Updated: Aug 15, 2023
Everything happens all at once. Sometimes you just have to just jump in and paddle as fast as you can. How does one heart hold all of these emotions?
A new home, being featured in a local luxury magazine, a successful trunk show and new retail representation, creating a new fall collection and becoming a grandma all in one month!
Today is the day I become Grandma JoJo. It is the cream cheese frosting on the carrot cake cupcake of my life. I cannot wait to see its little face and hold its warm weight in my arms. It is a new chapter for Bill and me as we move from parenting into the magical world of being grandparents. We are moving into that role with much joy and anticipation. This new role and responsibility has lifted us up into the whirlwind of moving in a new direction — figuratively and quite literally.
Right now I am sitting in our new house. We just moved to a beautiful newer home that’s the perfect layout and size for Bill and me, and it’s only three minutes from our son and daughter-in-law’s house. We’re still unpacking boxes and getting settled in, but are starting to feel at home. It will be months before we will be able to get into our garage, but the good news is that we actually have a garage, a luxury we did not have at our previous home near the Plaza. Now we are north of the city in a lovely wooded, hilly neighborhood called Briarcliff. Our house looks out at the woods, and we love the serene setting.
My studio is full of light with windows on two sides. Right now the floor is covered with piles of fabrics I’ve been collecting for my new fall line of kimonos and scarves. It is another new beginning. Now that it’s time to get the new line into production, I am ready. The vision is clear in my mind for how this line is going to look, and I’m so excited about this new direction.
Based on new raw silk in muted solid colors, the lovely textures and prints from the fabrics I’ve been collecting will be crafted into one-of-a-kind accents and trim on each garment. Sleek linings will flash a surprise glimpse of color or print as the garment moves with its wearer.
Each piece will be handmade by sewing professionals here in Kansas City. And, for the first time since I started making kimono-inspired garments about four years ago, the line is now being carried at a local retail boutique, Trapp and Company. Plans are being made for a Fall Fashion event in early October.
As the new day begins, a ray of sunshine spreads across the cover of the new TODAY Kansas City magazine, a luxury lifestyle quarterly publication by Soave Automotive Group. The cover features a model wearing a stunning colorful dress against a sparkling blue water background. I am proud to be included in this issue with a feature article that begins on page 66: Mullin at Heart. Writer Matt Lancaster wrote the article based on an interview with me a few weeks ago. He asked me about the journey that led to me making kimonos: why I started making them and what it all means to me.
(Just click on the image to see the entire article and more photos.)
I encourage you to take a look at it because it explains my motivation and mission for creating garments that women love to wear, and how my business has evolved into a ministry. It is an honor to be featured in this luxury lifestyle publication. I hope my story inspires you to find your own way to celebrate what you love and lift others up in the process.
As the story explains, our family has had its share of struggles and difficult times. Like every family, ours is a story of ups and downs and surviving losses and disappointments as well as feeling overwhelmingly blessed. As our younger son is trying to find his way in life, our older son is becoming a father, and Bill and I have an electrician working at our new house this morning and we are wondering where we left the box cutter. It might seem like just another day, but for us, it's a time to stop and count our blessings.
A Road Trip Might be Just What you Need
How long has it been since you hit the road with a girlfriend or two and took off for a couple of days? I can't even remember the last time I got to do that! Sometimes it's good to let off a little steam and just get a change of scenery and enjoy some girl talk.
My friend, Katie Van Luchene, who lives here in Kansas City and is a great J.Mullin Apparel customer, just texted me to let me get a sneak preview of a feature article she wrote for IN Kansas City Magazine's upcoming May issue. The article, "Girlfriends' Getaways - 7 of the best girlfriends' getaways within a 4-hour drive of Kansas City," reads like a travel guide and features several intriguing destinations that I have never visited - yet. Being somewhat new to Kansas City, I haven't ventured beyond the KC Metro much. But I plan to do some exploring in the coming months.
Check out the KC Magazine here: The article begins on Page 60.
My Big Surprise
As I was thumbing through the digital version of the magazine and found Katie's article, I was pleasantly surprised to see the sidebar on page 65 that highlights a few new items a girl might need on said getaway, including a one-of-a-kind J.Mullin Apparel kimono! She is absolutely right, in my opinion.
Just recently I attended Katie's birthday party, where I got to meet many of her girlfriends from Kansas City who I had not met until that night. I realized that I was surrounded by some pretty amazing women. Women who are accomplished and own businesses, an art gallery or two, a nationally known jewelry designer, a well known fine artist, a plastic surgeon, a musician, a luxury bedding store owner, a professional photographer, a winery owner...the list goes on and on. Katie insisted on us all wearing hats, which added a whole new layer of fun to the evening.
By the end of the party, we all knew each other a little better, and several of us exchanged contact information so we could stay in touch. I won one of the door prizes, which was a gift certificate to a new restaurant here in Kansas City. I will save it for my own birthday, which is coming up in a couple of weeks.
Before we all posed for one big crazy group photo, we were taken aside by a videographer who asked each one of the guests to tell a little story of how we know Katie. There was no question in my mind what I would say and I jumped right into the story of how we met when I first moved to KC and attended a Fashion Week runway show.
Not finding anything I wanted to wear to the show, I had quickly sewn a long jacket using a combination of pretty fabrics I had saved for "something." A well-dressed, obviously well-known woman came up to me and complimented me on my jacket and when I told her I had made it myself, she said, "Oh! I'd buy that in a heartbeat!" A light bulb went on over my head at that moment when none other than the lovely Katie Van Luchene inspired me to go home and make more kimonos.
Katie now owns five of my kimonos, and besides being a good friend, she is one my brand's most enthusiastic ambassadors. She was also the emcee for the J.Mullin Apparel official Launch Event last April. Thank you, Katie, for the nice surprise of being included in your side bar article! I hope we get to go on one of those roadtrips sometime.
In the meantime, I just want to say how grateful I am to be surrounded by such fabulous accomplished and generous women. Did I mention fun-loving? I hope all of you can experience the camaraderie and companionship of having wonderful friends, especially those friends you've had for years. Even if they're not long-time friends yet, you could meet one today. Sometimes they're friends at first sight.
Updated: Apr 16, 2023
Some runways are for soft landings at the end of a journey; others are for powering up for take-off.
The afterglow of our first runway show at Kansas City Fashion Week in March is still shedding its golden light as I return to my studio and think about what’s next. That runway show was the most impactful ten minutes of my life. Not only do others see J.Mullin Apparel in a new light, but so do I.
Seeing the twelve distinctive looks presented as a cohesive collection on the 100 foot long elevated runway at Kansas City’s Union Station was like getting a huge nod of approval from the Universe. The entire production — designing the line and creating the garments — working with a stylist on how to present each look — choosing the models — fitting the garments to the models — choreographing and rehearsing — hair and make-up concepts, photo shoots and so much more…It all was a culmination of months of work by a team of professionals. The closer we got to the night of the event the more I realized the significance of the journey itself. It galvanized the J.Mullin Apparel brand’s philosophy and message.
Getting to know the people on my team was my biggest joy. And working with my stylist, Amani Skalacki, on perfecting each look was so much fun. She pushed me beyond my comfort zone and the end results were so much more elevated and editorial than I would have done on my own. I quickly learned to let go of my preconceived ideas and embraced the talents and contributions of my team. The result was a fabulous runway show that not only wowed the audience but also helped me see and articulate more clearly who we are as a brand.
Those surreal ten minutes of being on that runway was our end goal. Truthfully, I had been focusing so hard on perfecting that show, it became the grand finale in my mind. But now that it’s over, I am realizing that it was only the beginning. J.Mullin Apparel is on a new trajectory. We are seen in a new light. New opportunities are opening up for us. It is clear that our runway show was not the grand finale of anything. Instead of a triumphant landing at the end of a journey, it has become our moment of take-off.
Whatever you are working towards; whatever life event or goal; pay attention to all of the blessings and lessons that will come your way along the journey. Know that things are going to evolve along the way. Be open to revising your plans and adjusting your course. You might just find that when you finally reach your destination it will be better than you could have imagined. And, most likely, it will just be the beginning of so much more.
