Girl Gang the Podcast
Girl Gang the Podcast
Caitlyn Rylander, Fleur de Rye
On today’s episode of Girl Gang the Podcast, we interview Caitlyn Rylander, owner of Fleur de Rye (@fleurderye). Caitlyn is a florist, hair stylist, studio owner, furniture flipper, and pun master. She’s been featured in Vogue, Martha Stewart Weddings, and Green Wedding Shoes, to name a few.
Thanks for tuning in to grow gang, the podcast. My name is amy[inaudible] and I'm a creator and collaborator based in Los Angeles and the founder of[inaudible] dot com. We encourage the aspiring highlight, the doers, and most importantly get real about the highs and lows of female entrepreneurship. Get ready world. The future is here and she's a boss. Before we get started with the first episode of this podcast, I just want to take a moment to dedicate this to my mom and her girl gang. You've shown me what it's like to inspire each other and lift each other up, so thank you for leading by example.
Speaker 2:You're listening to girl gang, the podcast, and this is Caitlin with Florida Rye. I'm a florist and a year stylist furniture flipper. Sometimes when I feel like it, my life is basically like pinterest. What was your very first job that you ever had? My very first job that I ever had was actually working for urban cafe, which was like a sandwich.
Speaker 1:That was my very first job. Everyone's first job and it was a sandwich artist
Speaker 2:and I used to literally ditch high school to go to my job to go make sandwiches because I didn't want to be in school at Seventeen. I graduated and went to beauty school, finish that in about six months, which is six months faster than what everyone generally does cause I'm a working crazy person and then I immediately left to go job hunting la as soon as I got my license for her. And then what was your first job that you had in la and the starting point of your career path that you're on now? I would say my first salon job was working at orange economy salon in West Hollywood. There. I met a stylist by the name of Kristen asked. She was like the first person I ever talked to you walking into the salon last trying to google another salon that I was told to go too and I pulled over and went into there instead because that seems like a better idea. I was pretty much told I could have the job on the spot as soon as I wanted to start. For a trial period, so she said eight in the morning. She didn't actually work until 12 at noon, so I sat outside for four hours. I guess that is how the hazing period started. Just kidding. I love you kristen. And that was kind of it. I started there. I made a nascar joke because I found out she was from Bakersfield after the NASCAR joke. She loved that and I was worked with her for like seven years after. And what were some of the biggest takeaways you took from that job that you've brought into your new career path? She gave me more schooling in life and I ever gotten the first 18 years before I met her. She like, I call it my salon childhood because every of natural here comes directly from her and I met all of her clients are like total girl boss crushes that I all I want in life is to be hopefully admire to them in this whole process. And what was the craziest moment that you ever had? They're good or bad. What was just like an out of body experience where you were like, what is life? My first day walking in a, they were filming the hills, which was funny because I grew up in the like the film industry, so I was like, oh, okay, this is my life now, and Lauren has been like a really great client since 2007 and she's super supportive over Florida Rye, which is awesome. So that was probably my first time that I walked in. I was like, Oh, I'm here. Cool. Great Day one day, one hour. One. Who wants coffee? The entire production sent. Okay, I'll be right back. That's cool. Oh my gosh. And then what was it like transitioning out of that into doing your own thing? What sparked that inside of you to do that? Man, that's kind of a loaded question. Um, load. Give me like a hot potato. I guess. I was just like, where? Where's my whole story going? I worked with Kristin, we left more intercompany. We went to Chris Mcmillan's salon, which I always said when I was a kid would be like the tippy top. That's where I wanted to go. And it was literally the worst experience of my life. I learned that a salon environment is probably not my jam, even at this level of the industry. I was like, nope, got to get out of this room. These people are super talented but also super insane and I couldn't deal it like I couldn't deal with personality wise. During that time, Christine launched a studio and the bd department, so transferring out of a salon environment seemed like the most natural thing to do, so she launched her own studio. I got a trial run of how that starts of opening your own space and how to do that, how to look for leases, opening whole new business accounts. We basically just like didn't. After working there for two years, I started doing a little bit more. I was like, I want something for myself. I flipped a coin and it was either Nashville or Ventura and Ventura. One I found a salon job here and I did salon here stuff for Monday through Friday. Still worked in La with Carsten Saturday, Sunday, started the flower stuff on a whim. Did that while everyone was supposed to be sleeping and eventually just weddings kind of. I started, I had my first wedding that first year and that got published and I was like, Oh, I guess I'm a florist and that first year I had three other weddings be published and I was like, I don't think I can do all of this at once. Working out of three different places including my kitchen sink. So eventually the salon owner here in Ventura didn't like that. I did all the things, which is fair, I guess, and I was fired. It ended up being the greatest thing that ever happened because a week later I was walking past my current space now, which was another salon and they were packing things up and I was like, tell me everything. Who's the landlord, who's the property manager, who do I need to talk to? And I was like an annoying 25 year old just pastoring these people. A week later I got the keys, so it literally went from like stocking my new landlord and sending them bottles of wine on their Christmas vacation to picking up keys to my new salon going like, what the hell did I just do? It's literally been like an entire whirlwind that next week or the week after four years, happy anniversary. I mean your flower crowns are just so beautiful and so unique and I just feel like the word of mouth was like wildfire with those and it was just love a crown. What was the first flower crown you ever made? Was it for you out of your passion or did someone just request one and you figured out how to do it? Pretty much if you give me 20 minutes and Kanye Pandora, I can figure out anything. Emily got engaged and she was like, I saw this photo when I was like, okay, I'll figure that out. It's fine. So she was my first one and I literally made it in the back of the salon in between clients here in Ventura and made a mess and he was not thrilled. Then when she got married I made 20 more and that got published and it was at the beginning stages of instagram. So like you put a crown on instagram in 2000, 13, 14, like it just went everywhere very, very quickly. So it literally, I am now the flower Crown Lady for Ventura, California, which is awesome. Still being known for that for four years after. And then wasn't that wedding? It was on green wedding shoes, right. Your stuff. So that's the first flower crowns really that you ever made and then it goes on green wedding shoes. So that was really crazy. I imagine finding that out and then it was also published in an Australian wedding magazine, which is how another couple from Australia who got married in Ohio found me and then that ended up being in vogue, which is still the weirdest day of my life. Finding that out. What went through your head when you found out that your work was going to be? I cried, I cried. I was like sitting in a parking lot waiting to set up for another wedding. When the wedding planner called me and I literally sat there and tears hyperventilating and the bride's family was like, oh my God, what's happening? And I was like, it's cool. Everything's fine over here. It was a hot mess. It was awesome. Oh my gosh. That would be really hard for, I think, a lot of people to be present and continue doing the work and then there's these huge milestones you're doing, but you're just such a hands on hustle. It's not like you can have like a celebratory party, like look at what I've accomplished. It's like, all right, let's have a moment. You know, we have to get right back into doing this other wedding and just keep going. Have you ever been able to stop and really digest all of these successes? So far? No. I mean it's still like it happened and I still haven't even updated my website to say that it happened. I literally like cried about it on instagram for a hot minute while I was sitting on a water cooler in a storage closet because there was nowhere else to hide during the wedding and his. There have been an event or a project that is been just exceeded your expectations and blown it out of the water beside your wedding and honestly your wedding is probably my favorite. It was dinosaur theme. They walked down the aisle and by may you walk down the aisle to the Jurassic Park theme song played on a heart and literally it's my favorite moment in life that I don't think another wedding will even come close. Oh my gosh. Well thank you for having me. Oh my gosh. Yes. I also got to put crystals and everything and it was so fun and gold spray painted tiniest. If I want to talk more about what is the process like of you getting this studio, the actual process and the emotional process of being 25 years old and having your own physical space. I got it by chance. Like I feel like everything aligned perfectly, so I feel like my experience with even getting the studio will probably be not everyone's a normal thing. I literally walked by, I didn't have to go through an agent or anything. I just like walked by and I was like, landlords tell me everything. I never gave them a reason to say no. To me. That was like, here's what I make per week. Here's what I make per month, here's what I make per year. Here's all my money up front, let me know when I can pick up my keys. I'll deal with everything in here. You don't even have to clean it, but I never really thought it would be a thing where it would be emotionally hard I guess. Like I just, it wasn't, it never came to me that it wasn't going to happen. I literally, for some reason they never locked the door when it was open, so he used to come and sit in here at night. It's like a fucking Weirdo, but my place, I'm like the hardest part of getting it open was painting the walls to be honest. But the pain, the pain situation when I walked in here was one wall was terracotta, another wall was lime green, another wall was orange. Two walls were like this teal, but they did spray tanning and so they were spray tinted teal, but I was literally in here with headlamps until 3:00 in the morning, painting walls by myself going like, it'll be fine. And then I scrubbed the floors on my hands and knees, like full on Cinderella status for three days. My only regret is not picking up pink marble tiles from craigslist that were for free four and a half years ago.
Speaker 1:But yeah, I um, because I was the same age as you. I was. Katelyn was 25 when she got her studio and I, when I got my own space I was obviously very proud, very excited, but I just feel like you're going full speed ahead and never really realized that. And the day that we got rid of it, we ended up outsourcing our company and moving to a coworking space and I cried the last day that we were in the office and it was so weird because I realized I held personally so much pride in that and this was like my baby. And so do you feel that way about your space? Oh, this thing is like my child's, like your heart. I know I will because I obviously love to my space, but crying. The day that we moved out I was. I never cry and I was just like, this is insane. I care so much about this and I don't know how to separate this physical space that I was able to get the process of getting it and continue on my journey because of everything it represents.
Speaker 2:I'm getting emotional thinking about it. If someone walks off the street, they're like, I don't understand what happens in here, and I'm like, it's not really for you to get it, so that's fine, but when friends walk in there like your brain just like blew up and vomited all over the walls. I'm like, I know. It's so fun. Like I literally. There's a rocket dog light up sign. There's a giant black disco ball. There's three pin Jada's and I'm like, yeah, it's casual.
Speaker 1:Such just fish with googly eyes. He's up there. Yeah. Oh my gosh. That's my favorite. I forgot what I named him, but he's fine today. No longer. Not Today, but yeah, this. I'm such an achievement to move out of the kitchen environment or in between clients into a space and now you're celebrating four years in a couple of weeks.
Speaker 2:I literally found the instagram of like, I can't wait to have a space in my own, which is literally a photo of flowers in my kitchen sink and I had this space six weeks later, like it wasn't really even a plan of mine that was like, I never really wanted to be my own boss. I was a great personal assistant and I'm like, I don't know, like it never really occurred that I would have my own thing until I had really. The universe gave me no other choice that I literally just like, I feel like it dropped into my lap and I was like, this feels right. Okay, fine. And I do get to do the things that I love the most all at one time.
Speaker 1:Do you feel like a business owner most of the time or do you feel like the creator?
Speaker 2:I probably more of a creator. There's certain days where I like to skip accounting and then I have to stay for hours later to do accounting. You. That's when I feel like a business owner in the most annoying sense. Well, it's fun. I mean, it's never not fun. That's probably the hard part is that you literally have to drag me by my hair out of here most nights because I get to literally live every girl's dream clean with hair and putting together a flower arrangements and it's so stupid that it's working.
Speaker 1:I am convinced that Pinterest took your DNA and just created some sort of system because your life is pinterest. Yeah,
Speaker 2:in the best and worst ways possible. I think pinterest has like definitely mean in the wedding industry alone. I hate Pinterest, but I love that everyone can get on that same aesthetic level. They just don't understand what that aesthetic level truly means in terms of event and I'm like, everybody loves paintings, but everybody also is on a carnation budget, which is fine. They just have to get used to carnations.
Speaker 1:People are scared, I think to be unique and it's super. It's harder. It's a lot harder in everything I feel like has a category and that's when even when you did our wedding, cory and I talked about like what's the theme? And we were like, okay, what would happen if we didn't have a same? And we just went with it and obviously your name came up right away. That was the first decision we made. I think I texted you a week after we got engaged, but we were like, okay, I don't know when we're getting married or were. But I just got a knock. I just like, got to hit up Caitlin now and lock her down because I just, we need to put our trust in her and just see what happens. But, um, I'd love to touch on that too. Like what, you have quite a few weddings. When is your first available weekend that you have in 2018?
Speaker 2:If you want to have a range of weeks in a month, that would be November. Right now I'm getting emails already for next year, which is stupid. Um, it's like the greatest problem in stuff when I have friends that are also getting married, that they're like, what your day is? I'm like, you have this day and I can't. I'm like, I've already had to turn down like three different weddings for friends this year because they pick their wedding date and they're like, I hope you can come. And I'm like, it can't cause that's I can.
Speaker 1:Yeah. How does that feel? Just being so swamped. It's really hard to have a separate to personal life. Yeah,
Speaker 2:it's hard. Especially because people just so you're like, oh, you run your own business so you can do whatever time. And I'm like, I've literally gone to dinner to come back here to work for another four hours and then they are mad that I have to go back to work and I can't like rage and party with them and I'm like, I don't have time. I'm like, I'm sorry. It's just a thing that I've, I've always been a worker though. So that's never. Everyone generally understands now where they're not mean about it. They're getting more cool to the idea that I can't do everything all the time.
Speaker 1:I think some people are getting to a version of that in their own lives too. I remember when I started my first thing when I was 22 and I just started naturally getting drawn to other people that were either starting their own business or just had a very demanding job because it was really hard for me to relate to people that didn't understand my schedule and I feel like, and I'm, I don't know if you can relate to this, but people, yeah, like asking to do things and when you can't, they don't. They think it's a, they think it's a choice and then they think you're being a bad friend. So I just naturally. I mean nowadays people are like, this is so weird. All your friends are doing kind of versions of what you are. And it's like, I mean from the beginning I just had to force myself to do that because those are the friendships I could invest in because if someone's making you feel bad that you can't hang out on a Sunday and go to brunch. I mean, for me now, my ideal Sunday is like, hey, come to our co workspace and hang out and let's either work on what we're doing or talk about branding trends or let's do that. I don't know. I feel like it's really hard to find people that can relate to that. So when you can, you just need to latch on
Speaker 2:full force. Yeah, usually. I mean I, I have a chosen few that get it. I've had to literally ditch branch to go to a farmer's market, which sounds so stupid, but I really had to go to that farmer's market to find a very specific item that I can't find anywhere else. I'm like, sorry, you can't go to brunch. I have to go to this farmers market and that is literally the most pretentious thing that my mouth. It's more about finding the people that are cool with only catching up or you can talk to them every so once in a while, but it picks up like nothing happened and that's generally what I'm trying to surround myself with and that you can't talk every single day.
Speaker 1:Like, I can't even talk to my own thoughts. I can't really relay a conversation.
Speaker 2:Someone was trying to feed myself at normal hours of the day.
Speaker 1:Is there someone specific in your own girl gang here that you look up to?
Speaker 2:Yes. My friend Brianna who owns a clothing store in town, she just gets it and now were roomies, which is awesome because we're just like, we don't want to talk to people but will be in the same room working on things while watching the bachelor and it's fine that it's just like everyone is just working on stuff and there's never a dull moment ever that like you come home, it's super cozy. The couch is fabulous. The walls are filled with things that we've collected at various far like flea markets together over the last four years. Like it's like such a weird thing, but it's super fun.
Speaker 1:What was it like when you guys first met? It seems very natural to me that you would be friends from how for her shop is so amazing. Tiki girl, by the way, it's called in Ventura and your shop is. It seems like you guys are really at the forefront of these like female bosses and downtown mentor. What was your first.
Speaker 2:How did you really meet? Ran Away from her? It was when I first opened, I literally just went around making little jars of flowers and I was like, hi, I'm Caitlyn. I, hi. Just opened this flower shop. Here's some free flowers, will be friends at some point by. And she is like the cutest store in downtown that I was just like, we're gonna work on this. But she also like when you don't know her, which people say the same thing, like she kinda just has like this face on. But literally people say the same thing about me, that it's just like, what do you want? Like you have to come with a purpose because we're busy. And I literally watched them. I was like, here's some free flowers by. And I did it for like three weeks. Just take all of them. You courted you wine and dine these people folks. Um, and eventually she was just like, are you going to tell me about your business? Do you want to drop off business cards while you're here? And I was like you'll be fine by. Eventually we just started talking and we have like a very similar kind of like our lives are similar so we've gone through similar problems and it's just like she just became a really fast homie. I was just like cool, this is great. And now it's been like four years. I kind of like, I'd like to go over there when I'm bored here and help her with stuff in the shop so I'll go be like an honorary tp girl. We literally moved in with like the same like duplicate the chairs because we are chairholders apparently, but we literally have like we finished each other, sets of chairs were just like
Speaker 1:one of the things that was really life changing on my path was moving in with a good girlfriend who was also just such a female hustler. My friend Megan. We lived in San Diego together and just to be able to have a space where you just have a mutual understanding of what your needs are and you're both on this path. But having someone just be on it on their own path and also helping you with yours. I just feel like magic happens. So half the time we're like scheming up a new idea or something somehow. Right. It's, it's amazing. And it's also dangerous because you want to do all the things with so many new with the right person all the time. You're like, oh alright, let's try this. It literally takes most ideas up to a 10. My husband slash Rumi now, but I mean I don't even know how many little businesses or ideas or anything we've come up with, but it's just magic when you can share walls with your collaborator. It's. I'm just so excited to see what you guys come up with. I feel like you have no time at all, but you're going to somehow make time to all these other things are gonna pop up since you've opened the shop, what has been the biggest milestone you feel you've faced here? I got onto Martha Stewart Dot
Speaker 2:com last year, which I was like, Martha, I love Martha, Martha, Martha, and then I got invoke, which is so stupid. It's still beyond stupid that I like to look at the flowers that I did for it. Whenever I feel unsure about a decision and I'm like, we can do this. It's fine. It's my first feature. It's cool. All I want to do is kind of like hanging out in here and make stuff and make this place like the best it could possibly be. If my milestone for next year and then by all means that's going to be like another day open. It's another good day. So,
Speaker 1:so true. Your instagram is just so beautiful. Do you have any strategy behind it? Did you ever have any strategy behind it or do you. You're just so natural at puns and filtering. We just like to do dumb shit all day,
Speaker 2:so have a schedule of like there's the whole marketing schedule where it's like you do a 9:00 AM, you do a 2:00 PM and 6:00 PM or 7:00 PM. If it's a Sunday, I post what I want to. When I'm excited about what I want to share and there's a few days where I literally bought ribbons to 45 minutes to style the ribbons on different kinds of schools so I could take a photo, edit the photo and all of a sudden it was two hours later and I was like, I literally posted that. I'm like, this is what I just wasted two hours of my life on your welcome. I hate instagram right now. I like to be at least vocal about moments like that because it's all so fucking dumb. But you do it for the grants.
Speaker 1:I did something really crazy. I deleted my business instagram for my hair tie company, which was my husband and I had like a little five minute session before like, are we sure? And then I did delete and like close my eyes and then looked and it was like another. Are you sure? And just thought you're a creator. You have beautiful things to post, but I just feel like that's another intimidating thing for people that want to start businesses. If they're not social media savvy, they're turned off by it and for me I just deleted it and thought, I mean I have all corporate clients. I don't need to just be showcasing my work. It's not beautiful. I wouldn't want to follow this if I don't want to follow this and I don't like doing it. Backgrounds and things delay things on. Yeah. And if it's not something I would even follow the Nih, just infer other businesses. We have an instagram because I just think that's my one rule of thumb now if I would follow my own account. Okay. Second barrier. Do I actually like the process of creating these things and posting it? Yes. Then I should have an account. If it's not those things, life will go on. We will all survive if we don't have an instagram and it will be okay and I haven't had one now for seven months for that business and it has not affected it at all, which is crazy, but it just wasn't. It was a hair tie company. Now you have all this time on your hand. Exactly. Not being like, okay cool. Here's another hair tie order. We worked with this person. Okay, we have no content. Should I send it to this blogger? Oh, I want to send it to her. She's asking for$5,000. Okay, what do I do now? So it was like, no, none of it. I want nothing to do with any of it. You can let it take control of you and someone like you that's a creator and a maker and this beautiful things to show if you can stay authentic to that, the customers will follow. But people kind of lose sight of that side of it and just become an instagram slave.
Speaker 2:All social media is kind of the same. And then everything tanks because of a social media channel, then something was wrong in the first part. Exactly. That's how I felt with my little
Speaker 1:experiment, which was a terrifying one because it's one of our main businesses. But I was like, I genuinely don't think this has benefiting anyone's life, including my own. So I'm going to see if sales change, if I just delete it, I can always make a new one. Um, so kristen, that you just brought up your first employer, you still have a good working relationship with her now. It seems like she's mentored you or helped you out or connected things. Can you talk a little bit more about that relationship after working with her? What it's like working with her after? Yeah. It's kind of like
Speaker 2:now it feels like a little bit more. It's not a level playing field, but it feels like a more comfortable playing field. Um, she's killing it right now. So just having like seeing everything that she's doing and I'm like, yes, like I'm mad that you started this after I left, but she's doing so well right now. She just released a whole nother set of like products with target, which are all amazing, but she's, it's a part that she's so amazing that if I get one thing wrong I feel dumb because she, everything she touches is gold and it's been a really humbling experience being like we got to learn how to fail forward. It's fine. And that's like trial by fire is probably my favorite way to learn things. I'm like, if I do it wrong, I know how to not to do it later and it's never been one where I have to stop what I'm doing because I'm bummed out. I can't do it on the first try. Even now, I am so bummed out on the first try.
Speaker 1:I just think it's a really hard thing to do, but I had the same experience with my first employer. I looked up to him so much. I was his first employee ever. I'm Stephen at Tower paddleboards and got to learn so much with them over the next two years and then he stole now and open communication whenever I have a question or when I started my first company, I took him to lunch. He answered all the questions and I think that that's really important to not burn bridges because the people that taught you can continue teaching you if you set yourself up to do that.
Speaker 2:It's like if he was like, yeah, you're going to be home with his girl in eight years. I'd be like, I don't even know what happened, but like I feel like I grew more as a person in that 12 years knowing her than I ever did. Growing up in general.
Speaker 1:No, I never, I don't want to discount people that actually go and get masters and phds, but I felt like you get that lifestyle. But like I understand, but I feel like working with Stephen was my version of that. I was just like, this is so awesome. I'm getting paid to just further my education and get my version of. I honestly thought it was a masters in entrepreneurship. It's like this is amazing and you're paying me. Yeah. Like it's just so I think when you can find that person, you just need to trust the journey and kind of like follow their shadow until you're ready to step out in the light on your own, but not forget about them and then create weird energy and
Speaker 2:hopefully learn from their failures so you don't have to sit, like sit in the same exact footprint.
Speaker 1:Just learning quicker. That's anyone that reaches out to me to help them. I just say, I want to help you fail less and learn quicker, so let's use all of the things I've messed up on to just help you. How Fun would that be and we'll just keep it and then you teach someone and then pretty soon people will just get into it, get so much more into it. What is some advice you have for aspiring female business owners, creators, collaborators? What can you tell them to help them get out of bed and just
Speaker 2:go accomplish their dreams? It's not as scary as what you'll probably think it is. Half of the things I thought would be so expensive are actually pretty much free to do like getting a city business tax, getting a resale license. You literally just walk in and sign your name on things and that's it and that's your start. Any beginning stages is terrifying, but when it never stops being terrifying, I feel like will be a bad day. Never take no as an option. Take it as how can I grow from that?
Speaker 1:But I mean, I think it's also just trusting your instincts. There's some people that might have built that first flower crown and someone asked him for 20 and they'd say, I can't do it. I don't have time. I work, I work, I'm doing all this. I don't have time to do that. And you are a perfect example. I think of what would happen if you just built those 20 flower crowns.
Speaker 2:One year I got food poisoning and instead of going like, guys, I'm so sorry I'm sick. I literally just like rallied, bought three bottles of Pepto Bismol rank one of'em before I started and made 50 crowns. I was a couple of short and I sold out in two hours. I'm never one to shy away from hard work though. The
Speaker 1:most important thing to me about doing this podcast is showing people that life is not just the highlights and what would happen if we became transparent and showed you the journey. Would you want to show up to the challenge and do it yourself or be scared off because I think a lot of people just wake up now and say, I want to do this. Let's figure it out. Oh, look how cool Katelyn's life is and she's in these magazines and she gets to do all these things and look these beautiful flowers, I'm going to do that and it's just really hard to explain quickly or in an instagram caption or I'm on a blog post what it actually takes. So my goal with this is to show what it takes to get to where it is and hopefully attract people that are willing to put in the hard work.
Speaker 2:So I don't think you're going to get away with not doing hard work without getting it. There's nights that I've literally slept in here overnight and a pile of Greens. It was fine. I know what it's like to me when things have like, you have no other choice but to like just keep working and it's just like, oh well there is red bull. It's fine. Like I have a gross caffeine. Addiction will work that out at some point, but if that's going to be my biggest thing is drinking too much coffee per day, then like you know, I'm going to make it out. All right.
Speaker 1:And I think when you just follow what you love and you're really passionate about what you're doing, it's more natural to just keep pushing forward where if you're not aligned with that. That's why I think sometimes our lifestyle seems kind of crazy to other people because if you're not doing what you love, you can't imagine sleeping on a pilot Greens because they're literally pushing, tying hair ties, printing out here ties and time them for 30 hours at a time sometimes. But if you're doing what you love, you just honestly feel there is no other choice because you want to get to the destination. So
Speaker 2:I mean you just gotTa do what you love. Yeah.
Speaker 1:And figure it out along the way. And it might be here and then flowers and vintage hunting and every single other thing. And if you keep following it then this can happen. Doesn't it sound fun?
Speaker 2:I love it though. I wouldn't have it any other way. Every once in a while I daydream about having like a midnight job. Matt has like benefits and all those fun things. And I'm like, no, no.
Speaker 1:Someone taking out all your taxes for you and doing all your things and you're just trying to like, this is what you make and the, these are your things.
Speaker 2:Swan form you have to send off at the end of the year, but what would we do with all the free time? I don't know.
Speaker 1:I literally think I would be a crazy person. I would want to start a business with my free time. I think so. I think you have the most bossiest move after a breakup that I've ever heard of in my life. Can you please tell us that story if someone wants to make up like a boss.
Speaker 2:So one, you don't get in weird relationships to start when we have one more glass of wine before we do this, we might eat it. Um, I was dating this guy. She didn't end up respecting me that I have this whole thing going. He didn't like as a direct quote that I think a modern woman, which is terrible for him because it's the future. And not 19 forties, Alabama. But that's another thing for another day. So we ended up having a conversation after a weekend where I felt literally like the most disrespected that I have ever felt in my entire life and he called me a fast woman, which I thought was hilarious on like nine different spectrum levels. So I did what any normal person would do was to make about 60 t shirts, five of which were for myself and the rest I just liked to pass out to my friends and now about 30 people in town also have these tee shirts which is my favorite thing. So then they say fast woman on them and read writing in the pocket and like the seventies, like 19 seventies, like font and they're so great. I hear that conversation
Speaker 1:a lot and I dealt with it a lot where it's just hard to be a woman and be working. And I feel like the dynamics of that is kind of weird for some more traditional men to understand. Do you as a female creator and business owner feel optimistic about those roles changing or do you feel like it's really hard? You know, they're at least easier to weed out. And a five minute conversation, I'd be like, oh you work a lot. And I was like, oh well it's already a problem. And so generally I've always tried to date people that you would think since they're also just as busy it would be an easier, but they're mad that you work just as much as they do so they wouldn't be able to hang out anyway. But they want someone to sit there and wait for them. And I'm like, I know like that's so fucking weird. Like I'm like, why would anyone to do that in general too? I don't understand your lifestyle choices. Like that's just weird to me. So I'm like, okay, well I'm super inspired by you and I love your hustle and I just feel like you embody what I'm trying to represent, which is if you follow the dots that the universe is laying out in front of you and combine that with just hard work that amazing things manifest itself. I can't wait to see where your journey takes you over the next year, especially with your new roommate and what you guys are going to create together. I'm sure with your zero free time, just all these other things are going to start. That's usually how that happens and I can't wait for so many different color palettes spread everywhere, but a lot of velvet green. Oh my gosh. I just got a velvet green hat for my friend Teresa. That makes sense. In Brooklyn.[inaudible] DOT com. I'm a velvet green hat with this like multicolor band. It is like I'm very drawn to velvet green right now. It's a great time. Oh, and she had a velvet green couch, so I was like, can I just sit on your couch? Oh my gosh. Can I come bring my hat and sit on your couch? Yeah, it's quilted. It's fantastic. Oh, I want to be around all the velvet green and for our listeners that are inspired by your story and what to learn more about you, where can they stalk you? I would say instagram, either at Florida Rye, or if you want to get snarky with me at my personal Graham, which is Caitlin lander. Well, thank you so much Katelyn, for letting us interview you and take up a day of your crazy lifestyle and I'm on our website, Girl Gang. The label.com will have this interview posted as well as photos of Caitlin studio and updates on her journey. So follow us there and we're done and we're done. I feel like we covered everything. Is there anything else that you'd want to feel like we got? Anything so you don't have to get a giant loan to open a business. Boot straps are cool. Make them sparkly in. You're fine. Wait, can I ask you or that bit of audio going somewhere for sure. Can I ask you that question directly and will you answer it because I feel like that is such an important one and that's the biggest thing that people tell me. They're like, oh, but I didn't have a big loan. I'm like, dude, I had$100 gift card just like calm down and do it just to. I just do it. I'm going to ask her one more question for a lot of people think that you need to get a loan or an investor to start a business. What do you have to say to those things?
Speaker 2:People, I have done this place completely out of pocket. I still don't even have a credit card for this place just because I don't want one. I think anything can be done when you're creative enough. My flower fridges I picked up on craigslist. One is literally a snapple fridge. It's my favorite thing ever about it. You don't have to throw yourself in a crazy amount of debt to do whatever you want to do. That's the fun part of slowly building.
Speaker 1:There's nothing wrong with getting other people to help if that's their outfit, which just don't be turned off. If that route isn't realistic for you or you're not drawn to it because you can still make it happen. Thank you girl gang, for listening to our podcast. If you enjoyed it, please take a minute to leave a review. It helps us out so much to learn more about this week's guest and see behind the scenes footage of our podcast. Go to girl gang, the label.com. Enjoy 10 percent off of all support your local girl gang merchandise. With code growing. If you have any feedback, guests, recommendations, questions or just want to say, hey, email me at amy at girl gang. The label.com.
