Brett Heyman can attest that, for a fashion brand to thrive, standing still is not an option.
In 2010, the native New Yorker launched Edie Parker, named after her daughter, as a handbag line inspired by the popular acrylic handbags of the ’50s and ’60s. The brand saw great growth at the onset — revenue increased 100 percent year over year in each of its first five years. But sales leveled off in 2016, spurring big changes, including the launch of new product categories. First was home decor, followed by jewelry. Heyman said eyewear may be next.
In addition, after leaning almost exclusively on wholesale partners, she refocused on owned distribution channels. In early 2017, she started minimizing the number of doors on the brand’s 100-store stockist and opened the first Edie Parker store — a flagship on NYC’s Madison Avenue. The store exceeded sales goals by 60 percent in its first year. Now, a website overhaul is in swing, with a focus on improved navigation and functionality, particularly on pages allowing shoppers to customize products.
Heyman shared a recent day in her life, which included breakfast with her three kids, a design meeting for pre-fall 2019 styles and a wardrobe change for an evening event hosted by Jessica Seinfeld.
6:00 a.m.: My 2-year-old son, Teddy, starts yelling, “I’m awake!” from his bed. I grumble and nudge my husband who sleeps closest to the door, and he gets Teddy and brings him into bed to snuggle. I’m exhausted, but Teddy is beyond delicious, so I work through it.
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6:30 a.m.: I start the internal dialogue of whether or not I should get out of bed to work out while my husband makes us both coffee. My current workout of choice is a 20-minute video at home, so I have very few excuses to skip it. I get myself up and into motion.
7:00 a.m.: My 7-year-old and 9-year-old should be getting ready for school, but I don’t hear any movement. I go into their room and find them both asleep.
7:15 a.m.: My husband takes the oldest two to school. Before they go, I catch up with them over breakfast — farm-fresh eggs from a roadside stand near our home in Connecticut — and help them get dressed, and then off they go.
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8:30 a.m.: My caregiver tags in, and I hop in the shower. I vacillate between products from Dr. Lara Devgan and a few all-natural potions. My facialist, Georgia Louise, gives me great skin-care products, as well. I use all the sticks from Gucci Westman, black mascara from Kevin Aucoin and Baume de Rose lip balm from By Terry.
9:20 a.m.: I’m out the door and walk the two blocks to work, dropping Teddy off at his daycare on the way. Now that it’s cooler, I’m back to my uniform of jeans — vintage Levis, Khaite, GRLFRND, or Jean Atelier — and a cozy sweater. Alexandra Golovanoff makes my favorites. I’m wearing Dior flats and have all my essentials in my go-to Edie Parker micro tote.
9:25 a.m.: I stop by the 59th Street Juice Press to get a Dirty Detox and some dried mango — it’s just what I need to kick off this day. While waiting, I quickly check Instagram — it’s a time suck, so I try to avoid it — and I scroll through 1stdibs.
9:30 a.m.: I get to the office, a beautiful Upper East Side building a stone’s throw from Central Park. Our current collection is showcased in a room adjacent to our main office, and it’s where I go to feel inspired.
9:45 a.m.: Once I get myself settled, I check in with the team. They give me some dirt on the latest “Real Housewives” I missed last night, then I catch up on emails.
10:00 a.m.: I have a meeting with my creative team to review their sketches for the pre-fall 2019 collection. This is where my creative thinking kicks into high gear.
11:00 a.m.: My product development team and I have a call with our factory in Chicago to discuss a few new shapes we are considering for upcoming collections. This spring, we branched out a bit, and I’d love to do that again.
12:30 p.m.: Lunch is usually a combination of eating and meeting. Today, I break from my usual — a Greek salad from Avra — and I have lunch with my friends Stefania Allen from the Editorialist and Maria Duenas from Stitch Fix. We go to La Goulue and talk news, accessories and children — some of our favorite topics.
2:00 p.m.: Our social team will be rolling out the second phase of our fall campaign tomorrow, so I sit down with them to check over and finalize the plan. I have always had an irreverent sense of humor, which is reflected in Edie Parker products, and this needs to translate across all our platforms.
4:30 p.m.: I have a short meeting with our sales team to catch up on what bags were popular with our wholesale accounts at market.
6:30 p.m.: I get home in time for a quick dinner with the kids — chicken skewers for them, Beyond Sushi for me and my husband — and it’s game on. The kids are excited to see me and have a lot to tell me about their days. We catch up, play games, do homework and read.
8:00 p.m.: With our caregiver keeping watch, I put on some fancier duds, and my husband and I are off to a Night of Comedy and Music at Carnegie Hall to celebrate Jessica Seinfeld’s Good+ Foundation, for families in need. There are performances by Common (swoon), John Legend, Jerry Seinfeld and others. It’s thrilling.
11:00 p.m.: Finally home. I stop in the kitchen for a late-night snack, then I floss and wash my face, and my husband and I recap our evening. I get my end-of-day news fix with Brian Williams, which does nothing to relax me, then I shut my eyes and try to get as much beauty sleep as I can before it’s back at it tomorrow.
