It’s been an incredible, eye opening, busy and exciting 3 years!
Full of highs, lows, lots of tears and days when I've wanted to give up. But when I get messages from wonderful women who gain confidence from wearing their Raaxo. and feel seen for maybe the first time in a long time, it makes it all worth while. I always say if I am helping just 1 lady find some love for herself, thats all the validation I need that I am on the right path!
Honestly though, where did those 3 years go. It feels like yesterday that we got that news that our wedding had to be postponed and we were just into the first lockdown. I was working out in my garden 5 days a week determined not to lose all the progress I had made after getting back into the gym the November before and started a blog to keep myself accountable. I found this so therapeutic, almost like I was healing through sharing my inner most thoughts, and after years of self loathing and accepting substandard representation I realised I was fed up not being catered for or disappointed by many activewear brands for various reasons.
The majority didn’t cater for my size and the ones that did either cost nearly £100 for 1 pair or were poor quality or had things about them that I just found impractical. And I thought to myself “there’s got to be a way to do this that you can get the great quality without the massive price tag included”. That’s where Raaxo. started.
I spent the next weeks researching “how to start a clothing brand” but when I tried to put the steps in motion I soon found to start a size inclusive brand, it wasn’t as easy. So I started researching “what information do manufacturers need to make clothes” and fell down a rabbit hole into the cut and sew world.
Back to the drawing board I started mind mapping all the things I wanted from my ideal leggings. I started looking at the fabrics other brands used and learning about fabric blends.
A few weeks later I had a sketch and an idea of what I wanted & set to finding a manufacturer who could make it happen. Went through a few until I found the one. It took a couple samples to get my vision right and before I knew it the first bulk production order for 2 colours Black and Raspberry was placed. It was June 2020 and Raaxo. was nearly ready to launch!
The night we launched I was a bundle of nerves. There is no guarantee that people were going to show up no matter how many expressed an interest. It turned 12Am and I pressed publish on the website. All of a sudden my phone chimed it was an order! My heart started beating so fast!! Then another chime and another and soon my phone and laptop were lighting up like Times Square! I couldn't believe it! I was beyond elated! 🎉 Over the next 24 hours the presale sold out and then the elation turned to anxiety again. Would people like their leggings when they got them? Had I got it right or was this going to be a disaster?
I spent the next few days while we waited on stock arriving a bundle of nerves again. It took a whole day to process all the orders and my first trip to the Post Office was done! I was officially in business and now I had to just sit back, try to relax and wait on the feedback!
The feedback was INSANE with orders going as far as the USA and across Europe! Other than a handful of exchanges from hundreds of orders, people were loving the Raaxo. leggings and were already wondering what I was going to do next! I placed an order for restock and that was the beginning of Raaxo.
Since launching I’ve got married (it was a very laid back simple ceremony at Harry's Shack on Portstewart Strand with 10 family and friends present. We had our first dance on the beach and it was a lovely day). We then had baby no. 2 in 2021, moved house in 2022 and this year due to expansion of Raaxo I built a new office. I have made so many new friends on this Raaxo journey and feel totally blessed that I have so many AMAZING and lovely customers. I have a handful of beautiful Brand Ambassadors who I couldn’t do it all without. They help be a soundboard for ideas and help me test new items and we’re only getting started.
I hope you enjoyed reading a little more of the back story of how it all started and I wanted to take this opportunity to say thank you. Thank you to each and every one of you who have come here and showed support in any form. Whether that be sharing our content, engaging with us, telling your family and friends, sharing a review, sending a message or a picture for us to use on our social media or placed an order. Every single one of these interactions goes a long way for a small business. Thank you all for your support ❤️
Love Annie & Raaxo.