Meet DL Pettigrew

Today, we’d like to introduce you to DL Pettigrew.

Hi DL, please kick things off for us with an introduction to yourself and your story.
Hidden PEARLS LLC was started in 2018 as a fashion brand for professional women’s clothing that would encourage women to know how special they really are.

We design for unique women who want to mark their own trails. We hide ONE single Freshwater PEARL in every design. Here are Hidden PEARLS. We believe all queens wear PEARLS, and we want every woman to feel and look like a queen when she walks out on her runway in life.

Would you say it’s been a smooth road, and if not, what are some of the biggest challenges you’ve faced along the way?
It started smoothly even though we had a hard learning curve to deal with at first, like knowing how and where to source our fabrics. Manufacturing was a huge issue since factories in the USA were not heard of, and if you found one, they didn’t have seamstresses to do the work. We shot ourselves in the foot when we sent all manufacturing to China.

After three years of contacting many boutiques, getting a following, doing trade shows, and selling wholesale, we were moving along, and it was starting to look promising. Then, covid hit, and it hit all boutiques. We lost all our overseas factories, and all the factories shut down.

Thanks for sharing that. So, maybe you can tell us more about your work next?
I design my own fashion brand starting from an idea on paper, then I have a pattern maker, and then we make a first sample up in muslin fabric to check on fit.

Then, if it looks good, we make it up in the real fabric. Of course, we have sourced the fabric notions, care labels, brand labels, size labels, and, of course, our hangtag. It is a lot of work, and so many have no idea what goes into making a garment. Then we send it to the factory to make a counter sample for approval, and then we go into production after we have taken orders from the boutiques.

Hopefully, we will be known for great-looking classic clothes that are made well and don’t go out of style. I’m proud that I’m pursuing my dream job, which I went to college for after raising my children. It is never too late to do what you love.

I have an amazing team, and we never give up.

Can you talk to us about how you think about risk?
Yes, we took stocks that were in a savings account for retirement and decided to take a risk and go for it.

It is hard sometimes not to see the best results sooner than later, but we continue to believe we have a great product to help others, and we are trying to support a battered women’s shelter in Warren Village.

Risks help you to know who you really are, and they help you grow.

Contact Info:

• Website: www.shophiddenpearls.com
• Instagram: @shophiddenpearls
• Facebook: facebook.com/Hiddenpearls

Image Credits
David Alderman