Today we’d like to introduce you to Lee Read Pilgrim.
Alright, so thank you so much for sharing your story and insight with our readers. To kick things off, can you tell us a bit about how you got started?
My background in clothing began in the late 70’s in Athens, Ga. I had a little antique store in an old house on the edge of downtown and I sold furniture and crafts and handmade items as well as primitives and collectibles. I had an old wardrobe in the corner of one of the rooms that I sold vintage clothing from…things that I bought from estate sales and antique stores along the way. At the time vintage clothing was not really mainstream, but I had always bought recycled and vintage pieces for myself and enjoyed repairing and researching styles and fabrics from the past. The clothing part of my business grew over several years and eventually morphed into a women’s clothing store across from the arches in downtown Athens.
My interest in natural fabrics probably really started with cleaning, repairing and caring for those early vintage pieces but when I started buying new clothing, those fabrics were hard to find. Initially the clothing I sold was primarily cotton pieces made in India and Thailand and there were a few lines out of California in the ‘80’s that were cutting and sewing natural fabrics. At that time, there were a couple of sewing plants in and around Athens that produced designer label jeans for national brands, and we were able to buy directly from the factories and sell those in our store. But, in general, there was a real void for clothing lines made from natural fabrics. I started to design and produce a small line of natural clothing for our store using local talent, a cottage industry really, and that line became a signature for our retail store.
My current business, READY TRADING started in Atlanta in 2010 as a hobby really. My partner and I had a small booths at Antiques & Beyond on Cheshire Bridge Rd. in Atlanta and at Kudzu Antiques & Modern in Decatur, GA where we sold antiques, primitives, folk art, and vintage Native American jewelry. We had recently moved back to Atlanta from Taos, New Mexico and our mix reflected our interest in the southwest.
About a year into our Antique Mall venture, I introduced a few vintage style, embroidered cotton Kurtas and kantha stitched scarves made from recycled natural fabrics like cotton and silk to our mix in our booths and these pieces began to attract the attention of collectors, designers and creative women who were shopping for other things.
In 2012 I started to design and produce a small line of natural clothing here in Atlanta. I wanted to create a line of simple, easy to wear and care for linen pieces that the collectors I was selling to could wear as a canvas really for treasured accessories and collectible jewelry. One of the first pieces I designed at the time, The Birkin Tunic is still in our READY TRADING collection today.
As the clothing part of our business grew, I began to bring in compatible brands that shared our aesthetic and focus on natural fabrics and relaxed styles. Eventually, our antique booth morphed into a clothing booth. We did festivals and pop-ups over the next several years and expanded and added locations. We opened a booth at Kudzu Antiques & Modern in Decatur in 2012 and we continue to offer a large selection of our private label and other favorite lines there.
In 2016 we opened a store on Cheshire Bridge Rd. near Piedmont where we grew our business and developed our mission and relationships with creative women from across the city through our monthly open house events which featured inspiring guests and brought together a community of diverse and creative women. Our mission continues to include bringing women together in a relaxed and supportive environment.
In March of this year, we moved READY TRADING to Toco Hills Shopping Center at Lavista and North Druid Hills Rd, in Atlanta where we are excited to join a vibrant, active community of local and national businesses in an environment that fosters community and connection. We are looking forward to hosting events again this fall in this new location.
Would you say it’s been a smooth road, and if not what are some of the biggest challenges you’ve faced along the way?
Growing a business of any kind has its challenges, but after the most difficult year of our business life last year, I am grateful to say that we are on solid ground and seeing growth in our new location at Toco Hills and in our online business.
My greatest challenge this year was the decision to make a location move in uncertain times, but I knew it was time to take our business to the next level and find a location where we could grow and benefit from a larger, more diverse and move active retail community. This move has been such a positive experience and we are finding a broad and receptive customer base locally and nationally online.
We found timely support last year from Invest Atlanta when we applied for and received a federal grant to address the challenges of the pandemic. Receiving that grant helped us survive some of the worst Covid-related impacts on our business and offered us the opportunity to work with national marketing and technology consultants to identify ways pivot and to reach our READY TRADING community in different ways and through new channels. We also focused a lot on our online presence and that business has grown exponentially in the past year!
We are constantly looking for new, natural fabric lines and unique accessories that are ethically sourced and companies that provide opportunities for women and small communities to successfully use local, renewable resources and heritage techniques and talents to build a better life.
Finding natural fabric inventory that meets our needs has always been difficult and the past year presented new challenges. Our suppliers and their supply chains were impacted with interruptions and new struggles, from accessing materials to limited production capabilities. The good news is that we are seeing positive changes in these industries such as a move to smaller, more focused collections, more ethically and consciously produced products…more attention to the worker, a move to fewer seasonal collections and even year- round collections and availability of styles which makes buying and planning easier for us in our southern climate.
During the pandemic we began using our online store to provide a place to “shop” virtually and this has forced us to work on our online presence. Getting good images (photo shoots) of our clothing during Covid conditions was really difficult. We did outdoor photo shoots with limited staff and under difficult weather conditions and using social distancing. We so excited to be shooting now with vaccinated staff and models.
Our most important strategy for addressing challenges throughout our business life has been the ability to move quickly, to pivot and look for opportunities to continue to grow and connect with our customer and community in new ways. Flexibility and the ability to adapt and change quickly is an important business asset and is easier in a small business like ours.
I think size matters when it comes to communication, and people enjoy shopping local businesses like ours for this reason. We sincerely want to know and connect with our READY TRADING community, and we want our store environment to be relaxing and enjoyable. Our staff is warm and attentive enjoys learning what shoppers are looking for. We value feedback and use it to find collections and to develop new styles. Because we are a local business, communication between customer and staff is instantaneous and we are able to fill special orders and reorders quickly. Making sure to keep the relationship with our community authentic and purposeful as we grow is a priority for us.
Alright, so let’s switch gears a bit and talk business. What should we know about your work?
READY TRADING specializes in naturally beautiful clothing designed and produced in Atlanta and the USA. Our READY TRADING and TAOS lines are cut and sewn in San Francisco. We focus on natural fabrics, rich color, and versatile looks that are that are effortless and flattering for women of all ages.
Our signature style incorporates jewelry and accessories from local artists and from artisan communities around the world. We believe that supporting artists through their products helps to preserve heritage traditions, vanishing techniques, environments and cultures.
Several of our artisan lines are created by American designers who have embraced their heritage and returned to ancestral communities to produce their designs using traditional techniques, materials and craftsmanship.
In addition to our own line, we carry brands such as CP Shades, Bryn Walker, Johnny Was, Maelu and Zuri that offer simple, easy to wear and easy to care for styles in natural fabrics such as linen, cotton and silk.
People who love natural fabrics will go to great lengths to find them, and not all natural fabric clothing is created equal. We work hard to find ethically produced collections and styles that complement our own. Women visit us in person and online from around the country who have found us through their search for natural fabrics.
Our business has always been built on relationships and we are grateful for the community that has grown around us and embraced our aesthetic and vision. READY women are active, authentic and involved. We depend on them for feedback about fit, style and color as we grow our business. We are steadily growing our online community and we work hard to provide the same personal experience and connection for our online shoppers that we are known for in our stores.
Do you have any advice for those looking to network or find a mentor?
Ready women are active, authentic and involved.
Our Ready Trading “village” is diverse and constantly growing. We often learn about a critical local need or challenge through one of our customers, artists, or designers. We know that the value of our small business is intimately tied to the health of the community that surrounds us.
We believe in encouraging community among women who enjoy supporting and inspiring one another. In normal times, we have promoted this networking part of our mission through our monthly open house events featuring engaging guests from many fields and providing a physical place for creative connection.
Contact Info:
- Email: info@readytowearclothing.com
- Website: readytowearclothing.com
- Instagram: instagram.com/readytradingtaos
- Facebook: facebook.com/readytrading
Image Credits:
Brittany Wages
