KO Your Brand

Katrina Owens (00:00.642)
Welcome back to another episode of KO Your Brand, the podcast for fame ready entrepreneurs. I'm your host Katrina Owens, top personal branding and public relations expert. And yes, for the very first time, we've got a guest. I know you weren't expecting that one, but this is Heather Jude. Hello. Heather is obviously a part of the Knockout Directive team. I mean, she's the one that I'm always like, hey, Heather, can you like edit this out or like drop in some music?

But she is also gonna like the camera here. sorry. I took your spotlight. I'm We're just gonna roll with this.

Katrina Owens (00:48.446)
We're just we're just gonna live with that honestly. I'll just get in closer. Obstacle. Stop. Yeah, this is fine. Where was I? I'm joined by Heather today because Heather has just put on an amazing fashion show where she got to display all of her amazing designs. And I thought why not have

her on here to tell you all about how she did it because honestly, we talk about big brand energy on this podcast. And that really was like a true display of big brand energy. So Heather, why don't you introduce yourself and yeah, maybe tell us a little bit more about what the fashion show was like and what inspired you to do it? Absolutely. Okay, so I'm Heather Jude. I'm the founder designer of Jude Canada. So I make event wear for women and bespoke

custom accessories, usually for red carpet events or major events like prom, bridal, know, all those amazing moments in your life. And I had the idea for a really long time now that I wanted to do my own collection, but with that, my own fashion show, which I could control the creative direction, really make it really personalized, just.

really embrace my brand and like what I wanted it to look like. So yeah, I ended up having this Jude Canada fashion show, which sold out. That's a flex, by the way, like sold out events are hard. So they are. And I was I was kind of worried, but it sold out like a week before tickets closed. And yeah, I just went on my laptop because I got so many messages and they're like, Heather, the event.

system it's broken it says I can't get tickets and I was like no like okay IT hat put that on and I went in and I was like my god it's sold out I was like you can't get tickets because there's none left so that was kind of cool. problem ever by the way because I think like the act of selling tickets is no joke like that is probably one of the hardest things for our nervous systems to like

Katrina Owens (03:07.214)
like we're creating something, we're putting our time, money, energy into it. And now we have to trust that people are going to place value on it and pay to come. Exactly. No, exactly. And that was one of my worries. Yeah. But I was like, you know what? I mean, it's art. If there's not a lot of people there, it'll just feel like a very lux experience, like a high end gallery. Maybe the models can go slower. I don't know. We'll make it work. Like whatever.

whatever happens will happen. Yeah. Yeah. And it was so, I mean, it was like a lux experience regardless of like how many people were there, but the room was so full and like, okay, so tell us, cause I think you had mentioned this to me before. Did you know all of the people that were there or came or like what percentage were people that you knew versus people you didn't know? Okay. Percentage? No clue.

Okay, forget the math. We can't do this, it's a Monday morning. Forget the math. But I would say, I almost want to say 50-50 to be honest. If I did know someone, they brought someone that I didn't, which was kind of cool and exciting. I also did have a few people just buy tickets and I had no clue who they were. Love And I'm not gonna lie, I looked up their name online to just make, I was like, who are you?

Why do you want to come to my show? And I was like, wait, like this is really cool that there's like a general population that just want to see my designs, whether they were going to the venue, like maybe on a regular and thought this was a cool event to attend. Like I'm not too sure, but I hope they enjoyed it. Yeah. And I think, cause you sold your tickets on Eventbrite, right? Yeah.

Honestly, people love to hate on Eventbrite, but in my opinion, it's a great way to build up additional exposure because we don't know if those people found you through a friend of a friend or maybe they came across the event on Eventbrite, but it is a great search tool if people are just looking for a fun thing to do. So that's kind of like a hack for everyone that's planning events out there. Don't be...

Katrina Owens (05:16.526)
scared to put it on Eventbrite and welcome in a new audience. Yeah, no, I would say Eventbrite was probably, I did a lot of research before putting out my tickets and there is a Canadian based one which I wanted to support, I'm not gonna lie. It just was a little bit harder to navigate and in the back end it was a little bit more complicated and I felt like...

it's easier to be like, my tickets are on Eventbrite and someone will remember that compared to, I can't even remember the Canadian name one, to be honest. So, you know, it's like, it's that. I know. And that's the problem. Like we want to support our Canadian brands and businesses, but sometimes they're just not quite developed yet. So that happens. Okay. Pausing. Yeah. Cause I'm like, I'm leaving. There we are.

Okay, so you had said, Dexter. Thank you so much. Come here. There go. Oh, that's so nice. Okay. Okay. So you had said that you had this idea for a while. So when did the idea first come to you? And then what was like the final push to you to finally make it happen? Yeah.

Okay, I feel like I had different stages of the show kind of planned in my brain for a while. before I even attended school, I was like, I feel like being a fashion designer would be cool. And with that came the idea of like having my own show. That vision was like blurry, but I knew it was there. When I eventually kind of got like more of the skill sets, more comfortable in the industry, then I was like,

it'd be really cool to incorporate Irish dancing. So I played with that idea in my head. And then I think layering on my experience as a stylist, I was like, okay, how could we make it so not just the designs are cool, but the entire venue, there's not a single bad shot. And then layering on all that, I feel like...

Katrina Owens (07:28.814)
then it was the people that came into my life and kind of added on those layers that I was kind of unsure of. I remember talking with you a couple months ago, we were in White Rock, and we were sitting at a cafe. Yes, okay, the memory's back. It was after a photo shoot, and I was like, you know, I'd love to have my own show, but is it realistic? I don't know, and you're like, realistic, we don't use that word. Bad word, that's a curse word in this house.

Yeah, exactly. Yeah. And then on top of that, I remember you also mentioned like, well, what do you like about design? Like, do you like the working with someone? Do you like creating it? And I think that was my answer there. I was like, I like doing custom and I like doing one design and working like really closely with someone. Yeah. I don't love to redo a design once I've done it once, which I mean, that's just the way it is. But this

collection to me felt like I had someone in mind for each piece and kind of made it tailored to that person. Cool. So that was my way of kind of wrapping around like it's not for someone. It still was for someone even if that person wasn't wearing it on that day. Yeah. Yeah. Okay. That's really cool. And honestly, like

I want to go back to something you had mentioned about like the experience and I think that the fact that you had planned this event that wasn't just like, it's a fashion show and it's in whatever venue I can kind of like scrounge up. I mean, you and I have been to fashion shows where the venue is kind of like, like the experience is actually not a big piece. And I think when we talk about events, like the more that you can make it experiential,

to the audience, the more it actually sticks with that person and has an impact. Like, you you walked into that venue that you had and it's gorgeous to begin with, immediately transports you to like Italy, Europe, that kind of thing. But then you had all of the touch points too. Like, yes, get your glass of wine and a snack if you want. But then you had like, you know, a photography station, someone taking photos of you. And then you had the station where you could like write on the

Katrina Owens (09:42.974)
fabric like right and no and it was over the piano. And then I remember just taking like content like being able to set up my phone and take some content and I was like wow there are so few events that you actually go to where you feel like you can do that. Like a lot of the time it like feels like where can I find like a corner to like take my content but like it actually felt like the whole venue was designed to just

be that and be the experience. So that was a very cool part of that. I'm very, very grateful of the venue. It's, I'm going to butcher the pronunciation, it's La Fabrique St. George. When, out to Roxanne who like helped me organize it and like get the venue. When she says it, it's beautiful. I'm sure it's gorgeous. When I say I'm like La Fabrique. But that venue, honestly,

I was talking to the MC, Caitlin, and I was saying, even if my designs, like, I don't know, we had a flood and they flooded if, if, okay. I was like, what? Like, if that happened, if the designs got ruined, that venue, we could still make it work. It's so beautiful. Yes, it's so beautiful. It just added such an element. And then at the end, when the light was coming in, we had the smoke machine go off.

It was like angelic, like it was gorgeous. was like all the details truly came together. So when you were kind of creating the entire experience, like what did that creative process look like? And before you answer that, I'm gonna, this one. That was me and my hand movement. Yeah, go over there.

Katrina Owens (11:41.804)
This, okay, like that I can deal with. We're just cozy in this corner. So take us behind the scenes a little bit more on like the mindset, the energy, the creative process that you really went through as you actually started to develop the event. like once you had the venue, which I'm assuming came first or did it? It's all like a blur now, to be honest. But yes, I feel like the venue came pretty...

quickly after I announced it. I still was like making the collection, still doing all that, trying to get models, like everything like that. Sorry, I totally blanked out the question.

Katrina Owens (12:29.294)
feel like as disobedient as the dog. me see. And the part of me is like, what if I taped it down? Oh, that's smart. Thank you.

Katrina Owens (13:11.246)
It's gonna like start beeping or something. I know I'm it going to like out?

Katrina Owens (14:17.772)
Why does it feel like it does not change?

Katrina Owens (14:26.094)
Is that what you're doing? I'm trying to get it just so it's not so like, I feel like it needs to go your way more. It's more like, yeah, oh, nice. Does that look good? Okay, Okay, yes, here we go. You're gonna be cutting this. mean, like, okay. that's editing. I think now we've gotta figure it out. Okay, so.

Katrina Owens (14:51.502)
What mindset did you have to adapt to be able to be the person that could mentally and emotionally fill the room and execute on this event? Or did you have to do any of that kind of work? Absolutely, like 100%. I feel like I jumped into this and with a little bit of like, I was a bit naive. I was like, it's fine. I'll make a collection like a month and a half and run a whole show and

you know, organize a planet, maybe choreograph like a dance number. Yeah, I was a bit naive with that, but I did have to like totally redo my mindset. And I actually started religiously listening to Abelheart, which like, if you wanna put that in the thing, he is an artist who was like a million years was on,

one of those like reality shows where you just go on and you make a song in like 30 minutes with a celebrity. Okay. And I think I can't even remember. was like Charlie Puth or something that he worked with. And he came out of that experience and he made manifestation music for the gym. Oh, so it's like that. I forget what it's called. It's like 1082 Hertz or something. Yeah. You know what I mean? Yeah. It's that but it's like too gym beat, which like might be kind of weird.

But I worked out and did Pilates every morning to that. And like the song was like, I'm feeling lucky. Like I'm confident. was like, come on, get in that mindset because you really don't have room for a doubt or like imposter syndrome or anything like that. And it's totally a roller coaster. Like there's one day where, I don't know, you make a dress and you're like, I...

and Picasso. Like, I have done it, this is it. And then the next day, like a zipper won't go up and you're like, I'm the worst. you know, it's this roller coaster and you never know when you're going to need to like switch into different mindsets. keeping that constant like positivity and like clearing your head, making sure you're feeling yourself. Yeah, it's so important. Yeah, it's so funny because I feel like that's entrepreneurship overall. Like there are some days when I'm like,

Katrina Owens (17:12.79)
I am a marketing genius. I'm like, I'm a genius. And then the next day I'm like, why would anybody hire me? And I'm terrible. Like what is happening? So I think that that kind of like whatever we can do to just stay in the marketing genius side or like stay in the, I'm like, I'm doing great. Like I'm always telling myself like, okay Katrina, like you did it. Like you can do it. And we underestimate the power of that.

self talk. But I know for me, like a big part of being an entrepreneur and like running a business and flipping a business and the whole thing, it was okay, I had to be nicer to myself. I actually had to, I can now catch the negative thought pattern, which I never been able to catch it before, which is kind of like run rampant. And now when the negative thought comes in, I can actually like, catch it, grab it and flip it.

Absolutely. But it's hard. It's hard, but it's such a skill you need. Yeah. to be like, okay, this is, this doesn't define me this thought and I can turn it. Yep. And yeah, just being really aware of it for sure. Yeah. I was reading. I mean, I'm doing a lot of reading these days. Nice. I know. So I got a Kobo, like one of those e-readers and I got it just before I went to Hawaii like a month ago and I've read like seven books. I'm like, she's a reader.

I read like seven books in the past month. But the last book that I read, I'm trying to recall the name. no, was the one before that. It was called The Untethered Soul. So yeah, going deep. So, In The Untethered Soul basically says that like, this voice that we hear is actually not our voice. Because if we can observe it, it's not us.

So once we recognize that we're just an observer of these thoughts and that they're not actually us talking, that gives us power to flip them, change them, disagree. And there's such a great example in this book. It's like, if you had someone kind of tagging along with you all day that was like, why are you doing that? You you kind of suck at this. if you had someone that was just kind of tagging along with you being, like for lack of better word, a jackass all day, you'd like,

Katrina Owens (19:36.75)
hear. But why don't we do that to ourselves? And so once we can have the awareness to be like, that voice isn't me, it's a voice, and now I'm not listening to it gives us far more power. I try to think about that now whenever I hear it. I'm like, who are you? Like, are you even? Yeah, you're not invited. Get out. Exactly. So

How did it feel to be the face of the event? Because obviously, as a personal brand, this is now the journey. much like I did a couple months ago, you created an event around yourself. Which feels crazy. We don't need to say it like that. But just to prove the point, that's what we did. So how did it feel to do that? And was that something you were immediately comfortable with?

No, that definitely wasn't something I was immediately comfortable with because if you follow me, you know, I don't usually do like talking head type videos or I'm not like really like on camera. A of it is like here is my styling or here's my designing like an heart and share, you know, but it's not it's not me. So I had to get comfortable with that. But also it was a good way to sort of find my voice before the actual event.

Cause I found when I first started doing like little talking bits, like I don't know who I was. It's like I- I loved them by the way. Oh, thank you. Every time I was like, yes, more of this. feel like there's always something chaotic that happens. Like that one I was filming in my car and this guy was just staring me down and I was like, this is it. There's no show he's gonna like come and like.

Kidnap me or something, I don't know. The car, the filming videos in the car might be the hardest part, especially when you're in a busy place like Vancouver. Yeah, but I feel like they're used to it. Everyone's filming content. But it's interesting how sometimes you have a voice that's not necessarily your own. I found that when I was writing the speech to present at the show. I had it all planned out and I was practicing it. I was like, this is the most boring speech I've

Katrina Owens (21:55.214)
ever said in my life. I'm like, hello and welcome to coming to the show. It was so boring, but I was trying to make it so professional. And then I was like, you know what, like, just go out there, have your key points. One thing that was really great too, is I feel like having Caitlin be my MC, she kind of like grounded the event. She was really good at like setting the narrative.

Yeah story. So when I did come out and I was a little chaotic and I was like, my god, thank you for coming. Like this isn't my dream. I know I was very excited. Yeah. it was like, okay. Cause she had already like grounded the event. Yeah. Yeah. I feel like if I also was like, you know what, I'm going to be the MC. I think that would have been too much. Like, think it's really important to know your strengths and weaknesses and having her jump on in that role was really important. Yeah. But leading up to it, I was totally comfortable. Like

being the face of the event and like being like, hey, yes, I am hosting this whole thing myself. Yeah. Yeah. I think and she obviously did such an amazing job emceeing like that's totally one of her gifts, being able to like control the energy in the room. Okay, Dexter. Can you just... Brito, Dexter. Okay, we're not licking. We're not doing so much of licking. We're just sleeping now. Okay.

Caitlin was such an amazing MC and, that really is such an important part to be able to control the energy in the room. Yeah. And I think that was the right call. Like even when I look back on the event I did, like now that I'm brainstorming future events, I'm like, no, like there needs to be a couple other people trying to hold space too, because, you know, trying to control the energy in the room while also being the person that ran the entire event and like, you know, having a choreographer.

choreographed dance, like all of the things. Like you need to be able to have other people that can help with that. And I think it also adds to the professionalism of it, honestly. Yeah. And I think with like your events, you can sort of get away with it though, because you have been an MC and you do have that presence about you. yeah, it is kind of a nice like weight to take off your shoulders and just be like, okay.

Katrina Owens (24:14.314)
they're kind of like running the vibes, know, you don't have to worry about like, or people entertained or like, are they are they confused about what's happening? Yes. Yeah, I know. Like, it's so funny, because when you think about like, the actual thoughts that run through your head, like in the moment of the event, you're like, do people think that this was a waste of their time? Are people happy? Like, do they like the wine? It's like every single thought intrusive thought that

could run through your head during that time definitely does. So I think it helps when you know you're not in it alone. no, absolutely. Okay, so let's move on a little bit to the process. So I love this question. What parts of the process surprised you the most? So whether in like a good way or even in like a challenging way? That's a good question.

I feel like there were just like so many steps in the process. I feel like that was one of the things that I didn't actually realize. And how many people will jump on board, but then they do really rely on you to give them like the agenda and like what they're doing. So I think one thing that worked really well was the team that I had backstage, like MUA's hairstylist models, we had fittings, we had...

test runs with like the makeup. Wow. So they knew on the day they just went to like autopilot and they just did their thing, which I'm so grateful for because I was running backstage. Like I have holes in my tights because I took off my heels because they're like, clack clack clack clack. And I was like, this is so annoying. So was running around backstage with like any shoe, no shoes on. I was like, hair, makeup, you have 15 minutes. I was like, just like shouting these things. like, wow, such a creative director. Look at me go.

Like, where is she? Where did come from? But yeah, having that like hardcore planning and all the pre-planning that goes into actually planning a show, there's a lot. Yeah, there really is. And it's like, like you might think there's a task, but then that task...

Katrina Owens (26:32.406)
actually has like three sub tasks. And then it's like, my God, I can't even cross the task off my list because now it's like, you know, it's not just picking out the food as an example. It's like, now I got to like pick out the food and then decide what the vegetarian option is. And then someone tells me that they're gluten free. And then it's like a whole thing. No, absolutely. One thing that I kind of ran into a little bit of trouble was last minute. I was like, I think I'm going to make the pamphlets.

Like the brochures or the programs. Originally it was just gonna be like a cute little trifold. Okay, yep. But then I did go and promise everyone that like they'd have a little bio. And I was like, wait, how are like 21 people going to fit in like a little thing? So was like, you know what, let's do a magazine. And then I started editing it and breaking it down. And then I sent it to Jukebox, who I used.

And before I did, I sent to one of my graphic design friends. And she's like, Heather, is this in, it was like 10 DPI. And I was like, is it what? And then I had to learn all these graphic design terminologies. And there was issues with the previews having lines. And know, Canva removed background. left a little box. I like, I think I took.

probably like 50 hours on those programs. Yeah, that does not surprise me. And it's so funny because I think when you tell me about this conversation with your graphic designer, it's like, I go through this too, where it's like, there are times when I actually just want the professional to just do it. And I'm like, actually don't care about the details. Like, and I think that that's what can make a really strong professional is if when they know like, she actually doesn't give a shit about the details. I'm just gonna like,

go best case scenario and like do what I think like that is when I feel like people really step up to a leadership position. It's funny because I'm kind of going through this right now with something else where it's just like, know, I've sent all of this information and now I need you to do your job without me. Yeah, because like you're only one person. You can't be everywhere. And I think this is something and I know a lot of creatives listen to this podcast. I think this is such a good conversation. It's like

Katrina Owens (28:49.174)
sometimes as the creative person, especially if we come from a corporate background or like a place where we used to have to get like, you know, an approval on each and everything, because I used to have that, like I used to work in an environment where like every single decision I made needed like, you know, two other opinions on it. We think we need to still operate that way when we're a business owner. And we actually don't like we can actually say, okay,

I see you, my job now is to make your life as easy as possible and now I'm just gonna bring this to life and you know, this isn't to say we forgo all of the questions, just like, know, picking and choosing. There's something really freeing about having a creative vision and not having to explain it. yes. I was so...

lucky to have this show and have so many creative jump on board without like, had a mood board that I would send to team members and be like, do you want to be part of the show? But that was really it. Like I didn't have my designs done to show them. didn't, I didn't really have anything tangible. They all just jumped on board being like, well, yeah, I want to support you, which was like crazy. And it was just like, you're going to trust my vision. You don't need like a

a presentation done, like you don't need a PowerPoint. But yeah, I think that's from like that corporate side where it's like you have to explain every single reason you do something. Yeah, I really find that too. mean, even with doing these women's golf events, it's like this year we've gotten so many, you know, requests from different partners and venues that want to like have us or collaborate, which is so great. And I even find myself wanting to over explain things in the

in the emails as we're working on planning and then I'm like, hey, actually, I actually don't need to explain why I want music playing at the registration. I can actually just say we're gonna need music playing. And like, that's actually enough. But it is, you know, going from like this, like, you know, just kind of operating at whatever level we have before and then kind of stepping into a larger leadership role just means kind of like.

Katrina Owens (30:55.904)
Okay, I'm not going to over explain and I'm not going to feel like I need to, but I used to be an over explainer for sure. It's hard to break that cycle. for sure. We think that the more like words we say, the more we validate something. I'm like, we really don't need to. Exactly. So I feel like that's such a great segue because you brought one of the looks, which honestly is like, it feels like one of my like

personal favorites, honestly. So, I mean, not that you need to over explain it, but I think it would be so cool to just kind of tell people maybe the inspiration behind it and then like, like honestly, how you made it. Okay, yeah, absolutely. I could not. So feel like that's an interesting, an interesting one for everyone. And we can, you know, this is like your sign listeners to watch this fricking

show on YouTube because there's always a cute visual whether it's Dexter or an outfit so absolutely no visual learner you gotta watch the visuals yeah exactly okay so I this is fun because I actually had I feel like I had such limited time to make these designs that it's fun to finally be able to talk about them and like yes let them sink in yeah so I'm give you a content idea so I feel like you should make a series on this on your Instagram so like

do each one and now like and now you're carrying on the momentum of the event so that's totally that's a good idea thank you okay well let's practice yeah so this the practice round so this dress i made it to be the well i didn't actually know the order of the dresses and like what was going to be where i thought about mixing the two yeah but then

actually it was Caitlin's idea. She was like, let's have like a daytime and then like an evening. then she was the only person I said I was going to have a dance number with actually all the models didn't know until the day of I was changing and they're like, why are you changing? I was like, surprise, I'm dancing. And they're like, what? And I was like, line up. So anyways, this was, I was like, okay, after the storm, I want to have a dress that

Katrina Owens (33:13.314)
kind of ties in Irish dancing back to the collection. So I took this inspo from like Riverdance and the silhouettes that you see there, which are also very similar to like figure skating outfits. For sure. And as I mentioned, like all these designs are, I had like someone in mind. So for this one, I actually had my friend Katie, who was the blonde Irish dancer. So I had her in mind while I was creating this. And I was like, okay, like what?

if Katie became famous from the show, like what would she wear to the red carpet event? So I ended up finding this fabric a while ago and I really loved it because it's like shimmery and sparkly, which I don't know if you can see on there. It's kind of liquidy almost. Which has been really in style, but I feel like the liquid is always kind of more of like a chiffon and I wanted to do something different. So this is more like a velvet. And then,

the detail in the back, kind of got lost in the show with the model's hair, which is totally my bad. that's Dexter Dexter's really now we can't see him. That he's really into this cleaning my leg. Dexter, buddy. Come here. that's so much better.

Katrina Owens (34:34.176)
Okay, carry on. Okay, there was quite a few designs in the second act that had this like rose design on it. Yeah. So it's actually, I like to use scrap fabric from other designs. So there's like, no waste at all. Yep. So this is all scrap fabric from that kind of opera style, white like bodice with

the sequin fabric. Yes. That is the this is literally cutoffs. Oh my gosh. Yeah. So I put this in quite a few of the designs. I don't know if you can see that. Maybe let me let me turn her. Yeah. And then I wanted to even sparklier. So.

went in and hand-crystaled all of it. honestly, the back is so awesome. It's very sparkly. I like the one thing about the lighting in the venue is I feel like you actually didn't realize how sparkly all my things were. Oh wow, we've zoomed in. You know it's the loser sign that takes it back out. I don't know why. I love that. I who developed that. I don't know, it's crazy. Okay, where was it?

the bag is so sparkly yes yeah i feel like the venue the sparkles didn't really get captured which is totally fine i kind of want to do like a series of just showing my designs on the mannequin like at night time and yeah i went in and like spent hours and hours hand crystalling all the designs yeah so this is all crystal so it'll be like super sparkly and then this fabric it's actually

like it has zero stretch. Like it's basically- that's not what I would have expected. No, it's basically like, it's a rug. Like it's, it's not actually, but there is like zero, it's like woven. Yeah. And there is no stretch to it. Okay. But I was like, I want this to be a fitted dress. Yeah. So how do we do that without making the model unable to breathe? Right. So then I went and put in this spandex panel in the back. then it stretches and it curves. Yeah.

Katrina Owens (36:45.422)
cinches you in without feeling restrictive. it's so good. So how long did that basically take you to make just this one outfit? This design, this one took me a little bit longer because I didn't actually buy enough fabric to create it. To be honest, I had to be really creative with how I laid the pattern. But I would say it probably took me like two or three days.

my gosh. And like how hours each day do you think? Like you're like 12. Some days like, yeah, it was all day. Some days I only had like two hours to work on something. Yeah. That's one of, I feel like one of my strengths is I am kind of like a sewer designer. You know, everything. Yeah. That is one of my strong suits I feel like. But

Yeah, I think this actually was one of my quicker designs to be honest. I think about like, because there were 12 outfits and that's like, that is so many. I know. Like to me that feels slightly unfathomable that you were able to like create that many but were some like, did you have them or were working on them like before you had this idea for the show or like no once it was the show you're like

Okay, shows in motion, 12 outfits go. Okay, before this show, I actually got into wanting to make like corsets. Because I learned in school the most basic like straight up and down corset. But I was like, how do people make like these like Dior corsets that have like all these different channels? For a while, was kind of, I don't know, like avoiding it. I was like, well, I don't know how to do that. So I just won't do it.

So before I announced the show, I was actually like deep diving into like how to make like couture corsets and watching like YouTube channels. And because I had the idea for that, like see through e-dress, the ballet slipper dress. you. I had that in my head for so long. Yeah. I was like, I have no clue how to make it and like stay up and be comfortable. And like there were so many ands. Yeah. So once I kind of got that like under

Katrina Owens (39:06.55)
my belt being like, okay, I feel like I'm really comfortable making corsets that like snatch, stay up, are comfortable, everything. That's kind of when I announced the show. I had like corsets made. That's pretty much it. Yeah. Interesting. I love a corset. I like feel like that look is so like high fashion and gorgeous. Yeah, they're timeless. Yeah, totally.

Okay, well, I love that and yeah, definitely do the Instagram series, like showcasing each one because I think, and actually this is a great lead into my next question is like what opportunities or momentum have you now seen since, you know, the show's over, you know, once we do an event like this, it's so interesting because I think we, as the host and the person that executed, we feel like we now have all this time.

But, and that time can feel a bit jarring where we're like, oh my God, like something's wrong, I too much time on my hands now. But the event always leads to something more, whether that materializes in the weeks following. I know it's been about two weeks since the event that we're recording this. So what kind of momentum do you feel? Or, and or what kind of opportunities in like the physical realm have you kind of seen transpire since then? Yeah, I mean,

It's, I can't believe it's only been two weeks to be honest. I feel like I was prepared for a lull after the show, but I actually did not get that at all. I was like, I'm going to work my butt off and there'll be this like calm. There was no calm in a good way. I actually got quite a few emails like, hey, we'd like to interview you or can you answer some questions for us? I have been, you know,

as you taught me, pitching myself, pitching the team, like really trying to get out there. And I also just like keep getting so much of like the media back and like going through the photos, organizing those, getting those sent off to like all the team members, the guests, everything like that. So there's been a lot of like, almost like admin work, I guess you could say, after the show. But I feel like...

Katrina Owens (41:22.838)
I love it because it's like the wave is still going. it hasn't, like I know everyone once said after like Taylor Swift's heiress tour, they're like, she must be so sad because it's over. And I was kind of expecting that as well. So I kind of love that there's this like cascading like tide that's coming in and like keeps pushing me. And yeah, I like, I love learning. love growing. I'm, I don't think I ever just.

stop. No, it's interesting. Like, when we think about Taylor Swift doing her heiress tour, I'm like, yeah, she was probably happy that it was over to like give herself like some rest, but also time to create because, you know, when you are working on one vision, it's like, okay, once that vision materializes, when you're an absolute psychopath, like me, you, Taylor Swift, yeah, like, it's not, it's over. Now we're mourning it's

okay, I already have the next vision or I feel like I'm working on the next vision. So onwards and upwards. Like, I mean, I kind of felt the same way after my event. I wasn't like sad that it was over. I was like, I'm so glad I did that. I'm so proud of myself. I'm exhausted. And then it's like, okay, and now you use that momentum to kind of carry forward. But when you're entrepreneurial, it's like, okay, what's next? Totally. And I feel like there was that moment where

I wasn't sure that if I was gonna be like burnt out from this. But I did take care of like my mindset and everything, which like helped. But also I feel like once the show ended, it's like I got such a rush of creative flow back. And like I already see a spring summer collection. I'm like, oh crap. But I have been getting a lot of people messaging me being like, can we sign up for like a pre tickets for like the next event?

I'm like, next Ben, what? You're like, Yeah. But I'm like, okay, maybe. Maybe we'll see where that leads. Yeah. Yeah. I mean, this is like insider information, but I'll share it here because the podcast listeners deserve, like, if you listen to this podcast, you deserve to have the inside information. Even for me, I was like, okay, the next like KO your brand event I'll do will be like next March. So like a year from the one that I just did. And then I was like,

Katrina Owens (43:46.174)
I'm feeling like I want it to be sooner than that. So for me, I was like, okay, what if it's a bigger version next March and then I do kind of a similar thing to what I had done this past March in the fall. And so now I'm kind of working on that obviously with some like elevated aspects or like, you know, kind of tying in some different things, but it really is like, okay, I actually don't want to wait that long. So,

If there's someone out there, because I feel like people listening to this podcast are always like looking for inspiration or looking for like that kind of little tidbit that helps them kind of carry forward. What advice would you give to someone who has their own like bold idea or vision and they're feeling nervous or having some trepidation around bringing it to life? I'm sorry, just really fully zoomed up on me again.

Katrina Owens (44:48.226)
Dexter, Dexter, we are so almost done. Like if you can just, like we're on the last question. like. Okay, there we go. What's it on me that entire time? don't know, that's okay. Okay, advice for like. Yeah, so what, I'll state the question again.

Obviously, podcast listeners are always looking for inspiration or that little juicy tidbit to motivate them to start moving towards their goals. So if you had one piece of advice for anyone that's listening to this who has maybe their own event idea or vision for something they want to bring to life, what advice would you give them? I feel like I would say if you have an event or a big idea, one that feels a little bit too big to be real. Yeah.

you have to do it. You have to just jump in and lean forward. Yeah. That was my one thing is I was like, I'm just going to blindly leap in because if you're kind of leaning back, you know, kind of like dipping your foot into the idea, it's like people can feel that. And I think that was another thing where when I was trying to, you know, get team members and get like creatives on board, I couldn't hesitate and be like, well,

I don't know, maybe I'll cancel it if it's not great. Like I had to be that like a hundred percent sure and like get on board because this is happening and it's gonna be amazing. And like, you have to just believe, you just have to believe and go full force into your idea. Yeah. Yeah, that really is it. Like people can tell like you have to believe with like every fiber of your being that like,

this is something I'm doing. This is something I'm going all into because how can we expect other people to go all in by buying a ticket, taking time out of their busy schedule, you know, supporting you on hair and makeup? Like how can we expect other people to go all in on something we're doing if we're not? Exactly. And I feel like people can tell if that's like not authentic. Yeah. And you're kind of just like sales pitching them. Yes. Rather than actually full, hardly believing in it. Yeah. So definitely you have to make sure like

Katrina Owens (47:06.54)
my three things were, did I sleep enough? Did I eat enough? And did I move my body? Because I feel like when we're like, okay, I have this big event or I have a deadline where like, I can't move. I can't have lunch till it's done. I can't sleep till it's done. And like, no, that's just, you're gonna burn out. Like let yourself have those little pauses so you can show up like full hardly. Yeah, totally.

Okay, well, was so good. If you watch this on YouTube, like there was some chaos, camera chaos, but you know, we're figuring it out. I really like I love this episode. I feel like it's probably gonna be one of like the most I don't know. I want to say like interesting, inspiring, just like a bit of a different take than what I usually do. So this is not your sign to pitch me though. Yeah, I'm the only guest. Like guests are hand-packed.

I have some ideas for people who I would reach out to to ask to be on this podcast, but they have to be, you know, quite special invite only invite only. So your pitch is not going to cross the line. So don't even try. but if you liked this podcast, please listen and subscribe and review everywhere. You listen to podcasts, watch on YouTube because then you got to take part in all the chaos that just occurred between Dexter, the outfit, the camera. but yeah.

Appreciate you for coming on Heather and taking time out of your day and appreciate you all for listening. So that's KO your brand and I'll see you next week. Bye. Okay, we did it.