Welcome Maggie Gavigan, Georgia, founder, owner and designer of Mignonne Gavigan, an accessories company founded in 2014. Maggie launched her namesake jewelry company in hopes that each piece would bring joy and happiness to the wearer. In this fashion-forward episode, she shares her entrepreneurial journey, lessons learned and a bit about her inspiration for her unique designs.
Maggie discovered that women radiate confidence when they wear one of her pieces, and that’s at the heart of her mission—creating a community where women feel as fabulous as they look. Learn how Maggie’s journey stitches together her Tri Delta values with her company ethos and, ultimately, her entrepreneurial success. Get an exclusive peek into her upcoming anniversary celebrations as well as hear her business advice, lessons learned and fashion insights and trends. Dive into her travels and the inspiration behind her designs, the origin of the iconic scarf necklace and what’s next in the collection!
If you’re passionate about the intersection of personal values and business success or simply love chic jewelry, this episode is your ultimate fashion fix. Tune in for a blend of smart business advice and inspiration that will have you ready to accessorize your wardrobe and add some glamour to your day!
Be sure to visit mignonnegavigan.com to use code TD30 for 30% off full-priced items through Sept. 30, 2024!
This transcript was created using automated technologies and may contain errors.
Hello, Tri Deltas. I am Mindy Tucker, Tri Delta’s Interim CEO, and I'm so happy to be here hosting our podcast today with you. We're in for another great episode. We're going to be joined by Mignonne Gavigan,
Maggie, as we're going to call her, the founder and owner of Mignonne Gavigan, an accessories company. And she started it 10 years ago in 2014. We've had a chance to get to know a little bit about her company.
And I'm so excited for her to share with you today. She creates jewelry in the hopes that each piece will bring joy and happiness to the wearer. I can't imagine anything more beautiful than that.
I love it. And ultimately, what she discovered was women develop a sense of a significant amount of confidence when they're wearing one of her pieces and that's so important to her and her team.
So I can't wait to share a little bit more about her today and her company. She's going to share her journey as an entrepreneur, lessons she's learned along the way, and some of the inspiration around her design.
So let's welcome her now. Maggie, so glad to have you with us today. Hi. Thank you so much for having me. I'm sure Tri Delta is very lucky to have you in your new spot. So,
yay. I'm happy to be doing it, having a great time. The podcast is one of the things I love the most because we get to share these great stories of our sisters out there who are doing wonderful things. I want to talk a little bit first about your Tri Deltajourney.
Sure. You went to Georgia, where you became a Tri Delta, and then you transferred to North Carolina. Talk about that journey and how you up at Tri Delta? Well,
I actually, my mom, she's from the North, and so I had no idea what I was getting into in terms of rush. So when I did finish rush after the first week at Georgia,
they were like, congratulations. You've just finished, maybe like the second or third hardest rush in the United States or something. And I was kind of like, oh, my gosh. But what I found at Tri Delta,
especially at Georgia. And then I did transfer to UNC and found very similar characteristics between the two groups of women was just people that were kind and they were inclusive and they were supportive.
I had known a few women who wrote me recommendations of my mother's peers. I grew up in Charlotte, North Carolina. So I was very thankful to even have the opportunity,
I think, to be considered and then to eventually be able to become a tri -delta there at Georgia and then at UNC as well. So my,
I lived at the Tri Delta House at Georgia, my sophomore year, which was fantastic. It also, you know, automatically, you have this whole group of friends that want to help you seed and make you feel comfortable and you know you go through so many transitions as a freshman um at college and i just i'm just so so thankful that i was able to make to begin these friendships these lifelong friendships with people that have
even to this day continued to help me along the way you know it's not just a you know a journey to when you're 25 and then you're 30 and then eat i mean this every day. You know, it's a,
it's a weekly thing. Life long, for sure. Yeah. Life long. So then I did transfer to UNC and I lived at the Tri DeltaHouse there as well, where I was able to develop also a whole new set of amazingly authentic,
um, motivating friendships of people that I will, I mean, as well as my Georgia friendships, um, they're still my best friends. we still go on trips, we still meet up, you know, they're my my girl squad that,
you know, oh my gosh, this just happened kind of thing. And so also living at the Tri Delta House at UNC, I became really good friends with our house mom, Marilyn.
And she was, she was really supportive. And, you know, being a transfer when your junior is not very easy. Luckily, a friend of mine, she is also a Tried Out. She was the first person,
I went with, I had some guy friends from high school who invited me to a party. And this girl just walked right up to me and was like, who are you? We need to be friends.
Introduce me to all her friends, which were a whole bunch of Tri Deltas. So, you know, I think it's just even talking about who those people are and what kind of people they are.
It's really kindness is at the source of, you know, the qualities that I respect most about them. And then even translating that into,
and I know we'll get into that later, working in fashion in New York City, kindness is not always what you run into, especially with, you know, people that that's not their MO.
And so starting a company and having that is one of the main things. It was really the, it was the most crucial thing for me because I had seen how not having it in a workplace made dysfunction happen.
And then when you include it, you know, everybody's on board. If somebody makes a mistake, then, you know, you can all kind of jump in and help figure it out. It's not, you know,
every man for himself. So that is a little bit about my my journey there so then you went to Paris yes right out of school or tell us a little bit about how because i know that was a big turning point for you so tell us about the Paris transition so um i when i transferred i lost credits or i lost hours so i needed to make up 15 hours and i still needed my French credits so i took classes at the Sorbonne.
So I studied abroad in Paris, which was amazing. And I was able to live with a French family. And two of my UNC friends came and they did internships. So that was very cool. I was terrible at French,
to be honest. But I was in a French immersion class. And then living with a French family who didn't speak English, you really start, I mean, you pick it up quickly.
I'm still not very good at it. But The French immersion class, very interestingly enough, they give you a textbook, a workbook, and that's what you, and it just shows pictures. And so the teacher is telling you how,
you know, it's just conversational. How do they start their day? How do you talk about breakfast? You know, it's not just every word translated into English is how you speak. It's, you know, gestures and phrases and intonations.
And so living in France was amazing. But then when I was at Georgia, they have an excellent art program. So I got into their graphic design program.
And so I had taken all these fine art classes. And I had a pretty large portfolio of pieces. And so, you know, I graduated from UNC. And, you know, I'm still living in France.
I was going to be, my friends were going to be there for another year. I was going to be there for six more months. And they were going to be there for six more months too. And so mom, I asked my mom, I was like, what do I do now? And she was like, what do you love? And I said fashion.
And she's like, okay, well, Parsons has a program there. Why don't you go over there? And so my parents, you know, this was back in, shoot, when did I graduate?
2003, I guess, before. And so, you know, they took pictures of all my artwork. I submitted it to Parsons and I got into their AAS program.
That's their applied science program, which was a huge feat for me. That was very exciting. So I was able to take, you know, fine art classes in the opera house sitting there sketching the,
you know, the foyer. And it was just like, I mean, it's out of this world the coolest thing I've ever done. So, you know, and you're building sculptures and you go to the Rodin or you go to, you know, whatever the Musee d'Orsay,
and then, you know, you kind of come back and figure out what you want to do. Or then you go, we had to build a chair that, you know, a 150 pound person could build with just little pieces of cardboard.
Anyway, coolest things. I actually made at Georgia, one of my first, I made my first year at a toothpicks. I made a bra that I still have. So, you know,
it was in my future. Raw out of these books. Okay. So it was kind of amazing. It was kind of like wheels and then, you know, I was able to build them but with wire and then like the strap. Anyway. But Paris was amazing.
And so then I went straight from Paris to, I came home and worked at P. F. Chang's to make some money and moved to New York with my two girlfriends that we were in Paris together.
So that was fun. And so I continued my AS program there for another year, year. While I, and back in those days, you didn't get paid for, I'm like back in those days,
20 years ago, we didn't get paid for internships. And so. Right. Right. I remember that. Yeah. Yeah. Working full time. I was an intern at Mark Jacobs. And then I also had a job at Asprey,
town at Fifth Avenue so that I could help pay my rent. And so that was a very difficult job so you could do your internship. Yes. That's how we used to do it.
I know. Plus, I'm working in the industry that doesn't pay you very much money. So I ate tacos and pizza for about a year, too, or then. But anyway,
you know, then my last semester of Parsons, I took a business and entrepreneurship class where you kind of write a business plan. I wasn't planning to do it, you know,
that next year because I needed to make money in order to survive and then, you know, save up for that eventually. But one of my teachers and he, this has stayed with me. He just said,
if you ever want to have your own business, you have to do something different. It has to be very unlike what anybody else is doing so that you stand out because there's just so many businesses.
So from there, I went and worked as an apparel designer. And so that was 2004. I worked there for about three years. And it was just this super cool collective. They all wore black.
One person was a, you know, he'd worked, he was the designer guy. And then another person was a branding girl. And she had been at Helmut Lang and then another guy was at he was from Helmut Lang too um or that's how they'd met at least uh but he'd been like a you know Dol Jacob on a model and he did our operations and then there was a stylist who was super cool um and so you know I felt very just lucky to
have been able to find that spot um so I worked there for three years and that was an excellent it was almost like Each one of my posts was an excellent, it was almost like going to business school,
but, you know, it's actual work experience. Real world experience, yeah. Real world experience. So I worked with them for three years, but I was able to see just all the inner workings of a tiny company.
We put on huge fashion shows. I was able to design. So I designed just like every day I'm sitting there sketching. it's like as many sketches as possible and then taking them up to the sample room and working with the sample makers to make them in the sample room.
So like sewing and doing the details and rushing before the fashion shows to like make sure all the garments are done and rushing back. Anyway, I got to a point where I was like, if I don't see another fashion show,
I am good, but I don't work one. I am good. You know, it's a very glamorous thing, but it's so much And in a flash of,
you know, two minutes, it's over. And so that was great, though. I learned, I did learn a lot. And we had, he had been funded, personally funded.
And then we went through so much money that I was able to kind of see what not to do and to kind of build, you know, build out a sales collection first.
so that so then forward fast forward i worked as a handbag designer and then i worked as a footwear designer um for uh rachel roy and they were owned by nine west and so they're a huge company and the president comes in for you know design review and he's sitting there and his name is roberto and he's like minion um you can't have these like super fancy shoes uh he's like we need we need the basic peep toe pump
that's you know nude patent leather that is like you know that's what at that point that's when jessica simpson um was just you know and then tory burch had her flat and then tory burch had i guess joan and david had this one boot that they sold a million of you know people would place a million of that one boot so he was kind of like where's my super basic everybody shoe you know and i was kind of like oh so
his words of advice that have also followed me through um and carried me through were that pieces on the top that attract attention.
So for us, I had started, I had that first job, I was draping your brown my dress and just to get an idea of beadwork on a mannequin. And there was a piece on the floor that I just tied around my neck and walked home through Soho because I lived in Alita.
And like three different people were like, where can I buy that? And I was like, oh, fantastic, because I can barely pay my rent, you know? So I just started... Perhaps up off the floor make you up. Yes.
Seriously. Well, so I was like, give me a month. And I was working with, we were having all our embroidery done in India, which that's who I still continue to this day to use their expert craftsmen.
They are just its generations. It's actually been men. Now it's more of a females are coming into the trade, but it's a trade passed down by men through just generations of skilled artisans.
But so anyway, I just started making men. They almost kind of sold themselves. Somebody would have one on and then they'd be like, oh, how can I get one? And then, you know, somebody else would sell one and how can I get one?
So eventually, that was seven. And then eventually 2014, so seven years later, I was making, I was doing trunk shows, but I,
you know, I didn't have, I needed to finance this myself. And so I didn't have the, I didn't quite feel comfortable enough to, you know,
to have the tools or to have learned, you know, so then I worked at, at that point, I was working at a huge company. It worked at small companies, huge companies, and I felt like I still needed a little bit more understanding of a business sense and design flows and collections.
And so I took a job with Leffler Randall. Jesse is the designer and her husband and she run it. And she was excellent to learn from as well because she's a visionary person.
Her styling's amazing, but her aesthetic is amazing. And so kind of every way, every job along the way gave me a new kind of un - When I was at the first job,
we went to France for trade shows to Paris, and then we, you know, inspiration shop. And I was kind of like, wait, what's this inspiration shop deal? And then we'd go to my next job,
shoes. We went to Italy. We went to Florence for trade. And then Bologna is the material fair. So then we'd go, you know, shop whatever's happening in Florence. And then back then they had a budget that was like go on an inspiration trip.
So I was able to see a lot of the world at Copenhagen, Istanbul. We'd go make our shoes in China. So I'd fly into Hong Kong, be in China for a week. And then on the way back from Hong Kong,
go to Beijing or Shanghai or, you know, so I was able to see all the, you know, go to all of the vintage shops in their, you know, whatever flea markets or to kind of see and get up understanding of what else is out there.
And so that's what each of my collections for for Mignonne Gavigan is I try and take people somewhere where maybe they haven't been. Let's jump in to when I was during COVID,
I had moved basically every year. And my movers that I used twice, they were from Uzbekistan. And I was kind of like, where is that, you know? And then I did a deep dive into what's this suzani.
It's this beautiful technique that originated there and that we ended up, we were able to work with this woman and we still work with her, but she, baby Hanam, and she makes her own e -cat fabrics.
And so just like some of the most beautiful things and learning about the culture and maybe it's more color, I take color stories from what does the land look like? What is,
you know, what vegetation is there? What, what does architecture look like? Well, like our last collection was just from Mallorca because I was kind of, I really never heard of my Yorka.
And actually, this is very interesting and kind of wild. We, Marrakesh was on my bucket list. And so that was the inspiration for our past collection.
And we went there to shoot and it was crazy. We were there during the earthquake. So luckily, we were okay. But some of the people that we were in our, they're called Riyadhs,
they were from Majorca. So they just started talking about it. And it's almost, that's how I end up finding out whatever's next, you know, kind of like my movers or even getting my haircut in New York City and walking by the store.
And I found, you know, this one design, one shop had all these, you know, beautiful designs from, you know, a place that I had never heard of. So it's kind of, it's like picking things up along the way and paying attention to them and then kind of diving into them.
Yeah. I'm learning more and getting some inspiration from that. Yeah. So the scarf necklace was, it's kind of your classic, right? Yeah. Like that's your first product, the thing that you're probably the most well known for.
Exactly. But you've evolved a lot of things since then. You talked about some of the lines. One of the pieces I want to make sure we talk about are the chiffon,
Paisy. Yes. Yes. Where you got your inspiration for that and a little bit about that design. Well, I mean, we were so excited to show it to you guys too.
And we first started talking, but I take a lot of inspiration from nature, what's around me, and pansies are so beautiful. I mean,
the colors, all the different color stories and the gradient from, you know, the middle of the pedal to the outside. That's one of my favorite things, too, is to, so I come from an apparel background,
not a traditional jewelry background. So that's why when we started with our scarf necklaces, how many scarf necklaces, you know, is one person going to buy? So then we needed to branch out a little bit.
How can we have more market share in one person's jewelry box or closet? And so I started to look outwards of what else can we make in flowers or just,
you know, they're in your face and so beautiful. And I love to translate, take something if it's like a textile or, you know, a flower or a bird or a leaf and then translate it through the magic of embroidery in beadwork and then see what happens and see what you can come out of it with.
And I think the pansy especially has been one of our best sellers just because it, first of all, it's so beautiful. But then our artisanship that they use is extraordinary.
like it's organza base and then there's another organza piece of the pedal that is sewn on top and then there's tiny micro seed beads that's also signed on top and then they've got and then all the petals they are like little sculptures because they have wire edge and then this edges are surged and so they can you can you know sculpt them so that they do sit I know I was going to try and wearing on,
but I don't have a pair with me here. Yeah, I wondered what you had on today. Yeah, I said chiffon, their organza. They are gorgeous, and we'll have to put a link and the information about the podcast for everybody to go take a look at them because I know Tried Altas in particular,
you say the word pansy and we're all in. I love that. They're beautiful. I love the, I love how you sort of dug into that particular flower and built something beautiful out of it so well and we there are so many color stories um i mean the so it's fun to kind of look and recreate or try and you know recreate a pansy we've actually we've did one a long time ago and then the one we shared with you is our most
is our current one that that's available but even you know probably in a few years i'll try and redo it again so and and with different materials and maybe we'll make it glitzy you know We'll see, we'll see, there's just so many options,
you know. I'm curious what you, so there's the creative side of you, but you're also running a business. What have you learned about leadership and building a team and kind of believing in yourself and knowing what you can not only do,
but also persevere through? Well, I do feel like that those, the pillars that I have used to help me get through is a lot of the things that I think Tridelt also has as pillars for their company,
which is, you know, so there's just, first of all, be bold, be brave, be kind. Those are the three things that I feel like I've built my company on,
you know, at so I was kind of like, oh my gosh, is anybody going to like this? Is it going to be succeed? Is it, you know, how? And so, you know, that kind of doubt is something that even,
I mean, follows you around today. So it's kind of something you need to understand, you know, process and then work through. I think the way that I have hired people has been very important.
People are very important to me, who they are, what kind of person they are. And then can they help me get to the next level? Or can they help me get to where we needed to go?
And is that something that's part of their, also their goals? I would like for them, you know, I want people to be happy. If, you know, somebody chooses that they would like to instead be on our sales team and go be a or somewhere else,
that is totally fine. I wish you all the luck in the world. You know, this is a journey. It's not just a one -stop shop, you know, and I can't make people happy. I need them to make themselves happy.
But I really put a lot of stock in who they are and treating them kindly, fairly, building them up, making sure they feel supported and heard.
it's it's definitely been there's not just one way to do it and I think what I have tried to do is stay the course um it's like just wake up and keep going just keep putting one foot in front of each other um my CEO she felt she really had a hard time during COVID and so she stepped down and finding a new person was very hard,
but then I did find somebody who's exceptional and very bright and had a fantastic attitude. And during COVID, that's what we all needed. But, you know,
especially I needed that too. So it's kind of, you know, and then each person along the way in their posts, you know, I guess making them,
like I said, feel as supported as possible or, you know, we're in this together. And, um, even looking back to, you know,
all the things that I was writing down about, um, Tri Delta, that those are, those are how I've built this. That's why I am still here. And she, where I do think being,
um, there's a lot that goes into, uh, you know, marketing that wasn't my forte or, you know, I had come from just design. So business strategy wasn't my forte.
Sales, not my forte. But, you know, you kind of get thrust into these things and you have to learn about it. And, you know, you're your own best advocate. So if we need sales to happen and I need to go,
then I'm going. You know, and I'll be on the road and I'll do whatever's necessary to get the job done. And for sure, I don't, there's no book that,
that you can read that kind of tells you exactly what to do and what the next steps are. So I'm always open to advice. I'm always talking to people to see other founders and other people that are running their own businesses,
other designers to figure out what are they doing, that how are they, you know what's successful for them right now what's not working what's um and so there's been that's a really nice network of i think that really changed during covid too was um before there was kind of a you kind of weren't friends with other jewelry designers if you were a jewelry designer but um during we all kind of came together and we were
utilizing the same people if we needed to use people less or pay people less because we weren't making as much money. And so we'd share people or we'd share strategies. So that was a beautiful thing too.
And I guess, you know, it really boils down to having the courage to try something new. And I know that's a pillar for you guys to be brave.
And, you know, if I could give one piece of advice, it would be to just keep trying or at least try one time, put your foot out there and see, see what happens. You know, it's,
it's never going to happen if you don't try, right? And obviously, fallback plan. What does that look like? But see if it works.
And so, yeah, we're 10 years in, you know, retail tails hard. So some years have been fantastic and then some years haven't. I have these wing earrings called Madeline's that I designed them probably two,
three years in. So we started just embroidery earrings after the scarf necklaces and then we jumped into hardware around 20,
maybe 17 or 18, maybe 20. Anyway, but hardware's been a big part of our, just broadening the assortment.
And then, you know, kind of looking at too, right now we're doing a deep dive and exercise into what does the next 10 years look like, like how much it's changed from zero to 10.
And then what does 10 to, you know, 20 look like. So that's been an interesting because, I mean, shoot, I don't know the answers, but let me put some stuff out there. Let's see what magic can happen,
you know? What do you think comes next for you? Well, we are designing currently, and we started. So I have a handbag background also.
I did clothes, apparel, then handbags and then shoes. And so a natural avenue for us is kind of taking our scarf necklaces and making some handbags that are super fun,
great price point, and attention -grabbing, We actually designed a whole beautiful collection of handbags right when COVID hit,
and it just wasn't the right time to, they needed minimums, but also wasn't the right time to kind of - I feel like I saw several really cute handbags clutch at convention recently.
Hey! Did you take it? All kinds of things. So I think you're on the right track there. I love the idea of translating the scarf to that. That'll be fun for you.
The other thing is no sizes. What can we make with no sizing? So just because sizes are a pain the but to have around to store to warehouse to ship um and so we're you know really taking a deep dive into what can we make that's and we've started a marketplace on our website which has been really fun to kind of you know to continue with the ethos of you know our whimsy and we want people to be happy and and
kind of create that happiness like what are these what are these emotional products that have been fun for you. We had this, like this glass glower, glass blower, excuse me,
Pierre Bowring. And he's, he's on our website. And he's, he's just fantastic to even get on a Zoom with because you're kind of, I mean, he's this like ultimate artist guy who's out there.
But to be able to kind of share some emotional and some fun conversations is always exciting. So, and even when I was, um, uh,
draping up the handbags in our office, like, um, it's just so fun to, oh my gosh, look at this. I need this. You know, and we're all in kind of, you know, everybody comes in in the mornings and somebody's got some cool pair of shoes on and somebody's got some dress they just got.
And so it's a very, it's a fun, lively office where, you know, we're all consumers. We're all kind of like, oh, gosh, we need that. You know, so I think moving forward into other categories that we're able to continue with that kind of attention,
you know, that thing, those products that you feel like you just have to have and, you know, making sure the lift on making them isn't. That's what I was trying to say,
too, about our handbags that we made four years ago that they weren't a low lift it was a very intense design project and then production and then minimums and so um you kind of just you have to navigate all those things yeah yeah well it sounds like you're doing great i love hearing all the backstory i wish i could get a little glimpse into every time you put a little the maggie story behind it um Next time you
come to New York, you'll have to come to our studio office. A lot of magic happens there. I would love that. I would love that. So I know people are going to want to shop after they this podcast.
So where do they find you? And I think you may have a code or something for our list to talk with. So my name is kind of hard to spell. So it's anse,
but it's Mignonne gavigan and my mom's going to kill me but it's like filet Mignonne yes um the steak and but it has an extra n and e on the end feminine um so m i g n o n n e gavigan is my last name g a v as in victor i g a n dot com so that's our website and then instagram you can find us and it's just at Mignonne gavigan um And you can shop Instagram also.
And then our code that we have, it's T as in Tri Delta, so TD30. And it's 30 % off, which is very exciting. It's a couple things.
It's a one-time use. It's only for full priced products. And then it expires September 30th. Okay. We'll put all of that information and the information about the and then we'll send you a link to the Pansy flower necklace.
Excuse me. They will love that. They will love that. Well, I've so enjoyed getting to talk with you again. We want to stay so much about all the developments that are going on with your company and your products.
And we hope you'll come back and join us again soon. Well, thank you again. This was such an honor and a privilege. and you're very easy to talk to. So thank you. Appreciate it. Love it.
All right. Thanks to Mignonne, Maggie, for joining us today. I hope you'll go check out her website or her Instagram and follow her and do a little bit of shopping with the code,
TD30. We'll put that in the information so everybody has it. We hope you will like, subscribe, and rate our podcast. We have three stars on our Crescent, but we love those five -star ratings. So bring them on. Thanks for joining us today,
and until next time, Delta Love.