time.