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Distinctive Style for the Woman of Influence
About J.Mullin Apparel:
Inspired by women who are confident and have a strong sense of personal style, I am dedicated to creating an alternative to what most mass produced apparel brands are offering women.
As we enter the most productive time of our lives, and have the confidence and experience to be all we were born to be, we deserve to have more options for dressing in a way that is flattering and empowering.
I believe that instead of trying to disguise our flaws, we should be celebrating what we love and who we have become. We deserve to be able to find apparel that is distinctive and flattering; apparel that was designed for real women with real bodies and amazing personal style.
After a career in corporate communications, my life adventure got even more interesting. An artist at heart, I was always making things and coming up with ways to use whatever I had on hand to make something fabulous or, at least, fun. My first entrepreneurial adventure was making clocks out of 45 records. That was when I came up with my motto: "Using what we have to reinvent our lives," which continues to describe my approach to my many creative adventures.
My husband, Bill, and I have been married 47 years. We were blessed with two sons, and now have a lovely daughter-in-law and two precious grandbabies. We have lived in Kansas City for almost eight years now, and are officially retired. All that means is we don't get paid anymore. We work as hard as we ever did, but on our own projects. It is a wonderful time of our lives. After living in South Bend, Indiana, then Chicago and Southwest Michigan, and Northwest Indiana, we spent nine years in the San Francisco Bay Area, and relocated to Kansas City in 2018.
In looking back over the many chapters in my life that has brought me to this place, I can see the pattern of a progression of skills and lessons, risks and success. I was blessed with opportunities and great friends. People trusted me with their projects and invested in my ideas. One project led to another, and I was able to work in some fabulous environments and with some wonderful clients who became dear friends.
While living in the San Francisco Bay Area from 2009 to 2018, I kind of exploded with creativity. From creating a line of deconstructed and reinvented denim jackets, to a line of altered and embellished coats, my collections were sold at art shows, boutiques and trunk shows. I also had a line of painted leather handbags and western boots, which were sold at an art gallery in Napa.
Meeting the right people at the right time, I was offered many new opportunities to try new things, including designing a retail women's clothing boutique, and tagging along with the boutique owners on buying trips and even doing some modeling for their newspaper ads and e-mails. I learned so much from them, and met some wonderful people who gave me even more opportunities that led to many decorative painting projects.
I painted murals and faux finishes on walls and furniture, cabinets and light fixtures, aging new plaster columns, restoring water damaged moulding and friezes, and replicating marble baseboards that had been altered and patched. I even did a faux tarnished copper finish on a kitchen range hood to match real copper countertops.
These wonderful experiences gave me the opportunity to work with some incredible people and make some fabulous friends. I got to learn new skills to take forward to my next chapter, which was to be in Kansas City, Missouri.
Moving to Kansas City gave me another opportunity to reinvent myself. Again. Why not? It was soon after we moved there that I decided to attend a Kansas City Fashion Week runway show. It was purely out of curiosity. I decided to sew my own long kimono-style jacket out of some repurposed fabrics I had collected for my denim jacket business and went to the event, which ended up being the beginning of a new adventure.
Joanne Mullin,
Designer
That night a woman who obviously was a woman of influence, came up to me and complimented me on my outfit and when I told her I made it myself, she responded, "Oh my God! I would buy that in a heartbeat!"
Later that same evening, I met the woman who had founded a professional apparel manufacturing company in Kansas City that did small batch production. That was the beginning of a new adventure. Once again, I was reinventing myself and heading into unknown territory.
Over the next year or two, I worked with Rightfully Sewn to produce two new collections of kimono-inspired garments, working up to having my own proprietary patterns and purchasing new fabrics instead of using all repurposed fabrics. It was a step towards producing a line of high quality, consistent pieces in standardized sizes.
After a couple of photo shoots with models, and having consistent display ad placement in a few local magazines, we were ready to officially launch our business.
Our official launch was in March of 2022. We introduced our first professionally produced collection at an elegant cocktail party where guests could try our garments on in an upscale dressing room environment. It was amazing to see how much the women loved trying on our garments, especially while sipping champagne and tuxedo-wearing waiters circulated with trays of gourmet hors d'oeurves.
Our event was a success. We sold several pieces, and were very excited about the future of our line. One of the couples who attended our event later came to our home studio and purchased seven garments for their entire family for Christmas gifts. The momentum of that event carried us forward into a new phase of being recognized as a legitimate up-and-coming brand.
Kansas City Fashion Week Runway Show March 2023
Our first runway show was at Kansas City Fashion Week in March, 2023. Working with stylist, Amani Skalacki, we put together a 12-look show on a 100 foot runway. Inspired by the bold impressionistic paintings of Matisse, we created the show around a San Tropez-like theme with a 1960s vibe.
Amani Skalacki and I worked together to create editorial looks around our collections kimono-inspired jackets and robes. Together, we conceptualized the looks and I handmade all of the pieces, including tailored pants for one of our male models, and a hooded kimono robe with a long train as our final look. Amani knew what needed to be done, and together we created an epic runway show. My husband, Bill, put the soundtrack together, and we had so much fun choreographing the show.
Katie Van Luchene, who inspired me to create this collection, purchased one of the runway looks the night of our show.
Since then, she has purchased several more pieces, including some scarves.
She also did some modeling for us.
I can't thank her enough for her friendship and inspiration.
Trunk Shows and Retail Events
In the three years since our runway show, we have been invited by several retail boutiques to do in-store events featuring our collection. Most of these boutiques have been in the Kansas City area. Each boutique has a customer base of women who love to dress well, and enjoy trying on new looks with their friends and stylists who know them well.
The boutiques we have worked with so far include Trapp & Co., Blackbird Collection, Alysa Rene and Clothology, where we were the featured guest designer for one of their runway shows. We also were invited to do a two day Christmas Open House event at the International Fashion House in Branson, Missouri.
We've also exhibited at the Regional TedX (Ted Talk) event, partnering with our garment production company, Rightfully Sewn.
And, we regularly participate in fundraising events held by not-for profit organizations that provide services to those in recovery or who are otherwise in need.
Amani Skalacki was my stylist and collaborator for our Kansas City Fashion Week runway show and helped coordinate our retail events.
She is my muse and advisor, and a dear friend who has helped me accomplish more than I could have imagined, including building our social media following and always having fresh, new ideas.
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Photos from our Trunk Show at Blackbird Collection in Kansas City.
Seen and Heard
Kansas City has several glossy magazine publications, and we have received a good amount of coverage since our 2022 launch. Two multi-page photo spreads were published by Leawood Lifestyle and Johnson County Lifestyle, as well as a feature article in Aristocrat Motors' Today Magazine.
We appreciate all of the coverage we've been given, and look forward to participating in more retail events and fundraising events soon.
Our Mission
Helping women see themselves in a new way that restores their confidence and reveals their unique personal style is so rewarding to me personally. I love to see the instant transformation when she slips into one of our garments and looks in the mirror and just comes to life. It's as if she has suddenly recognized an old friend. Her confidence soars, empowering her to be the person she was born to be.
To finally find apparel that is flattering and comfortable, on trend and versatile opens up new possibilities for getting the most out of your wardrobe. Getting dressed is fun again. You love putting outfits together and feel pulled together and ready to face whatever the day holds.
Our biggest joy is seeing the look on a woman's face when she sees her own beauty and is empowered to be all she can be.
Moving Forward
We are currently in production with our first collection of Artisan Trenches. An adaptation of our current kimono-inspired garments, we are adding the iconic details of a classic trench coat to our jackets and coats. The result is a fun and artistic hybrid of two timeless silhouettes. We are producing 45 new pieces in 9 fabric combinations, including lightweight organic prints and more elevated raw silk solid colors.
Be sure you are on our e-mail list to receive our announcements and updates.
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