Today we’d like to introduce you to Melanie Milton.
Hi Melanie, thanks for sharing your story with us. To start, maybe you can tell our readers some of your backstory.
I’ve worked in Fashion for most of my adult life, in sourcing and development so thrifting and antiquing have always been a big part of my life. Seeing that the fashion industry has been responsible for so much of the congestion in the land fills. I wanted to make a difference so I created a business that is sustainable without sacrificing luxury and functionality, Hence the New York Cottage Industry, a DIY atelier and vintage market place. We up cycle, restore and sell furniture, home decor as well as fashion. Everything is hand made, we use mineral paint, natural dyes and stains and most importantly we are making new products from existing items. For example we sell quite a lot of our Shou Sugi Ban salad bowl sets and platters. Inspired by the Japanese art of burning wood, we fire thrifted salad bowl sets giving them a completely new life. So it’s such a good feeling to do this kind of work and the look on the our customers faces are priceless. With a little creativity and ingenuity you can have amazing pieces in your home or closet.
Our name sake was inspired by the Cottage Industry in countries like Peru and Portugal where generations of home knitters produce luxury knitwear for designer brands. I was privileged to work directly with these artisans through out my career. These woman really inspired me because they were able to create businesses from a basic skill that many have from their communities. This is how capitalism was really created to work.
One of my first projects was to up cycle a dining room table set. I had a small budget and was able to buy a table, buffet and 4 chairs for $100 bucks. I painted them white with some natural distressing. Everything came out great, in fact I ended up selling the set. And that was how I launched the business. Now we have our own dedicated web site, sell on multiple platforms as well as 2 brick and mortar spaces in New York and Atlanta.
For the future we plan to offer more up cycled fashion and launch our candle business as well as natural hand made products for home and body, like room/body sprays and furniture refreshers/body butters.
This is just the beginning for the New York Cottage Industry.
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?
No it has not been a smooth road at all. Up until recently I was self funding the business, but I lost my job, so that has had an impact on the business. Being a one person show comes with it’s challenges because you are responsible for every aspect of the business. One of the biggest challenge has been learnng social media and growing the channels.
Thanks – so what else should our readers know about your work and what you’re currently focused on?
So I’ve worked in fashion for the last 30 years. I’ve worked at some of the most amazing fashion houses, from Donna Karan, Calvin Klein and Alexander Wang. I’ve sourced factories all over the world from Asia to Italy. I’ve worked on all categories but I would say knitwear and denim are the 2 categories I’m most proficient in. I love the idea of working with raw materials and manipulating them into something completely different. In fact I draw so much inspiration for the New York Cottage Industry from my work and travels.
I’m probably most proud of the relationships I’ve built throughout the years. I’ve worked with a lot of young people and it’s a pleasure to mentor them and witness how they’ve navigated their careers.
How you’re remembered by your peers and community is your legacy, and that is what sets me apart from others.
Can you share something surprising about yourself?
Oh boy, something surprising about me!!! We’ll I am a huge conspiracy theorist!!! Any kind of alternative news or history I’m am completely enthralled. In the beginning I would share everything I discovered with my family, but sometimes they would look at me like I was crazy. So now i keep my discoveries to myself.
Contact Info:
- Website: https://thenewyorkcottageindustry.com/
- Instagram: http://instagram.com/thenewyorkcottageindustry
- Facebook: http://facebook.com/thenewyorkcottageindustry
