day Pam’s friend saw her in a jacket she had made for herself. Her friend said, “I would buy this jacket if you made them to sell.” It was like a “Eureka” moment for Pam. It was the impetus she needed. Being a business person, she began thinking of the huge undertaking a clothing business would be, but rather than being scared off by the idea, she was excited and made the decision that she would design a woman’s jacket and start a clothing business producing jackets right here in Nova Scotia. Preliminary research indicated that Pam’s target market would be a woman between 40 and 70 years old with a desire for a quality product, comfortable and well-fitting clothing. Pam says, “I was my target market!” She chose to create a fitted jacket as her first Esmé “original” garment. When asked why her answer was simple and to the point, “because a jacket can make an entire outfit simply by pairing it with a dress, trousers, leggings or jeans.” Pam did not just rely on her self-taught skills, she also studied pattern making and took courses from experienced patterned makers in Nova Scotia. She spent almost 2 years designing, developing and perfecting the jacket pattern. Pam says, “It had
to be perfect in every way. I wanted to be proud of my product and it had to be a garment that I would buy.” She goes on to say, “I created and revised the pattern many times before I was satisfied with it and sewed many, many samples before it was ready to go into production.”
The name Esmé is an old French girl’s name. It’s a soft, gentle name, yet strong and enduring, and that’s what Pam wanted to portray with her jackets along with a design having a classic look. The pattern is a simple one - princess seams, stand up collar, clean lines and form. She believes what makes the Esmé jackets special is the choice of
“Funny how the life path you choose in the beginning, will almost definitely not be where you end up. That was certainly the case for me,” said Pam at the start of our conversation. Pam began her working career in an advertising and marketing agency as art director, which she says was perfect for her, “It allowed my creativity to flow.” For the past 22 years, Pam and her husband have owned Country Real Estate Brokers, a successful real estate company in the Annapolis Valley of Nova Scotia which enabled her to sharpen her business skills. Pam says, “I have always been creative and have always loved clothes. I have designed and sewn clothing all my life. I remember sewing for my Barbie dolls when I was eight years old and sitting on a pillow to reach the sewing machine.” Six years ago, Pam was growing increasingly more frustrated with the mass produced, “cheap and cheerful” throw-away clothing she was seeing in shops. She was craving quality and originality. One
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DECEMBER 2019 • SPOTLIGHT ON BUSINESS MAGAZINE
SPOTLIGHT ON BUSINESS MAGAZINE • DECEMBER 2019
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