Launching HARMONY on Thanksgiving
Irene Lu
My husband frequently finds small clusters of glass containers, plastic containers, every container, plastic bags, vegetable netting bags, every bag, bottle caps, cork caps, and every cap. It’s tucked in every corner of my home and each time he tumbles upon a pile, a debate will ensue wether its trash or treasure and sometimes I shriek, “Trust me! I’m not a hoarder!”
(Do hoarders deny they are hoarders like drunk friends?)
He usually complies to my subtle threat- “Just. Leave. It. Alone.” but since seeing the new collection, the interrogations occur less often. Not because that is what’s needed for a happy marriage (although it is important) but because the new collection is physical proof that I really, finally, did make something out of my obsession to not throw anything away. (Who can blame me with climate change and all?) Since Pillowbook started 7 years ago, I’ve saved every single silk scrap left over from every order. Although I had no clue what to do with it, I just knew it would become collectively something, one day.
When I submitted myself to a contest last year (read more here), the lightbulb flicked on and Harmony was born.
It is the first collection for Pillowbook made purely from off-cut 100% silk scraps that are patched up in a symbolic way to unify all the strong women who I’ve made lingerie for. (pls excuse my run-on sentences and horrible grammar) This collection is made in dedication to all of them. This is the fruit of their inspiring stories and harmony is what happens when women band together and soar higher.
You can read about how it all blossomed from a seed in a look-book (click here). Personally, this is my favorite collection because a lot of these women have been there for me in my struggle to continue Pillowbook. I went on a dozen emotional rollercoasters to have this made, being reminded of why and who this brand was created for in the first place. (I’m not crying. It’s just dust in my eye!) It’s also the most colorful and most labor intensive collection I’ve ever created as if I’ve used rainbow to fuel the rocket that blasted me into space so I can catch some stars.
The reason why I am choosing today to launch is because, for the first time, a collection is priced at a value that is more reflective of its worth. With previous collections, I’ve been mentally bullied by many factors to “cheapen” my prices so that it is “affordable” and nothing positive came of it. I still paid my couturier very well so what I had to sacrifice to keep prices so low (like so super dirt cheap for couture, low!) was my own value and Pillowbook’s resources to grow. In addition, now that the brand is located in Paris, materials and local wages are 5-6x higher than in Beijing, therefore, the pricing will reflect that and whoever sews the orders (still looking!) will receive a livable wage because that is uplifting human value, especially in a job that is predominantly by women. In short: no discount here on black Friday but let’s support paying a fair wage !
This is a huge step for me and Pillowbook and the idea of it handicapped me for a really long time. Ladies and lovers who knew about my crippling situation offered up kind words of encouragement, advise and just so much emotional support. They gave me the strength to raise the prices so that all can be fair in the world and that Pillowbook can finally have a chance to earn a profit and grow (aka develop more delicious designs!) All of this, just all of them are angels to me and I’m super excited and honored to dedicate this collection to them.
These ladies strengthen me every day and I have so much to be thankful for. Some of you are probably read this- THANK YOU SO MUCH! and Happy Thanksgiving!
The takeaway from all this? Well.. When the turkey is consumed and retail opens to the much anticipated Black Friday, please please remember to be grateful of not only the people around you, but the things you already have. Do not discard them even if it may be old or broken. Most everything can be up-cycled or fixed so that we can buy less and effectively, trash less for a more harmonious consciousness with ourselves, our friends, our family and our home- Earth.
(wow.. that was longer than I anticipated!)
PS. Anybody want a cork cap bra? Juuuust kidding!… (maybe)
PPS. If you haven’t done so yet, (click here to view the lookbook) or (here, straight to the racks).
Love, Pillowbook
Photography by Priss Baxter