Carrie Hammer
Founder
CARRIE HAMMER Custom Apparel
Who inspires you?
My mother- she excels at everything she does. She is queen of the boardroom, queen of the household, queen of philanthropy—you get it. She takes on a realm or a project and takes it to new heights.
Why have you decided to become an entrepreneur?
It was modeled to me by my entrepreneurial parents, so partly it’s in my blood and partly I see so many opportunities and inefficiencies in the world and am excited about working on them.
Where do you see your company in the next five years?
I’m looking to build CARRIE HAMMER out into a multi channel and multi vertical brand to help professional women and women in general in many different ways. I’m very excited about the future!
How is your company different from other Professional Women’s Apparel companies?
CARRIE HAMMER custom apparel is an online and by appointment line for professional women. We differentiate ourselves by putting an emphasis on style and fit by 100% custom tailoring our clothes to our customers.
What was a defining moment in your career?
Leaving my job in advertising sales to start my own company. Advertising was interesting and fast paced but it wasn’t my true calling. It was a big jump and a leap of faith to switch careers but it was one that was necessary both my career and life.
What is your next step within your career?
The next step is growing CARRIE HAMMER at a steady yet rapid pace to be able to outfit as many women who need and want custom clothing as possible. Taking the leap from start up to full fledged company
How did you finance your business when it was at the early stage? (Self-funded, crowd-funded, Angel Investor, VC)
When I was in advertising sales I knew I eventually wanted to start my own company. For 4 years I saved every single commission check in anticipation of eventually needing to fund my business. With that savings I was able to get myself up and going and sales have kept CARRIE HAMMER running.
Tell me something about yourself that we don’t know already.
I want to be a pilot. I have taken flying lessons and love to be in the sky!
What is your favorite color?
Can’t just have one – that’s not fair. I have favorites for different categories: Bright Teal Blue (to wear), Black/White (for home), Cotton Candy Pink (overall)
What is your guilty pleasure? (Real Housewives, Chocolate, 50 shades of Grey, etc)
Craft Time—sitting around with a glue gun, swarovski crystals, stamps, glitter, etc. That couldn’t make me happier.
Who is your celebrity crush?
Pete Cashmore – Founder of Mashable (swoon!)
How do you define success?
Being satisfied every day with where you are, who you are, and what you stand for.
If you had one year that you could say was the best year of your life what year would it be? Why? How old were you?
I hear life gets better every single year so I guess the best year of my life will be my last year. Not sure when that will be but I hope it’s far away!
Describe a time you failed. What did you learn from that experience?
I fail (and succeed) every single day. The severity of the failures vary by day (I forgot to send that e-mail vs. I’m not at my sales goals. I betrayed trust). The biggest failure is not being able to bounce back from the low.
What do you do for fun?
I love all sorts of different art. My mom’s an artist and a big influence in my life and work. I love photography, painting, drawing, water color, collage… really anything I can get my hands on!
Do you have a hidden talent?
I give very thoughtful gifts. I often buy them even when there isn’t an event or birthday nearby. I pick things up as they remind me of people and stash them away.
What is your favorite mobile app?
Pandora
What do you do to help focus?
Meditate every morning for 20 minutes
Cool Kid or Nerd in High school?
Cool Nerd—I was the homecoming queen who won the math award
What is your favorite style trend for the fall?
I try not to follow trends too closely. I find staying true to personal style always suites everyone the best. That being said, I always love a good leather accent.
Any words of advice for up & coming designers who are trying to get their brands noticed?
Be your own number one fan and salesperson. Go to every event and wear your brand everywhere! My friends make fun of me and they call my line my “uniform” since I wear it every single day. Repetition is an important part of branding and you never know who you might run into so you better be wearing your elevator pitch!
Keep up with Carrie Hammer on http://carriehammer.com/, about.me, Tumblr and Twitter
Carrie’s Interview conducted by WIM intern, Jessica Hubert