It’s almost Labor Day Weekend, and I am once again surprised by how quickly this year is flying by.  Rob, Nathan and I just  got back from a week-long stay-cation in Newport Beach where we got to enjoy some beautiful sunny weather, and warm sand and surf.  It was a much needed vacation, and I came back feeling refreshed, energized and ready to face the fall and up- coming frenzied holiday season.

Labor day has always signified the end of summer for me, and as for many other, it typically signifies the last chance for a summer getaway, and the beginning of a new school year.  In my previous life in finance, I never gave much thought to what Labor Day represents aside from one of 9 precious market holidays which we got off during every given year.  These days, I frequently think about how much work and labor goes into any small start-up business.

Admittedly, I am a bit of a nerd when it comes to the web (as Alexis will agree), and am always researching or looking up things online.  So it’s no surprise that I felt the need to research the origin of Labor Day on Wikipedia.  According to wiki:  Labor Day in the US was first celebrated in 1882 and was originally dedicated to the “spiritual and educational aspects of the labor movement”.

Owning a small business means being a jack of all trades, and frequently by trial & error, figuring out the best way to bring a product to market without depleting all of our resources.  It’s exciting to bring a new product to market and to see our goods represented in a new, retail boutique and or to hear customers compliment our line of goods, but that’s only 20% of what we do.  For Alexis and me, BLUEBLOOD represents countless hours, days, months and years dedicated to graphic and product design, brainstorming, prototyping, photoshopping, packaging, testing, fulfilling orders among many other small and large tasks alike.  But the labor doesn’t end with the two of us.

We work with several small, minority owned local companies who produce and manufacture various components of our products.  Most of these companies are owned by minorities who immigrated to this country in order to secure a better future for themselves and their children.  In a time when everyone is rushing to China to manufacture because of the high cost of labor and materials in the US (and Bay Area specifically), we have made it our goal to support our local economy to the best of our ability.  As I am a first generation immigrant, working with these minority owned companies especially touches my heart.  It gives both Alexis and me great pride to know that we are helping these local small business owners to reach their goals.

So on this Labor Day weekend, aside from BBQing, hiking with the pups, and enjoying what remains of the summer, I want to thank all of the people who have labored to make BLUEBLOOD what it is today.  Our families and friends deserve the most applause, for being supportive of our endeavors, for always marketing BLUEBLOOD goods wherever they have traveled, and for making our labor of love possible.  Thanks to the strangers that we have met, kind enough to share their wisdom about the industry with us.  Our manufacturers deserve much kudos for putting in an incredible number of hours sewing, cutting and helping us with better ways to execute our designs.  And finally, thanks to Gretel, Salty and Foggy for putting up with long hours of modeling and testing product, and most importantly, for being our inspiration in the first place.

Have a safe and wonderful long weekend!

xoxo

Tina