It had been a while since I had an event where I wasn't sharing the responsibility of ensuring good attendance. I had forgotten how nerve wracking it can be and heart wrenching when you start thinking half the people won't show up. They of course always do, invariably last minute, or "fashionably late" which has led to me vowing to no longer do that to people, however unfashionable that may make me. It's too devastating when experiencing it on the other end. I was very happy with the turnout in the end, as it was a great mix of friends, supporters and industry members. I had wanted exactly that for the private party, and wanted to thank those that have been there from the beginning as well as people who have just recently come into my life as new collaborations and clientele.
We put on a little show downstairs once the place had filled up enough. I had 5 fantastic models who were so happy to be there, had great attitudes and made my swimwear look fantastic! I just love working with professional models who can bring the designs to life, and lend personality to the show. I owe a big thank you to Modmop Hairdressing and Noah who not only did the makeup, but planned the looks and styled the girls to perfection. Again, thank you to everyone behind the scenes who work so hard and provide life lines to people such as myself. We couldn't do it without you!
I had planned to give a thank-you speech directly following the show, but it somehow just didn't work once the runway was pulled up and people had hit the dance floor. I decided personally thanking everyone was a better touch, and there were some individuals that hadn't made it that night that I had planned to mention and changing the wording last minute was fairly impossible, or at least with everything else happening it felt as such. I'd like to take the opportunity now to put my Thank-You speech in writing, taking the liberty to expand on the much smaller one I had planned originally in person:
Thank you to those who are here tonight to support my latest step on this crazy path I've taken. June marks one year since I registered Amber Watkins SWIM down at City Hall, and therefore makes it the perfect month to officially launch my online store, shopamberwatkins.ca. It's been one crazy year, and I have learned so much about the business, about myself and about the people around me.
Two months ago when I sat down with Scott, we were meeting to discuss something entirely different. I was also juggling a few big life decisions all at once, while still trying to get my swimwear collection out into people's hands. I had already begun the necessary steps to developing my online store. What I needed was a focus and motivation to have it complete. He suggested a launch party, hosted at JunXion, orginally set for sometime in May. By early May, after hours and hours of work, I had completed the goal, and soft-launched the site to see how things went. A month later, here we are! I need to say a special thank you to Scott, Andrew, Duong and the JunXion team for making tonight possible, from the invitations to the the complimentary champagne upstairs, right down to the custom built runway I'm standing on now. Hammer promised me that it could support a rhinocerous if that was necessary. I felt confident my 90 lb models would be safe.
As I look around the room, I see the faces of some of my closest friends. Many of you have been to literally every show and event I have done. I feel so fortunate to have you in my life, urging me forward, yelling words of encouragement. In this marathon, you've been the ones handing me water and snack packs from the sidelines and I can honestly say I would have never been able to go on without you. I would especially like to thank someone who spent years dutifully driving me to Fabricland, picking me up from fittings, accompanying me to Toronto, once even voluntarily pinning white lace fabric to ugly red curtains because I hated them so much. I could go on with my examples, but I wouldn't want to pump his tires TOO much. So I will just leave it as this: Thank you, Tyler. You were my biggest fan, my sounding board, my shoulder to cry on (many many many times) and my voice of reason even if it wasn't what I wanted to hear. I appreciate everything and carry it with me in my future endeavours.
There are other friends I have made who have provided me with opportunities and helped me in my moments of desperation and absolute ignorance. Angie from AMTI and her family have been there since day one and she is still there for me now. Christopher Massardo from PRESS The Fashion Magazine provides endless advice and inspiration with his amazing work. Greg Kolz and Paul Trepanier have snapped photos for countless runway shows and events and without them I wouldn't have half the photos I do for my website and facebook pages. I also see new friends and acquaintances who I have been lucky to have met in the recent past, to collaborate creatively and to learn from one another, from photographers to stylists, makeup artists and public relations representatives. I also cannot forget to thank the team at Shopify who built the online store I am launching today, who met with me and took hours out of their schedule to design the site when I was at a point of sheer frustration. It's not something they are mandated to do, and I thank them for their patience and dedication to my cause.
I also see clients who have bought my swimsuits and tell their friends about Amber Watkins SWIM. Thank you for purchasing and promoting my first collection.
Finally, a big thank you to my friend Noah who I was fortunate to meet only 3 months ago, and who I instantly knew would be a person I would work with for hopefully many years to come. He and I and his friend Maciej who photographed the images for the online store worked so well together for the shoot and I need to mention that Logan from MIM models was such a trooper for that extra long day!
In conclusion, I can say that I know from experience how important it is to tell the people in your life how much they mean to you and how much you value their part in your projects. We cannot do everything alone, and we can only be more successful when we allow others in and welcome feedback and collaboration. I owe what success I have achieved so far to every person in this room and many others who are not here tonight but have supported me in some personal way.
I hope you have enjoyed your night and that you know how much it means to me to have you here.
The rest of the weekend was spent in some alternative state of reality, as I dealt with the sudden realization that I didn't have some hyper-scheduled agenda to stick to, and after over two months of working 7 days a week and having something planned for every day, I honestly didn't know what to do with myself. I kept willing myself to relax and go with the flow, and Saturday I managed to ward off my initial feelings of loneliness. However, Sunday evening was a different story. I think everything I have done and all the changes I have had to adjust to in the last couple of months just came at me with a giant whoosh of white noise and panic. I can't describe the feelings I was having, because they were tangled up like the top drawer of my jewellery chest. I think it's a sign I need to take some time to work on my heart now...it's taken a back seat lately and also a few hits in the last few weeks. This weekend it felt like the cinch that had already been around it was suddenly tightened by several notches. I'm going home this weekend to see my fam jam and then it's off to Toronto to work and catch up with some long lost friends and to celebrate my birthday. I think it's just what I need.
xo Amber
