HANNAH CHIPKIN & PIPPA JOSEPH - MERCH GIRLS
ON LANDING THE AUSTRALIAN OPEN AS A CLIENT AFTER YEARS OF BEING TOLD NO.
Our next guests are the perfect case study of the idea that in business, when one door closes, another door opens.
We’re chatting with Hannah and Pippa. They’re the charismatic co-founders of Merch Girls; a product design agency that creates beautiful, custom merch for some of the biggest brands in Australia. We’re talking MECCA, the Australian Open, and yes, even lady-brains.
Hannah and Pippa met years ago when Hannah had her own fashion label. At the time, Pippa started working with her as a consultant, helping to manufacture pieces and bring them to market. They had a beautiful working relationship, but everything came to a grinding halt when Hannah walked away from her business after a decade, leaving Pippa without her main client and source of income.
Their story doesn’t end here though. Only a few months after this a big opportunity with the Australian Ballet came their way. So, they formed a new partnership, and Merch Girls was born.
You’ll learn:
How they finally landed the Australian Open as a client after being knocked back countless times
How and why the duo put Merch Girls before their friendship
How gifting an ‘e-merch-ancy' box to clients when COVID hit helped them generate new business
Why the team is now focused on building out their sustainable range
Why their philosophy is happy staff, happy clients, happy suppliers
We hope you enjoyed this conversation – for more podcast action follow us on Instagram @lady.brains, or sign up to our monthly newsletter at www.ladybrains.com
THE BITS YOU DON’T WANT TO MISS
“My personal future goal is to become a fun, well renowned culture of creativity. Happy staff, happy clients, happy suppliers! ”
“The Australian Open was the only client that I really wanted. The Open is the pinnacle of merch. I remember saying to Pippa...I reckon we should do the Australian Open, I feel passionate about it. The merch is fine, but we could do a capsule that is more fashion focused. ”
“We’d been knocked back a few times [by the Australian Open]. The next year [I went overseas] and came back in October, and I said as a joke, Pippa I guess the Australian Open isn’t happening again! And within a day or two of me saying that as a joke, we get a call from them. ”
“Adrenaline can get you really far. With momentum and the excitement, and having that energy in your body, it really can carry you distances and make you do things that you wouldn’t normally think you can do. ”
“Once you’ve made a commitment, you can’t not deliver. ”
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