Cultivating Real Relationships with Brands that Care

As I have navigated the ever changing blogosphere and now the influencer environment, I have found it to be more and more important to align myself with brands that want to work with me for the right reasons and brands that help me represent what it is that is important to me as a human being of this Earth. I am a small beans type of blogger but I still get a boatload of emails with people wanting to send things or working with me for some reason or another. I am fairly good at weeding out what won't work for me or doesn't seem like a good fit but I think that I am even better at sustaining relationships with amazing brands that speak to me and appeal to my community of like minded people. There may be different reasons that I choose to work with someone but I always want to feel like it's a good fit for both parties. I am just going to shout out to some of the best and most sustained I've worked with because I can and I want to and they deserve it!

Wearing Liverpool Jeans, FatFace Top and Toms Shoes

When I set out to do my #OwnYourBodBabe day this past May, I wanted to make it special. As someone who has been blogging for over 9 years, I have had my fair share of free stuff but what I always want to do is to share in this journey and the fun stuff involved, whenever possible. I reached out to a few brands and had hopes of doing a couple of cool things but one of the most unexpected surprises was Liverpool Jeans not only hopping on board, but doing so really enthusiastically. For anyone who is out in the blogging world, you know how hard it can be to pitch ideas to potential partners. And if you aren't in the blogging world, I'll just say that you have to be really clear and precise about what you want to achieve when asking a brand to work with you on a project. With Liverpool Jeans, I described the #OwnYourBodBabe movement, and they absolutely loved it. They gave jeans to three OYBB participants (and me too!) with no asks or requirements, they just wanted to be involved! I look fantastic in their jeans and you would too, they offer an expanded size range to serve women of more sizes. Check out Liverpool Jeans today!

Own Your Bod, Babe was also supported by Follain, who donated an amazing set of their branded beauty products. I have worked with Follain in the past off and on and feel like I've had a great relationship with them over the years so to have them support me in OYBB, it was really great! For someone who was just willing to share a piece of themselves, they were able to also add a little selfcare. Again, another brand that jumped on board with a cause with nothing in it but to support me and a project I was working on! There are tons of other small beauty brands that have been amazing to Prim and Propah, so I should probably do a separate post for them but some that come to mind are Thesis Beauty, True Moringa, Erin's Faces, Organic Bath Co. and SaltyGirl Beauty, all of which I have met the owners/creators so feel super connected to them!

Wearing Crane and Lion

Along the same lines of owning your body, Crane and Lion has supported me in the past year or so, ever since I (a little abruptly) told their social media person that I'd like to see more images of people of different sizes. So they suggested that I wear Crane and Lion so I not only got to learn about a new brand, I got to show that this body is not only made to wear athleisure, it can look good in it too. This was the beginning of a great relationship with people from the brand and I am sure it will continue into the future. They are great people who create really quality clothes. I hope that they love working with me as much as I do them. I can't help but connect with people on the other end of emails. It's just in my dna apparently.

Wearing Peach

Peach and I have been committed to one another for two years this holiday season. They are a really great brand that just supports women, uplifts women, and creates amazing clothes for women. For example, I am considered an ambassador and with a lot of brands, I would assume, it's a pretty perfunctory business like relationship but not with Peach. They treat us, and their stylists, like a big family. They have invited us to take part in fashion shows, personal development seminars, Giving Back initiatives and more. Just to let you know, that's not the norm. It's pretty special. They genuinely care and that's the biggest reason I love working with them... and I have to say that all that aside, I wear Peach literally all the time. Comfy but cool, quality clothes will always be my thing.

I often visit a property here in Massachusetts called Marketstreet in Lynnfield, it's a fun place to spend the better part of a day shopping and there are two places that I ALWAYS stop at, Pia's and FatFace. Pia owns the most beautiful little shop with gorgeous decor and the most delightful selection of pretty clothes. The boys and I always stop in for some marshmellows she has on hand for guests and I usually pick something up (like this BB Dakota tee). She is so kind and really, I kid you not, we have become friends and all through blogging! She's an amazingly thoughtful and welcoming spirit. After visiting Pia, I usually hit FatFace, a UK based clothing store that creates really special clothing and cares a TON about making them in an ethical and sustainable way. They like what I do and I certainly like what they do, so we have been working together seasonally for a couple of years now and I love it. I know what I am getting with them and they know that I'll provide quality content that is a return on investment.

When I started this blog post, I was like Oh, I'll just highlight the brands that I really love but once I got started, it became apparent that I really do genuinely enjoy working with a lot the brands that I do. On my end, I am always striving to be professional but friendly, authentic while ensuring that I am trying to help each brand achieve its goals. On their end, a friendly, appreciative attittude always makes me want to continue working with them. As I have said many times over the past few years, it's all about creating a mutally beneficial relationship but moreover, creating something that is really aligned with my values, has become more and more important.

Has this been a fun forray into the blogging world? I feel like to people who don't "influence", it might seem like a foreign environment!