Today we’d like to introduce you to Rebecca Blackstock.
Hi Rebecca, thanks for joining us today. We’d love for you to start by introducing yourself.
The idea for Twinnks stemmed from one of our biggest wardrobe pet peeves: the visible (bra) cup lines. Or as we call it, the VCL. One day in 2016, my twin sister and I were talking on the phone and Rachel (co-founder/twin) was changing outfits because the lines were showing through her shirt. She told me they should make a bra with an undershirt-like material that extends above the cups to smooth out the lines—just as an undershirt or cami would. I informed her that she had told me that idea 100 times & I agreed it would be an awesome product. From there, we went on a hunt to see if it already existed. We did a ton of research as to which bras are actually invisible under clothes and all we could find were bralettes (which are great, but we wanted more support) or those that concealed bra lines at the back of the bra (also great, but were front-focused). Therefore, we decided to make it ourselves and that started a nearly 4-year journey of product development.
We launched our first product, the Nah Bra, on March 17, 2020 – the first day of quarantine and the day everyone stopped wearing bras. We didn’t care, we had waited long enough and the pandemic didn’t slow us down. In fact, it made us realize there was another hole in the market: loungewear with a built-in bralette. Even though there were countless memes about the only perk of lockdown being that bras come off, the reality is most women do not want to flop around everywhere. I remember one day in particular I was working at home with no Zoom meetings scheduled and at around 3pm, a UPS man came to my door needing a signature. I was still in a big old tank top, flimsy bralette and pajama pants and I was genuinely embarrassed. After that, We set out to design something that was insanely comfortable that you could wear around the house but versatile enough that you could run a quick errand & not be mortified if you saw someone you knew. In July 2021, we launched our New Normal Loungewear, which consisted of a lounge dress, tank and jogger equipped with a built-in bralette sewn only at the shoulder so the dress and tank hang off the body in the most flattering way. We are very proud of this line and are not afraid to say: it is the most comfortable loungewear I’ve ever put on. We sold out in the first month but quickly restocked and now we’re eager to expand it. We have a lot of ideas in the works!
Alright, so let’s dig a little deeper into the story – has it been an easy path overall and if not, what were the challenges you’ve had to overcome?
ABSOLUTELY NOT! I don’t think there’s been one thing that has gone seamlessly. We are completely self-funded so we’ve had a tight budget from the beginning, and we don’t have a background in design or product development so there was a lot of trial and error. We initially hired a factory in San Francisco who failed to tell us they didn’t have the capability or technology to create the bra we designed so we lost a lot of time & money before parting ways in 2018. We then found a factory in Baltimore who were very upfront about not being able to do it (thank goodness) but it did leave us frustrated on what the next steps were, so we took to LinkedIn to find anyone in design (literally filtering job industries to “fashion”) and started messaging strangers about our situation and ask if they would be willing to talk to us about what we’re missing or what we needed. So many people responded, which I was actually shocked by, and 99% of the responses were that we needed a product developer. We started that vetting process, which took several months because they were so expensive and it left us almost no money for the actual manufacturing itself.
Then we found our angel and saving grace, Thomas Becker, who was WELL above budget but he took mercy on us and loved what we were trying to do so he gave us a deal. Finally, we were heading in the right direction. He found us the appropriate factory, helped us with negotiations and order sizes. He saved the company. It was 2 years of sample approvals and changes but we finally got there. The main struggle post-launch is increasing brand awareness. All the money we make goes back into the company and other products, which leaves very little for PR and Marketing so we have to do a lot of that ourselves and it’s very time-consuming and challenging to get responses as a small company. We both also still have our corporate jobs as well as a true-crime podcast (called People are the Worst) so balancing that with Twinnks and family life is also extremely challenging but we’re determined to make our side hustles our full-time careers and as my dad always says “its good to struggle! It makes it that much more rewarding”.
Appreciate you sharing that. What else should we know about what you do?
My twin sister, Rachel, and I are the only two employees so we do everything. She’s very good at managing the website and the marketing side of things and I’m more on the social media and day-to-day admin/financials side. I’m very proud of what we’ve built and our work ethic. It’s not easy to start a business. You’re vulnerable and don’t want to fail, and I think that’s why a lot of people don’t do it. The fear or embarrassment of failing but, at the end of the day, has anyone ever looked down or thought less of someone who launched a business and it failed? Likely not. It gives you experience and thick skin and that’s reason enough to go for it. What sets us apart from other companies, aside from solving “bra-blems” with our products, is our transparency. We’re very honest (blunt at times) about the trials and tribulations it takes to start a business. We want our customers to take this journey with us and really want to hear from them as well. We’ve even based a few crucial decisions based on Instagram polls. It’s all about what our they want to see!
Alright, so to wrap up, is there anything else you’d like to share with us?
Please follow us on Instagram (@twinnks_co) and listen to our podcast, People are the Worst if you’re into true crime. We only tell stories that have a plot twist or huge shock factor (we love a “didn’t see that coming” moment). Plus, we give Twinnks promo codes!
Pricing:
- Our products are all under $100
Contact Info:
- Website: https://twinnks.com/
- Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/twinnks_co/
- Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/twinnks/
