Inventing the Edge Styler®

The concept for Baby Tress emerged from the collaboration of the Mama Tress creative agency, founded by my co-founder Hannah Choi, and me, who joined the team to manage our second-ever client, It's A Wig, in the summer of 2017. Our small group of diverse female peers used research, product development, branding, and storytelling to address the lack of representation of women of color in the beauty industry.

The Edge Styler® was originally a gift-with-purchase idea, but we decided to create our own after discovering the lack of functional, high-quality edge styling brushes in the market. We progressed from a rough sketch (pictured) to 3D printing a prototype, which we eventually brought to a factory in China for production. By the summer of 2018, we had a patented, packaged product ready for the beauty marketplace. Our patent was awarded to us in 2020.

Our mission to create modern hair tools rooted in legacy continues to be our driving force. As Creative Director, I lead the marketing strategy and ensure a consistent brand identity across all products and projects, telling the brand's story. Although I did not originally intend to become a business owner, co-ownership has taught me the balance of independence, self-sufficiency, and profitability.

Responsibilities:

1. Creative Direction
2. Content Strategy
3. Copywriting
4. Branding
5. Social Media Management
6. Team Leadership

Designing BabyTress.com

In my role as a project manager for the BabyTress.com website redesign, my objective was to create a clean, user-friendly website that effectively communicated our brand and converted visitors into loyal customers. Our previous website, which was about three years, no longer reflected our more sophisticated and self-assured persona, and we needed a site that could withstand our expanded product assortment and evolved story.

Over a year, I facilitated rebuilding our eCommerce site, overseeing various aspects of the project, including timelines, budgets, and resources. I worked closely with the design and development teams to ensure the website's aesthetic and functionality aligned with our goals and vision.

The result was a refined and interactive online shop that successfully launched with a 353% increase in returning customers within the first month after launch. My project management skills were instrumental in achieving this outcome, as I effectively communicated our objectives, managed resources, and ensured that the project was completed on time and within budget.

Responsibilities:

1. Project Management
2. Creative Direction
3. Copywriting
4. Branding

Fine-tuning Our Email Marketing Strategy

As an experienced email marketing manager, I have a strong passion for this channel, which allows for a balance of creativity and logic. Before this year, our email campaigns at Baby Tress mainly focused on announcing sales, product drops, and events with little personalization or segmentation beyond our automated flows.

My main goal is to send visually appealing emails while tailoring them to specific audience segments to increase our open and click rates. For instance, I leveraged our Black Friday/Cyber Monday promotions to test segmentation and copy. To achieve this, I first narrowed our 10K email list into three main categories: subscribers who had not yet purchased, one-time purchasers, and repeat purchasers/VIPs.

To ensure that each email spoke directly to the customer, I customized the language and messaging used in each post to reflect where they were in their customer journey. I then built the email design using Photoshop and Canva and fine-tuned it using Klaviyo's design interface. Finally, I conducted A/B tests on our subject lines and scheduled the emails to send throughout the sales weekend.

The result of this approach was impressive - a 46% increase in open rates, a 30% increase in click rates, and a 27% increase in purchases! My expertise in email marketing management was crucial in achieving these results, as I effectively utilized personalization and segmentation strategies to improve engagement rates and drive conversions.

Responsibilities:
1. Email Strategy
2. Design
3. Copywriting
4. Klaviyo Set-up

Creating the Edge Setting Scarf

My skills in product design coordination are essential to successfully bringing a new product to market. We embarked on creating a limited edition edge setting scarf that would be stylish and functional in setting freshly laid baby hairs in place. Our goal was to create a durable and luxurious scarf with a multifunctional purpose that would stand out from the usual versions found in beauty supply stores.

To bring this idea to life, we worked with a team of experts in fashion production. We sourced a talented textile designer based in NYC to help us create the perfect print for our scarf. We also worked with a fabric supplier, a manufacturer, and package designers who ensured the scarf was high quality and met our expectations.

Coordinating these efforts took approximately one year, from the initial project kick-off to when the Edge Setting Scarf was available on BabyTress.com. By the end of the process, we had created a beautiful and functional product that exceeded our expectations and resonated with our customers. This experience has honed my skills in product design coordination, which will be valuable in any future projects I undertake.

Responsibilities:

1. Product Development
2. Creative Direction
3. Copywriting
4. Packaging Design