My Signature.....My Life....By Des

My Signature.....My Life....By Des

My Signature….My life….By Des

During the month of August, in which we both celebrated and recognized the struggles and successes of women in South Africa, I spent some time reflecting on the journey of My Signature.

Firstly, I want to thank all of you for following and supporting my business over the years but at the same time, I also want to share with you a little more about me as a full-time wife, mother, daughter, sister, friend and small business owner.

As I think about my role as a woman and a business woman it is clear that I am not alone and that many women have to balance the demands of a busy family life with that of earning a living….that is life for most of us.

It helps if we love what we do and who we do it for…..I love creating clothes that people love and want to buy…..I love that my business gives me the opportunity to create a better life for my family….a grown up husband and two growing children….I love that I put my signature/DNA on the clothes that I design and make!

Having worked in the clothing industry for many years and with a passion to create my own brand, I decided to launch Signature Clothing (more about the brand name in a moment) as a home studio concept in 2011 to offer women individual attention and assist with personal styling and wardrobe solutions.

Over the last 5 years the Signature Clothing brand has grown (almost as fast as my kids) as people like you bought into the brand and what it stood for… bold and expressive styles, emphasizing the wearer’s public persona and making them stand out from the crowd.

I have created dresses, t-shirts, shirts, casual pants and sleepwear both beautifully finished and sophisticated. Attention to detail in the clothing and the styling being most important to me. This was the essence of Signature Clothing and the personality and signature of the person behind the brand ….me…Des!

So after 5 challenging years of  sweat and tears (no blood that I can remember) of building the Signature Clothing brand, I received a lawyers letter from  a large retail chain telling me that I was legally no longer able to use the brand name and must change it …or else!

My heart told me to fight this but my head told me it was not a fight I could win. That said, I was not prepared give up and let my business die. Not only does my family depend on the business but also the families of the local people that produce the clothes for me. So after many months of negotiation and legal back and forth the retailer finally agreed on a brand name that I could use and that I felt still represented me and the business I had built…..so ‘Signature by Des’ was born! 

As women, we have to overcome challenges almost every day in our lives but we should also celebrate our successes (no matter how big or small) and share them together.

Although still in our infancy, Signature by Des is looking forward to the future and creating great styles for our customers. I am very happy with our summer range of both day wear and sleepwear and I hope you will be too!

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