Today is officially our 7th birthday as a company!
This collection has been a dream for a long time. I think it’s David’s best work to date. I am so proud of our little company for taking the leap to make a whole outfit and offer it all at once.
David has always loved Ninjas, whether they were the TMNT, or from Mortal Kombat - these were some of his earliest sketches. Even now, his favorite superhero is Spiderman, who is basically a ninja (don’t come at me, I’ve thought about this a lot! He sticks to walls, he climbs, he hides his face, he uses few tools to great effect.)
At three years old, David dressed up as a Ninja Turtle and got so excited that he bashed his head on the edge of a speaker. We consider that his first practice for being a ninja. He probably could have used one of the Naruto forehead protectors.
Going to Japan for the first time last fall really fanned the flame. We came back filled with new inspiration and the elements seemed to align for us to make a whole ninja outfit; pants, shirt, gloves (which got paused), a mask and hood (which got paused) a jacket, another jacket, and even an over-robe. Being a ninja requires both layers and options.
“If I was going to make my first whole outfit it was going to be a ninja outfit,” he said in a ‘what else? Duh?’ sort of tone. He was nice about it, but for him it was the obvious starting place.
Ninja take risks and so did we. Pants are a first-time product for us and we decided to make two kinds in different styles. We’ve never made a shirt either, but everyone needs something to wear with their jackets! David has been wearing his for weeks, even though it’s supposed to be a secret.
Even bigger, we also decided to make most of the collection a non-gendered cut. In Japan we found that men’s and women’s clothes weren’t separated in the fashion shops we went into and nobody cared.
We are profoundly grateful to be able to make this collection come to life. We are thrilled to be celebrating our 7th birthday! To be fair we imagined it happening a little differently. But we must count our blessings. We wouldn’t be here without you! Happy 7 Years! Thanks for being on this crazy journey with us!
Nation of One asked to borrow some wardrobe options from us for this video and our Hunter’s Garb Coat looks amazing in the apocalyptic landscape! Video itself starts at about 3:30 in.
Emerald City Comic Con has been postponed until the summer, but we’re staying positive and trying something new to us. We’re super excited for our first ever online con this weekend! We’ll be streaming on Twitch the following schedule (all times ET) and will be hanging out on Discord as well to chat and answer your questions.
THURSDAY 3pm Welcome to our online con! Meet the team 3:40pm Custom projects FAQ/AMA 4pm Interview with Cory Doctorow 4:20pm Mike’s artist alley 4:40pm Discussing work life balance in a small business BREAK 6pm Borderlands Handsome Jack makeup tutorial and styling 6:40pm Fun with Level Up Dice 7pm Gaming with David
FRIDAY 3pm Indie comics chat with Jazzlyn Stone & Zachary Clemente 3:20pm Fashion advice AMA 3:40pm TBD 4pm Designing Star Trek 4:30pm Recapping ST: Picard with Amy Imhoff BREAK 6pm Behind the scenes of our production process 6:20pm Playing with new accessories 6:40pm New customer experience 7pm TikTok fun with Patrick 7:20pm Never Have I Ever convention edition 7:40pm AMA
SATURDAY 3pm Our favorite customer stories 3:20pm Designing Assassin’s Creed & AMA 4pm TBD 4:40pm The sound of Volante Design - Koco’s music spotlight BREAK 6pm Bloodborne looks 6:20pm TBD 7:20pm Posing like a Volante - take epic outfit photos 7:40pm Last AMA and thanks
Please join us for some fun and show your support for a small independent business by shopping with us this weekend! You can get free shipping and free returns on US orders with code ECCCUS.
I thought of this for the AU day of Ineffable Husbands Week but just today was able to do it.
No time to dig out the pocket watch today. But this is draft 1. I’ll likely do a long skirt but those are hard w rolling desk chairs. Suggestions welcome!
Valentine’s Day is just a day folks. In the best case scenario, it allows you to reflect on the people who you care about in your life.
Here at Volante Design, we don’t really go in for red roses, that suddenly cost 4X the usual price. Lots of companies talk about how you need their underwear to be sexy. Or how you won’t get laid if you don’t buy her this jewelry. I am not a fan of these sorts of stories. We don’t usually tell them to our customers, because they make us gag.
We do go in for love. Love of all shapes and sizes between all sorts of people. I’d like to talk about love for your chosen people.
I love that Volante Design seems to attract nerdy, cute, awkward, smart, funny, interesting people, both as customers and as members of the team here at the studio.
I am constantly honored that the people who chose to be on our team give so much of their creativity, their passion, their ideas, and their get-it-done attitude! We’re a fierce bunch.
I am constantly meeting customers who are just like us, awkward, formerly big dorks that have learned how to tie a tie when needed, but who are happiest in a big damn trench coat.
We love you funny-cute-wonderful weirdos. Thanks for going on this crazy ride with us. Share a photo or a story of your chosen people. <3
Happy Valentine’s Day!
Willow
PS Because we love you and appreciate you, we’re running our best offer ever right now. Buy any one item and get the second 50% off. Mix and match, choose custom or gear, there are no limits. Use code VALENTINE through 2/17 at 11:59pm.
Our friends Master of Wills just launched their new Kickstarter with a giveaway to boot! One person will win our Stealth Kit & their game bundle.Tag 3 friends in the comments by 10am CST tomorrow to enter.
It’s Monday the 6th of January and the world is on fire. Quite literally, there are fires raging all over Australia. Many folks have been displaced and more animals have died or lost their homes than we can accurately count. The US is warmongering, and the next steps are uncertain.
It’s a hard day to feel optimistic about the world we’re living in. There is so much large scale stuff happening that I cannot control. I do some things, as a person, which helps. I buy clothes second hand or from makers who practice slow fashion and create quality that will last. I eat local food whenever I can. I vote.
As we know companies, not people, use the most resources, so perhaps the biggest impact I can make is to make Volante Design as green as possible. We ship in cardboard boxes and not in bubble wrap sleeves whenever possible. We have been looking into compostable plastic sleeves for our smaller products, you may have seen them if you’ve ordered recently. We use recycled paper, we use recycled printer cartridges, lots of little things that we can do. We recycle. Most of our office furniture came from free piles, our moms, yard sales.
The biggest thing we do is make things that will serve you for a long time. Do you know Burberry threw out 38 MILLION DOLLARS of inventory in ONE YEAR according to Forbes Magazine July 2018 edition?
Can you believe that? The typical “luxury retailer” is outrageously wasteful. This is just one example. Small businesses are different. At Volante Design we are very aware of our resources, both environmentally as well as financially. We think lean, we make small batches, we’re very careful. We’ve fought hard to price things in a way that we cannot mark them down. We want to give you the best value we can while staying in business. We would never ever throw out a jacket. Heck, we don’t like to throw away our fabric scraps, we donate them whenever possible.
It’s not always obvious what the difference is between one coat or another. Learn about the process, learn about the company and think critically. Who do you want to support? You can vote in small ways with your dollar. I’m not saying it should be Volante Design all the time. (Yes, I know this is not what you’re supposed to say as a business person. But I’m not trying to sell you Volante Design, I’m trying to tell you what I believe in and how we’ve evolved Volante Design in response to that.)
Some companies that I respect their process-
Timbuk2 - They recycle old bags for parts and they also have a repair program. They make their products in the USA. One reason we haven’t made a ton of bags is because they do them so well. Maybe one day we will be able to help you re-sell your coats that don’t fit you anymore. Right now we don’t have the (hu)manpower.
American Giant - They make primarily solid basics. They’re American made and great quality.
Everlane - They are not US manufacturing, but they are amazingly transparent about their sourcing, pricing, and process. I hope one day we’ll have this sort of organization. I think it’s really radical.
I know there are so many more. These are just a few I immediately thought of. Send me yours. There’s a lot we don’t have control over, but together we can change how things work. Our actions matter.
Our long-term fans know we only offer two sitewide sales per year, and one of them is for Black Friday. Skip the lines and level up your look first with exclusive early access!
