A Note from Our Founder: Cailíní Coastal Turns 3!
As we approach our third anniversary, I want to send a personal note of gratitude to you, our amazing customers and community!
To celebrate this milestone and to thank you for your dedication to our small business, we hope you take advantage of our Semi-Annual Sale launching tomorrow. This 20% off site-wide sale only happens twice a year so I encourage you to take advantage of this discount to prepare your home for summer and beyond!
(a shot from our first professional photoshoot - May 2020)
One of the questions I get asked most often is how I started this brand. I thought now would be an appropriate time to share more of my personal journey...
After a decade working in beauty PR, I started to feel like I was meant to do something else and I really felt the entrepreneurial pull. I mean a strong gut-intuitive feeling that persisted for years! Once I finally gave those feelings some light, I began doing lots of research, networking, and introspective thought before I came to the idea of Cailíní Coastal.
I'm keeping this part of the story succinct, but if you're interested, you can read more about my background and the journey to Cailíní Coastal here.
I paused my PR business at the end of 2019 and gave myself 4 months to build and launch Cailíní Coastal. I launched the brand in April 2020, at the height of the pandemic, out of my garage with two toddlers by my side.
(Our first "warehouse" - aka our garage in Manhattan Beach, CA, April 2020)
In the weeks leading up to launch, I was panicked. I had given up a great career, a steady and solid income, and used the majority of my personal savings to start the business. My husband, also an entrepreneur, was feeling the pressure as the sole earner during the volatile early days of the pandemic. It was an unnerving time for us, as it was also for so many people.
I looked around my garage with 5 bakers racks full of product (surrounded by a double stroller, bikes and miscellaneous exercise equipment - because everyone uses their garage for additional square footage in LA) and thought, "this is a disaster!" I proceeded, not because I was so confident or filled with grit, but because it was too late to back out.
Cailíní Coastal went live on Thursday, April 29, 2020. We had barely 3,000 followers on Instagram. I remember so vividly sitting at our kitchen table with my husband glued to Shopify and watching a map of the United States start to light up with the sessions (aka - "active shoppers") around the country. Suddenly we started to hear the "cha-Ching" sound, which is Shopify's audio alert every time you have a sale...then another, then another...and another!
My husband and I just looked at each other, stunned and giddy! We ended up with over 100 orders in our first two days and I was (and still am) shocked at how so many people found us and trusted us that early on. If you were one of them THANK YOU! DM us please (I'll see it!) and tell me if you were an early customer. I love connecting with our customers!
(a candid photo my husband took of me on launch night!)
A lot has happened between launch day and now. I'll spare you all the details, but three years later, I can’t believe how much this brand has grown and what we’ve accomplished…all thanks to your support and the incredible team I am so grateful to have!
This past year my family and I personally made a big move from Southern California back to the east coast (where my husband and I both grew up)…the Cailíní Coastal warehouse followed just 6 weeks later, landing with us in coastal Connecticut. I've included a little visual timeline below of our growth and the many moves...5 warehouses in 3 years!
This is our second garage warehouse in Los Angeles. We bought our first home in Palos Verdes, CA in August 2020!
In December 2020, we moved from my garage to our first commercial space...a 1,500 sq foot former pilates studio. It needed a lot of TLC, but we made it cute and I wish I took more photos!
Less than a year in the former pilates studio, we moved into our first official warehouse space. A 4,200 sq foot warehouse in El Segundo, CA - October 2021.
In May 2022, we made our biggest move. We moved our 4,000 square foot warehouse across the country from Los Angeles to Norwalk, Connecticut. We're in a multi-use warehouse and office space less than a mile from the coastline!
We’ve built an incredible, growing team with members now in Los Angeles, Connecticut, and across the country (gotta love virtual work!). Since I started the business, one of the "words of wisdom" that people have shared with me most is that "no one will ever care as much about your business as you do." It makes sense; however, I've found that not to be the case. I have been incredibly lucky to work with such amazing, smart and creative people who care so deeply about this brand. I'm so grateful to my team, and I pinch myself daily when I think about the caliber of people I have working with me to grow CC. Not to brag, but my team is seriously impressive! I'm humbled that they're choosing to be a part of this journey. To my amazing team, THANK YOU! Without you, this would not exist...and I would be an absolutely nutty person ;)
Something that I am personally most proud of is our partnership with our national charity partner, Family Promise. In three years, we’ve donated over $55,000 to Family Promise to support their incredible efforts helping low-income families and families experiencing homelessness. This cause, our cause, continues to be something I’m incredibly passionate about and using the success of Cailini Coastal to help others is one of the greatest gifts!
(This is one of my favorite photos from the summer camp we sponsored with our South Bay affiliate partner in Los Angeles! We handled the decor for every week of the camp, each themed to a Disney movie and core value - ie: kindness, gratitude, loyalty, etc.)
When I started the business, my girls were just 18 months and 2.5 years old, so they've really grown up with this brand. I want to be honest, having young kids and a young business, is not easy! So often I question what I am doing and wonder if it's really worth it. It's a big sacrifice having a start-up and when you're a mom to young kiddos it adds another layer of complexity. I fondly refer to the constant chaos as "the struggle of the juggle." That said, the flexibility of having my own business allows me to do so much more with my kiddos than I could otherwise!
(one of the girls' many visits to the CC HQ)
The reality is that despite how stressful it can be and how tired I always am, I love what I do! I value that my girls are being shown what really hard work looks like (they're seeing that from my husband too) and watching me not only build something for myself and our family, but do something that comes from a place of true passion. I hope it inspires them to follow their own dreams and instincts when they grow up!
With that sentiment in mind, Cailíní Coastal is named for my daughters. It means "coastal girls" in Irish - for my California turned Connecticut coastal girls and an homage to our Irish heritage.
(first professional photoshoot & a failed attempt to get a photo with the girls!)
Looking ahead at 2023, we can’t wait to show you what we’ve been working on. We read all of your emails, comments, and DMs, and take your suggestions and feedback seriously. We’ll be introducing bigger seasonal collections, more exclusive products, exciting partnerships, in-person events, and that’s just the beginning.
Looking ahead at 2023, we can’t wait to show you what we’ve been working on. We read all of your emails, comments, and DMs, and take your suggestions and feedback seriously. We’ll be introducing bigger seasonal collections, more exclusive products, exciting partnerships, in-person events, and that’s just the beginning.
It's not lost on me that you have a lot of options when it comes to shopping for your home online, and we are so grateful that you chose to do some of your shopping with Cailíní Coastal!
I truly appreciate your support - your orders, kind words, social posts, referring a friend - all of it! Even the DMs you slide into our inbox telling us that you received your order and love it, make our day! From the bottom of my heart, and from all of us at CC, thank you!
I truly appreciate your support - your orders, kind words, social posts, referring a friend - all of it! Even the DMs you slide into our inbox telling us that you received your order and love it, make our day! From the bottom of my heart, and from all of us at CC, thank you!
xo Meg
Love your blog! Good luck to you and your family and your beautiful business! Love everything!
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