Velvety
About the Company
Velvety is an ethical fashion marketplace founded by Lorena Estelle, who saw a gap in the Australian market for sustainable, vegan, and ethically made products. The company serves as a destination for consumers looking to make more conscious shopping choices, offering a range of fashion and lifestyle products that align with sustainable and ethical values. Velvety is designed to be both a marketplace and a learning platform for individuals interested in moving away from fast fashion and embracing more sustainable habits.
The company operates primarily online, selling and promoting products from various labels and brands that meet strict ethical standards. In addition to curating products from other brands, Velvety also offers its own label, including Velvety soy candles, which are made to order. The business emphasizes transparency and ethical practices, ensuring that every product sold aligns with its core values of veganism, sustainability, and ethical production.
Velvety’s approach is unique in that it combines retail with education, aiming to change consumer habits by providing both products and information. The company’s website is a central part of this strategy, offering not only products but also resources and content that help consumers understand the importance of ethical fashion. Through Velvety, Estelle hopes to create a community of conscious consumers who are committed to making a positive impact through their shopping choices.
Idea Behind Company
The idea for Velvety was born from Lorena Estelle’s personal journey and passion for fashion, veganism, and sustainability. With a background in fashion styling and image consulting in Barcelona, Estelle had always been deeply connected to the fashion industry. However, her move to Australia and subsequent experiences as a vegetarian and vegan deepened her awareness of the ethical issues in fashion, particularly around animal cruelty and environmental sustainability.
Estelle’s shift towards veganism played a significant role in shaping her vision for Velvety. After working in a vegan shoe shop in Melbourne, she became more attuned to the need for ethical and sustainable alternatives in the fashion industry. This experience, combined with her entrepreneurial spirit, led her to the idea of creating an online store that not only offered vegan and sustainable products but also educated consumers about the importance of ethical shopping.
The concept of Velvety was also influenced by Estelle’s desire to address the fast fashion industry's environmental and ethical problems. She recognized that many consumers were unaware of the impact their fashion choices had on the planet and wanted to create a platform that made it easy for them to make better choices. Velvety was designed to be more than just a store; it was envisioned as a movement towards a more sustainable and ethical future in fashion.
Creating the Company
Building Velvety was a process of learning, experimentation, and perseverance for Lorena Estelle. Initially, she started with a small fashion pop-up store in Perth, importing fashion brands from a friend in Barcelona. Although this venture only lasted a year, it provided valuable insights into the fashion business in Australia. After moving to Melbourne and working in the vegan retail sector, Estelle decided to pursue her vision of creating an online marketplace for ethical fashion.
The early days of Velvety were marked by significant challenges, including the need to teach herself about e-commerce, marketing, and product sourcing. Estelle spent countless hours researching, developing her website, and finding the right brands to feature on her platform. She focused on building a community within the vegan and ethical fashion space, which helped her gain initial traction for her business.
Despite the challenges, Estelle’s commitment to her vision never wavered. She understood that creating a successful ethical fashion business would require more than just passion; it would also require strategic planning, networking, and continuous learning. Estelle invested in her business by attending markets, networking with like-minded individuals, and refining her product offerings based on customer feedback. This hands-on approach allowed her to gradually build Velvety into a recognized brand in the ethical fashion space.
Launching the Business
The official launch of Velvety was a low-key affair, with a focus on community engagement rather than grand marketing strategies. Estelle hosted a live launch event in her local area, inviting friends and members of the vegan community to see her products in person. This grassroots approach helped spread the word about Velvety, leading to immediate sales and positive word-of-mouth that fueled the business’s early growth.
Estelle found the process of creating the Velvety website particularly enjoyable, despite the many challenges and learning curves involved. She dedicated a significant amount of time to building an online presence, including participating in vegan markets to connect with customers directly. These efforts helped establish Velvety as a trustworthy and appealing brand for eco-conscious consumers.
As the business grew, Estelle recognized the importance of investing in marketing and professional development. She enrolled in a mastermind program focused on e-commerce, which helped her transform Velvety from a side project into a serious business. The training allowed her to master tools like Facebook Ads, which became a key driver of sales growth. Over time, Velvety expanded its marketing efforts to include SEO, Google Ads, and social media, ensuring a steady stream of traffic and customers to the online store.
Earnings
Velvety has become a profitable business, generating $24,000 in revenue per month, though managing expenses and maintaining ethical standards remains a challenge. The cost of goods for ethically made products is higher than fast fashion, which affects profit margins. On average, Velvety aims for a 50% profit margin on stocked products and 20-30% on made-to-order items. Despite these challenges, the business has grown steadily, thanks to strategic investments in marketing and the support of an SEO agency.
The business’s success is attributed to its strong brand identity and commitment to ethical practices. Velvety’s profitability is also supported by a mix of revenue streams, including direct sales, made-to-order products, and drop-shipping arrangements with ethical brands. This diversified approach has helped Velvety navigate the financial challenges of running a small ethical business, particularly during economic downturns.
Looking ahead, Estelle plans to expand Velvety’s offerings by creating a sustainable fashion directory. This new venture aims to give more visibility to ethical brands and provide consumers with additional resources for making sustainable fashion choices. While long-term goals are challenging in the current economic climate, Estelle remains focused on growing Velvety and continuing to advocate for a more ethical and sustainable fashion industry.
